Stop whining….. start running… In two parts
Don’t sit there wishing you were thinner. Get running.
Running is the best kept secret … mostly kept by runners. It gives you energy, it’s free, it doesn’t matter what your fitness level is and you can start anytime.
It clears out your sinuses, tightens your core, shapes your legs and butt and flattens your stomach. Fellow sirens what’s not to like?
Yes we know weights are the bee-knees for constant calorie burning but if you want to shift fat fast and tone up, nothing beats a good run a few times a week.
So how do you get going? It’s easy.
Top 8 tips to make you a runner in 6 weeks
1. Start slowly….build it up over 6 weeks
The last thing you want is to get injured. Right? Pick a route, preferably a 3.5 mile (5.5km) circular route. Why? Set achievable goals and this one’s a good starter.
As a walk, it will take an hour, as a run, 35 to 45 minutes at a moderate pace. No gym commute, parking, locker rooms and packing gym bags. Oh and high membership fees. Just run from your door. See 40 minutes is nothing.
If you’re not that fit, start at week 1. If you are but not used to a road impact sport like running, start at week 4.
Week 1 : Walk it, fast, 3 times a week.
Week 2 : Run/walk. 5 minute warm up. Run 1 minute, walk 5 minutes. Continue, without whinging until you get home.
Week 3: Run / walk. 5 minute warm up. Run 1 minute, walk for 4 minutes.
Week 4: Run / Walk. 5 minute fast warm up. Run 1 minute, walk for 3 minutes.
Week 5: Run/Walk. 5 minute fast warm up. Run 2 minutes, walk for 3 minutes.
Week 6: Get going after your warm up. Run for as many minutes as you can. When you’re puffed out, take a break for no more than 3 minutes. Get going again, even at a slower jogging pace. If you’re huffing and need it, take another 3 minutes.
2. Important : Warm up and cool down correctly
Why? Because you don’t want to get injured. Running is a high impact exercise that uses all of your body. Any twinges will knock you off your schedule. It’s important to warm up correctly to include back stretches, side stretches, hip circles and leg stretches. Then powerwalk for the first 5 minutes to get your heart rate up. 5 minutes before you hit home, walk it out. Breath deeply, cool down and when you hit your house, repeat your exercises before you hit the shower.
3. Run to the beat
Ok so we said it’s free but it’s not exactly. But unless you live on Mars, chances are you have a phone, even an embarrassing one with a radio will do. If you’ve an iphone/smartphone or Ipod even better. Anything with kick ass music to keep you motivated. Don’t faff about organising your running playlist. Just get going, shuffle your music and skip anything you don’t like.
Most phones also have stop watches so really handy for timers also to keep you in check. Once you’re up and running (literally) you can cruise and not worry about time. You’ll just have the wind in your hair. Or rain and wind depending on where you live.
4. Tech things to help
Tracking tools can also help. Mapmyrun is a super tool. You can download the app on your smartphone and once your GPS is enabled, it will map the run for you, right down to distance, time, running speed and the all important calories. Brilliant. If you don’t have a smartphone, enter it in online when you finish. It will help you keep track of how you’re doing re speed, time and general kick ass performance.
If you’re even more serious (once you get going that is) a cheap heart rate monitor can also be a good investment. You enter your information like age, weight etc and it spits out your stats. Not dissimilar to Mapmyrun but more efficient in terms of actual beats per minute and your optimum fat burning zone (we’re getting advanced here so again, remember the mantra, stop faffing about and get running).
Part II of this post will follow shortly. Get started sisters!
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