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I can jog! (Solved)
Arivia
I Like A ChallengeEarth-1Registered User regular
I Like A ChallengeEarth-1Registered User regular
I'm used to doing hour-long quick paced walks for exercise, but to be honest my body's pretty used to it by now and I'd like to do something slightly more weight-lossy. (Also if I understand my doctor right from my checkup earlier this summer it would be some cardio instead of just having thighs you could bounce a quarter off of.)
So I'm figuring, why not add a little jogging in and build from there?
My problem is that I have no idea how to actually jog. Like I pick up the pace and my arms go out like I'm Vanille on a bender. I feel really stupid doing it and it feels really inefficient.
Also, when is it best to jog? Beginning? End? Midway through? Does this mean I should be adding some rudimentary stretches in?
So I'm figuring, why not add a little jogging in and build from there?
My problem is that I have no idea how to actually jog. Like I pick up the pace and my arms go out like I'm Vanille on a bender. I feel really stupid doing it and it feels really inefficient.
Also, when is it best to jog? Beginning? End? Midway through? Does this mean I should be adding some rudimentary stretches in?
Arivia on
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As for when to jog in your workout, do it about mid way through your power walk. You say you walk for about an hour? Well, walk for about 5-10 minutes to warm up and then start jogging. Jog until you can't jog anymore. Then walk again until you are feeling up to jogging again. Rinse and repeat until you are done. Eventually you will want to jog the whole hour, but realistically that may not happen for a bit. Pace yourself, but challenge yourself.
And always stretch before doing any workout. Stretch your calves and your quads. Don't run on your heels either, you will want to use the balls of your feet.
This. When I try to work my way up to a jog, I start doing this.
How do I stop?
I took PE seven years ago.
For Men-Folk:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJm4zQJVbrY
For The Ladies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw24OtumS5w&feature=related
Both have some follow up vids for more demonstrations and details.
As for pacing, I just don't really focus on covering distance, just keeping my legs moving and controlling my breathing. Until I lost a bit of weight I felt much more comfortable on a treadmill setting it around 5.5 mph.
Erm well if you're asking about jogging form, try this:
First of all, hold your arms so that they are touching your sides. Keep your elbow at a 90 degree angle, with your hands in a direct line in front of you. As you move, pretend like you are reaching in front of you for something just in front of your hand. Or, imagine that your hands are pulling you along. DO NOT let your hands cross in front of your body; you want your hands to stay on the same side of the body they are on.
Keep your hands loose and relaxed but not floppy. One tip I heard was to pretend you are holding a coin lightly between your thumb and forefinger. This keeps your hand controlled but not tense. If you find your hands making fists as you run, shake out your hands then go back to the coin trick.
Does that answer your question or did I completely miss the point?
She means she runs like Hugh Grant.
So I went out tonight and did my usual path but mixed some jogging in. I was able to keep my arms relatively under control (thanks for the links and tips) but I've got to work on unclenching my fists and I should probably not be making big swoopy cutting motions in front of myself.
The jogging definitely cut down on my cycle time around the path; I was down to somewhere between 45-55 minutes, I'll take a better timing now that I've figured out my watch again. I wasn't jogging all the time, more like one to two minutes here and there, but I could definitely feel it. I've set myself some smaller goals to look forward to - stuff like "jog all the way up that big hill" and so on.
That said, I do need to look up some stretches - I have this feeling the sharp pain I got in my side at one point was the fact that I basically didn't stretch. I also need to figure out what to do with all the stuff I'm carrying - iPod classic, wallet, keys all add up and having a water bottle in one hand wasn't great. I'm glad I took a smaller bottle though instead of my hard plastic standard, that would have been hell to swing.
Furthermore, I think part of my issues yesterday were to do with some stupid decisions I made, so I've made a checklist of things not to repeat:
-don't exercise in jeans
-exercise closer to dusk or dawn, not over noon hour
-don't cross-pollinate exercising and errands
-don't take a backpack
Don't take that to mean that you shouldn't stretch, I just wouldn't want you to stretch, get a stitch anyway, think "WTF is this shit, I did things right this time," and give up.
No worries. It fits like a glove, and the stitch didn't stick around for too long, maybe 5 or so minutes. I think it was just my body sending out 'oh god what the fuck are you doing' signals since it happened right at the beginning and I like I alluded to, this is the first time I've really intentionally jogged in a long while.
To jog properly it will depends on the fitness levels. for the totally unfit person if you are reasonably fit warm up and stretch advice for the unfit (Firstly, it is recommended that you check with your doctor before embarking on any form of exercise). Illness does not have to be an obstacle, many runners are asthmatic, diabetic, suffer from Crohn’s disease, IBS, high blood pressure, Alzheimers, etc and running can also ease the pain/trauma of cancer for some runners. So better to check your fitness first .
Thank you.
Point is, definitely don't give up, just getting started with it is the most frustrating part.
I think the coordination thing will come when your muscles are comfortable doing actions they're not used to. Try doing a few leg strengthening exercises at home as well as core maybe? For some reason when I've done core consistently everything else gets easier, and when I haven't been doing anything for a while and try jogging my stomach always gets sore. As for the arms thing, I know sprinters love keeping their arms glued to their sides but just swing them in whatever way is comfortable to you. The swing (so I've heard) will increase your stride length ever so much and make running a bit easier.
Good luck, hope some (or any) of this helped!
Thanks for all the help, especially Enc, Spacemilk, and KrubicksCube.
I've got a general handle on things now, so I'm gonna mark this closed and keep an eye on the D&D and SE health-stuff threads.
Thanks again to everyone!
Good luck!
if I have the spare breath I'm usually screaming out death metal, so I have the whole extra-fun part covered. Thanks though!
Arivia, for core strengthening excercises, I would recommend doing planks during your "off" days if you're not running every day. I don't know if you've done planks before, but it's pretty straightforward: Make a plank with your body and hold it for as long as possible! You want to keep your body as straight as you can - don't give in to the temptation to let your butt sag, or stick your butt up. It helps to do it in front of a mirror. Keep your hands about shoulder-width apart and sit there like you are extending out of a pushup, then hold for as long as you can. If you need to, keep your knees down until you can handle keeping them up. You might only be able to do it for 10-20 seconds at a time at first, but keep at it til you can hold it for much longer! I'm not sure how clear my explanation was, so maybe youtube it for a better idea.
I'm glad to hear everything is working out for you!
Also, stretches: Yes do stretches beforehand. This is a good thing to Youtube because any explanation is going to take a lot of words but probably won't give a good picture.
Clothes: Yeah jeans are probably no good. Wear light breathable fabrics. Old t-shirts are best, with some cotton shorts. Are you a girl? If so sports bras are the bomb and will make a big difference.
Water bottle: If you are a big water drinker and find yourself getting thirsty fast but don't want to deal with a bulky bottle in your hand the entire time, you can either (a) plan your run so you go past places with drinking fountains, or (b) invest in a Camelbak or similar product. (Camelbak is a very lightweight, slim backpack that has a water bladder in it, and a tube comes around to the front for very easy drinking. It's great for hiking, too)