Best Tips for runners
Running can be a great pastime. It’s an activity that allows you to be in touch with your environment, get a nice workout, and have a great time. Running is a popular exercise for a good reason- it is great for the heart and lungs, for weight loss and for the allover condition. When you start running, it can be hard to determine what you need to do to get the best times, increase your speed and what type of shoes you should get. Basically, it’s hard to figure out how to run even though it seems so easy.
Let learn more here by looking at the best five tips for runners.
- Have a good pair of running shoes.
To choose the best shoes for your runs, you need to get form-fitting shoes that support your feet. To do so, try shopping late in the day. Your feet swell throughout the day, with their greatest size being achieved in the evening. If you shop for shoes in the morning, you may find yourself with some tight-fitting shoes that can cause blistering and other uncomfortable side-effects. Don’t just try on the shoes that you’re thinking of buying; walk around the store in them to ensure that they don’t strain your muscles in a weird way. Also, make sure that your toes have room to wiggle around in the tip of the shoe. A shoe that gives your toes a tight fit can lead to painful friction when running.
Do your best to not wear the same shoes jogging for two days in a row. Your feet sweat when you run, and the perspiration drains into the shoes a lot of the time. If you don’t give the sweat in your shoes enough time to dry out, bacteria can grow, causing the odor to permeate from your shoes. Also, wearing the same shoes day after day causes any troublesome pressure spots in the shoe to rub against the same part of the feet every day, possibly leading to blisters.
- Keep StretchingStretching is of the utmost importance to runners. A study conducted showed that runners who stretched three times per day reduced their risk of leg injury by 12%. To help keep your running muscles flexible, it’s important to perform calf, hamstring, and quadriceps stretches. In addition to helping protect yourself against injury, having additional flexibility in your muscles helps you to avoid painful cramps.
- Stay hydrated when running.
One of the biggest threats of running is the chance of dehydration faced by those who are unaware of their body’s needs. Perspiration causes the body to lose much of its water content, and you need to counteract this factor by regularly drinking water before, during, and after your run.
- Build up your mileage
Build up your mileage so that you are running three or four days a week. If you have to start with a mile, then that is where you start. But make goals to build up that range by at least a mile per week. So even if you start at zero, by the time week six rolls around you will be doing 6 miles three or four times per week.
Build up to doing about 15 miles three or 4 times per week. Once you hit 15 miles, then you may think about testing your legs and lungs in shorter 5k or 10k races. Getting some short race experience is good preparation for your long distance marathon run, and it will get you excited to continue your training.
- Have Correct Nutrition
If you eat a healthy, balanced diet, you will be getting all the nutrients you need to exercise regularly and prevent injury. Fat and Carbohydrate form the two main sources of energy used during running. Carbohydrates come from starchy foods and supply your muscles with sugar (glucose) for energy during exercise. Starchy foods provide your muscles with the glucose they need. During periods of prolonged exercise, fat is also used for energy supply.
Protein is a minor source of energy but more importantly it helps to repair and build your muscles. Consuming a meal/drink high in protein immediately after a run can help your body to repair any damage to your muscles and help you stay injury free.
Summary
Running is all about a series of goals. You have to keep your eye on those goals. Just remember to start from where you are, even if you have never run a block in your life, you can start today. Take it slow, take it easy, listen to your body and set goals and then strive to reach those goals.
