Running is great exercise, but many struggle with how to get started. Here are some tips.
Few things are more daunting than lacing up your shoes and heading out the door to attempt a run for the first time. You know it’s healthy – but you may be concerned about feeling pain or even embarrassment with your pace or fitness level. Running is hard.
We aim to ease your nerves with practical tips.
To find out the best physical and emotional strategies for new runners, we spoke with Jeremy Golden, the former Director of Sports Performance at Santa Clara University, the former Strength and Conditioning Coach for The University of Virginia Women’s Basketball Team, and the current Director of Fitness at Tehama Golf Club in Carmel, California, and Marcos Esquivel, CSCS, the owner and lead trainer at MDE Athletics in Chandler, Arizona.
How to start running?
People who want to make a positive change for their health and follow through with it generally have something in common: purpose.
“Breakups are good for business,” Esquivel says with a laugh. “There’s often a major paradigm shift in their life – a health scare is another example. Sometimes people realize that their health is at risk, and they want to be there for their kids. They want to make a change because they realize other people depend on them being here,” he adds.
Purpose doesn’t have to be something as dramatic as a breakup or a health scare, but having something to motivate you is often key for starting and maintaining a running habit.
One thing that holds some people back is a fear of being judged about their current fitness level. One refuge for people who want to run in a judgment-free and supportive atmosphere is the Slow AF Run Club – a virtual community designed to support each other.
How should a beginner start running?
Running is a mechanical motion that requires good technique, both for speed and efficiency and for reducing the risk of injury. Golden recommends starting slow. “You crawl before you begin to walk, you walk before you run. You don’t want to go all out right away because then you put yourself at risk for injury.”
Golden recommends working on running mechanics and having a baseline strength level to make sure that your body can handle the level of pounding that comes with running. “Any time I’ve been around a cross-country runner, and they’ve been successful, they’ve gotten stronger. They haven’t forgotten about the weight room. To run faster for longer, you have to have good strength,” he emphasizes.
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What are good running mechanics?
In an interview with Nike, Jes Woods, a Nike running coach, ultramarathoner and ultra and trailhead coach for Brooklyn Track Club, says she tells people to stand tall and keep their shoulders and hands relaxed. Additionally, she encourages her runners to have their feet landing directly under their hips – which will inadvertently help you land on the midpart of your foot, the ideal position. She also advises against taking long or bouncy strides, as this can lead to injury.
Which muscles should I focus on strengthening?
For runners, Golden emphasizes the need to strengthen the posterior chain, particularly your glutes and hamstrings. He says that many athletes (and people in general) tend to be quad-dominant, which makes the posterior chain even more important. He recommends a few exercises:
Romanian deadlifts
Leg curls
Glute bridges
Squats (to 90 degrees, if you can get there!)
Esquivel adds that directly training your hip flexors can also be helpful. Along with the exercises above, lunges and mountain climbers are a good way to stretch and strengthen the hip flexors.
Starting running is going to be hard. It may even be painful. But if you can find your “why” and follow safe techniques, you’re on your way to developing a healthy habit!
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to start running and avoid runners injuries in the process