Three Good Habits For Beginners
One of the most important running tips for beginners is this one:
Start developing good habits right now.
Today is the day to start one good habit. Don’t try to learn ten new habits all at once, that’s too much. If you concentrate on just one or two at a time, then before you know it, you will have a whole collection of good habits under your belt. And good habits equals a good runner who is healthier and happier about his or her running.
Here are three good habits to get you started.
Warm Up
Always take a few minutes before your workout to warm up. A warm up means that you start moving your body around as a preparation for your workout. It’s your way of waking up the body and letting it know that it’s time to start working soon. That way, the legs and heart have some time to adjust properly and there is less of a shock to the system.
For a beginning runner, a good warm up might be five minutes of easy body movements that could include: walking, arm and torso motions, simple knee bends or squats,, forward bends, a couple push-ups, deep breathing, and visualizations of your upcoming workout and what your goal is for today.
One thing to avoid is any deep stretching. Stretching cold muscles can cause more harm than good, and is a leading cause of injury. So save the stretching for the “cool down” after your workout.
By developing a good warm up habit, you will:
- Protect yourself from injury
- Get a more efficient workout
- Prepare and focus the mind for the workout
Cool Down
The corresponding good habit to the warm up is the cool down. A cool down means that you gradually taper off your activity after a workout. It’s exactly like a warm up in reverse, except that now you include some stretches. It’s your way of telling the body that the work is done for today, and it can go back to normal.
A good cool down for beginners might be five minutes of easy body movements that could include anything you did for warm up. However, you should always include some stretching of the hamstring, calf, and thigh muscles.
By developing a good cool down habit, you will:
- Improve recovery rate
- Reduce muscle pains
- Promote flexible muscles (which avoids injury)
So for example, if you have a 30 minute workout planned for today, the real time you will need is at least 40 minutes to include your warm up and cool down.
Rest Days
Most people take up running to improve their fitness level. But your actual improvement in fitness happens during the recovery phase, not during the workout phase. Recovery is when your body heals, adjusts, and incorporates the changes caused by the stresses incurred during the workout. To put it simply – no rest, no gains.
That’s why you must take a rest day in between workouts. A rest day means a day off from activities that require running. You don’t necessarily need to spend it sitting on the sofa eating ice cream, you can still do yoga , go swimming, or ride a bike.
By developing a good rest day habit, you will:
- Make faster progress toward your running goal
- Avoid burn out from too much running
- Find it easier to stick to your program
These three good habits are just to get you started thinking in the right direction. You cans find more running tips for beginners by clicking the Beginner category to the right.
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