How to Start Jogging: Beginner’s Guide

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Start Jogging guide to running
Young lady running on a rural road during sunset

Image source: Deposit Photos

You might see joggers passing you by as you’re enjoying a day at the park or beach. This workout appears tempting because it’s incredibly simple to head outdoors and complete it. However, you might be worried about your health and if jogging is actually right for you. If you want to get serious about this type of exercising and reap its full benefits, there are a few essential facts to consider beforehand. Take a close look at how you can start jogging with this beginner’s guide:

Get Your Doctor’s Blessing

Before you start any workout regimen, it’s critical to get your doctor’s approval. Although jogging is a healthy activity, it can put unnecessary stress on your body that’s recommended if you have a serious heart condition or other type of illness. Your doctor might suggest a certain warmup or jogging level so that you can control your blood pressure, heart rate and other medical issues. In severe cases, you may need to stick to walking as an alternative.

Commit to the Art

With your doctor’s blessing, commit to working out about five times a week for around 30 minutes each time. Although you may have sick days or really busy ones, try to commit to a jogging schedule. You’ll improve your health with a steady progression instead of a stop-and-start process.

Monitor your progress with a fitness tracker, which will also help you keep your motivation up. Some of the best fitness trackers will report your heart rate, reward you with step counts and offer you more physiological data. Many of these gadgets also enable you to create your own playlist, thus allowing you to listen to your favorite music while performing your workout.

Begin With Walking

Regardless of your previous workout experience, such as with yoga, you must approach jogging as a beginner and take it one step at a time. Start with a basic walk. Perform this movement for about five minutes, and then try a slow jog for about 30 seconds. Return to a walk for another five minutes. Repeat this process for about 30 minutes.

Stretch After Five Minutes

Keep in mind that stretching is an incredibly important part of walking, as well as jogging. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t stretch right before your workout, since your muscles are too cold at this point. Walk for about five minutes, and then stop to stretch. Touch your toes, stretch the thighs and other major muscle groups.

At this point, you’ll avoid any injury because the muscles are warm from the five minutes of movement. The stretching prevents further injuries from occurring across your tendons and ligaments. Don’t forget to cool down with stretching at the end of your workout too.

Choose Between Indoor and Outdoor Adventures

Jogging on a treadmill offers different benefits to your joints. There’s less of an impact on the cushioned, conveyor belt compared to the outside pavement.

The outdoors does give you a chance to breathe in the fresh air, which helps the mental side of your workout. In contrast, the indoor areas might offer TVs and other types of entertainment. It’s up to your preference to choose between these two jogging options.

Listen to Your Body

One of the best pieces of advice that you can follow is listening to your body. As you walk and jog, you’ll notice certain body areas feeling tighter as the movement progresses. Sharp pains, such as in your sides, can occur at almost any time.

If you feel any sharp pains, it’s critical to stop the activity and take a moment to unwind.

Set a Goal

In order to encourage consistent exercise, set a goal for yourself. You might sign up for a jog-a-thon or other group exercise. Weekly, monthly and yearly goals can be on a calendar or smartphone alarm. Reminding yourself of the fitness goals that you have will only help you stay on track with exercise and healthy eating. Being a jogger encourages your mind to seek out healthy foods, which only improves your fitness as you head out the door on a jog.

Overall, jogging can be a lifetime activity that continually improves your health, by helping you maintain low blood pressure, healthy cholesterol levels, and a positive state of mind. Be sure to follow this simple beginner’s guide and you’ll be mastering this pastime activity and improving your lifestyle in no time.

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