Training Schedule for Beginner runners: start running today

The average Human Being eats\drinks an average of 2500 Kcal per day without doing any kind of exercise. Our body will spent this “fuel” through the ordinary routines( sleep, walk, sit, eat, read, etc.) , however the excess of fuel will remain accumulated in our bodies as fat .

An adult individual needs on average 90 Kcal to run one mile, which gives us an idea of how much we can benefit from running a couple of miles per day. Beyond the obvious advantage of running over other sports in terms of reducing body fat, it is also one of the best form of exercise you will find :

-you can do it almost anywhere

-it promotes your cardio fitness and endurance as no other sport can

-can be practiced whether you age is 9 or 99

-it is incredibly cheap compared to other sports

When I first decided to give it a more serious try about 6 years ago I found my self trapped in the classic beginners question: how do I start? do I need to focus on time or distance? is it better to run hard short workouts or long slow ones?

After some research I ended up almost at the same point as the tons plans, advice, blogs, etc. that were available seemed confuse things even further. That`s when I asked my brother, a former pro athlete in the 5,000m and 10,000m distances, for a basic instruction.

Firstly he told me that the most important thing, prior to start running, was to follow some general guidelines and stick to them no matter what:

-know exactly the line beyond which my health can be in danger

-establish and follow as strict as possible a running routine

-give priority to the time I spend running as speed or distance are not a concern for now

-learn to enjoy running

So after a lot of trial and error let me share with you the most important things I`ve learned from 6 years running

1- Running is about health not injury

After consulting your doctor and hopefully being confirmed as a healthy individual, you should also know your heart limits ( maximum heart rate tolerated by your organism) and your muscle limits ( usually this is better asserted after the first running sessions and hopefully will naturally evolve side by side with your training).

There is plenty information at the web regarding this issue and the main rule to follow is: use common sense . Despite the “no pain no game” approach widely spread among sports culture, do yourself a favor and pause the game when pain arises-it can come from a different location that you thought and be more serious than you think it is. Believe me your body is your best friend here.

A good warm up and cool down must become a deep rooted habit so you can prepare your body for the exercise and bring it back to earth when the workout is over.

Walk, strides and dynamic stretches like butt-kicks or skipping are a good place to start but you can add everything as it works best for you.

Another Key aspect is choosing the right running shoes to prevent injuries and give you maximum comfort so that you can focus on what really matters: running. Every person has a different type of foot , however there are 3 basic types of feet and you can check you own doing a simple test on a running store or just by analyzing your shoe sole pattern.

2- Running schedule for Beginners: routine yourself!

Before starting to run check your agenda and manage your daily routine so you can guarantee the next 4 weeks you have at least one hour to forget everything and focus your mind and body on your running session.

The 4 week plan I followed as a beginner for almost a year is at the table bellow and it is quite easy to understand: Weekdays in the columns,week number in the rows,effective running time ( 30m,40m,..) and an extra information regarding what I call the fast series.

The first of these fast series appears at week 2 on Friday. Basically these are cool downs made of 6x 60 Yards sprints that are good after long sessions-they burn additional fuel, they give you additional cardio endurance and they help the muscles to relax after a continuous repeated movement.

This is a 4 week that actually lasted almost an year for me as despite being quite simple is very effective: I lost 15 pounds in the first 6 weeks without going mad over a diet, and found myself running for 70 minutes at the end of the 4^th week.. not bad from someone that weighted 200 pounds and hyperventilated after a 20 minute brisk walk..

3- How fast? Wrong. How Long is the KEY

The best way to achieve a good form is to run slow and gradually increase DISTANCE not speed. Why is that?

Simple: the organism burns sugars for the short run and fats for the long run. Doing a 8 mph 15 m session at a beginning level will only cause an early muscular fatigue, pain and overwhelming cardiac stress to your heart and body, which can put your health at risk..

When I started this plan the thing I kept in mind was to always run for the exactly set time no more, no less: didn`t care about the distance, speed, or style, just time. The goal here is to finish it: whether running like a track horse or walking just find yourself a good rhythm at the first 5 minutes ( being able to maintain a conversation with a partner while running is a good rhythm) and then stick to it even if you feel you are going too slow: this gives time for your heart, lungs and muscles to build a strong base that will last for years and is the base of the runner you will be in the future.

4-The pleasure of running

I use to compete as a Swimmer at a semi-pro level during High School and first year at University, however I always hated running or any other sport outside water. At the first weeks of this beginner`s running program I found myself using the mp3 player and checking the watch every minute.

I Guess all I was trying to do was distract my mind not to pay attention to running, however after a while I took a different approach : focusing only in my breathing, on the surroundings, clearing my mind from everything during those minutes of exercise. Gradually I began to discover the true essence of running, the pleasure it provides me, to a point that can be healthy addictive. Give yourself a try..

Focus on your breath, on what you hear, on what you see.

Running is much more than just jogging or a brink walk around the park. When you start you`ll soon find there are so many factors , fun and progress to be made that you will soon find yourself talking for hours about running shoes, workouts, GPS watches etc.

It is not an easy sport, in fact is one of the toughest ones if you want it that way , but trust me its one of the most rewarding wisest decisions you`ll ever made in your life: to start running.

Good luck and enjoy the miles!