How To Begin Jogging and Running
Top 5 Tips
Want to know how to begin jogging? 
You do?
GREAT! You have most certainly come to the right place.
I have a wealth of experience in helping people to start jogging, including my wife whose previous attempts to start running had failed due to painful knees.
2 years on and she has now completed numerous 10k, half and full marathons including the notoriously challenging Hastings and Beachy Head Marathons.
How to Start Jogging - Implications
Jogging and Running are considered to be an aerobic activity which when performed regularly can promote cardiovascular health and fitness, while managing body weight and composition. A full explanation can be found here on the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. On the flip side, it is also crucial to understand that the very nature of jogging/running means that it can place a huge demand on the body, especially in terms of the impact forces which are generated every time your feet hit the ground. Impact forces can reach as much as 8 times body weight which can cause long term consequences such as cartilage wear and tear in the ankle, knee and hip joints if not managed correctly.
How to Begin Jogging - The Top 5
Get the Right Trainers
The most important tip I can give for anyone wanting to know how to begin jogging is to buy the correct footwear for the job.
As beings with highly individual physical make up, when our feet touch the ground, our bodies respond in different ways.
Some individuals have a tendency to be flat footed, while others have high arches, some may be more toe orientated while others more heal. In addition, the foot can roll inwards as we travel, which is called pronation. All of these factors determine the type of running shoes that you need.
I highly recommend going to a good sports shop with the facility to measure your foot strike pattern and thus advise on the correct footwear for you.
Time taken to do this is time well spent and will help to keep the risk of injury minimal.
Begin Jogging With Walk/Runs
When teaching beginners how to start jogging, I always suggest starting off with walk/run sessions.
These sessions typically last from 10 to 20 minutes, depending upon initial fitness levels. A typical session involves 5 minutes of power walking, with short periods of jogging lasting 30 seconds to 2 minutes, returning back to power walking and then repeating this cycle for the designated period of time.
The beauty of this approach is that it enables your body to adapt very gradually to the heavier impact forces of jogging, while still enabling the completion of a reasonable exercise period.
Over time, the amount of time spent walking can be reduced while time spent jogging is increased. Once 15 to 20 minutes of jogging can be completed in one go, then jogging session time can be increased.
Increase Jog Time Gradually and SLOWLY
One of the most common mistakes made by people who begin jogging is to go out running every day.
The problem with this type of approach is that the introduction of a high impact activity performed with such frequency can wreak havoc on unaccustomed joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles often resulting in the activity being abandoned - never to be performed again!
For complete beginners I advise starting with 10 - 20 minutes, performed at most, 4 and ideally 3 times for the first few weeks. (see section below.) When you begin jogging intermittently in this manner, the body is allowed to recover and adapt in preparation for the next session.
Another mistake is to be too eager to increase the duration of your sessions. I often see people increasing from 20 minute runs to 60 minute runs within a matter of a couple of weeks. Again, this is setting yourself up for failure and a much more gradual approach is the way forwards.
Personally I suggest increasing total time spent jogging/running/walking over the week by 5 minutes. An example would be having two sessions increase by 2.5 minutes each, while the 3rd stays as it was the previous week. Now I know this doesn’t sound much, but after 4 weeks of this, total run duration for the month would have increased by 20 minutes which is a significant increase!
Stretch!
Stretching should be performed after and ideally between every session.
Stretching serves to maintain flexibility which in turn promotes recovery and injury prevention. A failure to stretch regularly increases the tension in muscles used which over time can lead to injury.
Stretches should primarily focus on the feet, calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, glutes and illiotibial band; supplementary stretches should also be performed for the back, shoulders and core regions.
Set Goals!
Every exercise program should have an ultimate goal. Through identification of goals our programs have a direction and purpose, both powerful motivating factors which set the foundations of successful outcomes!
For example, Mr X identified a long term, overall goal of completing a charity 10 K event within 4 months.
Once the long term goal was identified, intermediate or short term goals were set along the way. Short term goals serve to focus the mind while providing motivation and encouragement that you are heading in the right direction!
In Mr X's case his first short term goal was to complete a 30 minute run, without stopping in week 6.
The next short term goal was in week 9, to run for 45 minutes.
By week 12 he achieved his goal of a 60 minute run, and by week 16 had successfully completed his first 10k run in just over the hour!
So, if you are looking to begin jogging, heed the advice above, begin gradually, be patient and stay focussed.
Best of Luck.
A Personal Recommendation
The Tri Store - Eastbourne
The Tri Store is Eastbournes PREMIER Bike, Run and Swim Store. If you are unsure which running shoes to buy for your foot strike then this is the place for you. Their expert team of professionals can cater for all of your training needs and offer friendly advice and top quality equipment.
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