Running For Weight Loss: Ultimate Beginners Guide (eBook)

1. Simon’s Top Ten Tips

Most people think they know how to run – we have all run for a bus, or to catch a ball, so we think we know what running is. They think starting a running programme will be just as easy, so they start to run the next day, promising themselves they will do it regularly from now on.

They end up sweaty, exhausted, and with aching muscles – they wake up stiff and uncomfortable the next morning and all their good intentions go straight out of the window, along with their brand new running shoes!

I don’t want that to happen to you – I want you to succeed in losing that weight, so here are my Top Ten Tips to help get you started and keep you running!

1. Start Slowly and Build Gradually!

If you think you can start by running five miles a day – please think again. Exposing your body to sudden, strenuous exercise, particularly if you have never done any serious running before, can be harmful and unnecessarily painful.

Don’t try to do any running at all right away if you have never run in your life or, even worse, have not done any form of exercise. Depending on your age and your present physical condition, it can be harmful or even downright dangerous.

Start with walking, which will help you improve your cardiovascular health. Don’t try to do too much at the beginning or you will suffer for it and put yourself off. Start by running or walking short distances, maybe once a week to begin with. Then begin some slow jogging and finally start to include periods of running. You need to give your body time to adjust and get familiar with this new activity, before you try to do too much.

As you get into the swing of it, gradually increase the distance, the duration, and the number of sessions per week. You’ll find that, if you persevere with regular running sessions, your body will be able to tackle greater distances and endure longer sessions as you gradually increase your body’s resilience

Once you are into a regular running plan, don’t suddenly try to do sprints right away in the hope of losing weight faster. Nor do you want to overdo the length of time you run or the distance – it won’t help you lose weight faster, but it can lead to injury and set you back even further.

Chapter 5 will give you a well paced schedule, especially designed for beginners like you.

2. Think long term habits and not quick fixes

Chances are that you have been overweight and probably sedentary not just for a few weeks or months but for years. Weight gain does not happen overnight and yet so many people try to lose weight and get fit in just a few short weeks. While this degree of drive and enthusiasm is admirable, doing too much too soon is a sure fire path to falling off the fitness wagon and giving it all up before achieving anything much in the way of results.

Exercise, specifically running, will deliver amazing fitness and weight loss results but not instantly so please don’t expect to undo years of overeating and under-exercising in a few weeks. Exercise is “big medicine” and like any medicine, you have to give it time to work.

Your first run is a start of a rewarding journey on which you will rediscover your health, fitness and ideal weight. Along the way you might develop an interest in running races or other types of exercise. You will also hopefully find that, once you reach your weight and fitness goals, you actually enjoy the whole process of strapping on your shoes and heading out for a run so enjoyable that you want to continue despite not actually needing to lose more weight.

Getting fit and losing weight is an admirable pursuit but it’s not a short trip lasting a couple of months but a long journey with no real end. To experience the many benefits associated with exercise, you need to do more than just an occasional workout or exercise for a couple of weeks. Instead, you need to make exercise part of your weekly schedule from now and for the foreseeable future.

The word habit is often associated with unhealthy things like smoking or drinking too much alcohol but not all habits are bad for you. Make exercise a habit and you will reap some amazing benefits – you just have to stick with it.

3. Vary Your Routine

Changing your workout routine is a very important part of your weight loss programme. After a while, if you keep to the same routine, you may find that you stop losing weight and some runners are tempted to abandon their programme at this point.

The simple explanation is that your body adapts to any new situation and can become accustomed to a running program. It has become more efficient and requires fewer calories to do the same work, so your weight loss slows down and, after a few weeks, may stop altogether.

The solution is to vary the period, distance, or intensity of your running. Try increasing the distance, lengthening the time of each run, or running at a faster pace. This gives your muscles a fresh challenge and your body has to burn more calories to meet it.

You can also challenge your body by changing your diet (see Chapter 6). Increased activity and changed diet is a potent combination in the fight to lose weight.

Stick to your schedule and you will achieve your weight loss goal while still enjoying your running!

4. Monitor Your Heart Rate

Running and other exercise, when done properly, can actually help your heart beat slower. When you are relaxed (at night or when you first wake up), your pulse rate is slower which means your heart is successfully pumping enough blood throughout the body with every beat.

Do a simple test – check your heart rate every morning just after you wake up. If your pulse rate is 10% higher today than yesterday, it means you may be overdoing your exercise. Continue your running program when your heart beat is back to normal.

You can also use your heart rate to monitor your workout intensity. Although this is a more advanced technique and will be covered in the sequel to this book, here is a simple equation to help you do this…

220 – age in years = your maximum heart rate

You should try to keep your heart rate at 60 to 90 percent of this figure during your runs.

For example, if you are 40 years old…

220 – 40 = 180

60% = 108 beats per minute

90% = 162 beats per minute

By keeping your heart rate between 60-90% of your maximum heart rate, you are sure to be working at the right level to improve your fitness and health. If your heart rate is too low, you are not really exercising hard enough to trigger the changes that will result in improved fitness and health. However, if your hear rate goes much above the 90% point, you are working harder than you need to and will probably have to cut your workout short.

How do you monitor your heart rate? Good question! You can place your first two fingers on your carotid pulse (under your jaw) or on your radial pulse (on the underside of your wrist below your thumb) and count the number of beats per minute or you can buy a heart rate monitor watch and chest strap. Both options work but remember, as a novice runner, your pulse rate during exercise is nice to know and not necessarily essential.

5. Listen to your body.

Running is a natural and simple form of exercise but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t without risk – albeit very low. After running, it is normal to feel tired, and your muscles may ache. If, however, you feel any chest pain, become very out of breath, feel dizzy, sick or weak or are in any other way feeling out of sorts, you should drop running and report any symptoms to your doctor.

Likewise, while tired and slightly achy muscles are quite likely early in your running career, real pain is not. Muscle soreness is caused by doing more than your body is accustomed to. It’s nature’s way of telling you to take it easy and build up gradually.

On the other hand, sharp pain in your muscles or joints may mean you have overdone it and actually caused some mild damage to your body. Only you can know the difference. If, as you warm up, the discomfort dissipates, chances are it was just a bit of post-exercise muscle stiffness. If, however, the discomfort gets worse rather than better as you warm up, it may well be an injury that needs rest.

Always listen to your body, act on the information it is sending you and don’t be afraid to take a day or two off running if you feel any unusual aches or pains. Remember what I told you in point two – think long term habit rather than look for a quick fix. An extra day of rest today could mean being able to run better tomorrow. Conversely, running when injured may well mean you need to take more than just a day or two off training.

6. Run with a friend

Unlike swimming, cycling and aerobic classes, running allows you to happily chat with a friend as you work out. I’d go so far as to say that if you CAN’T chat to a friend as you run, you are probably running too fast!

In addition to being sociable, running with a friend provides motivation and helps to reinforce your commitment to exercise. By setting “running dates” with someone else, you are much less likely to skip a workout or put your run off until tomorrow. You have made a double-commitment by agreeing to a “running date” – to yourself and your running partner.

Running with a friend can also give you your first taste of competitive running. Trying to keep pace with someone slightly fitter than you can push you just beyond your comfort zone...