You Are Jogging Wrong? Guide to Jogging
When we look for exercise to keep our bodies healthy, a lot of people will choose jogging.
Jogging is free. You can wear your existing sportswear and sports shoes to jog. You can also select any open public area to jog.
The problem is that some people think jogging needs no guidance. This may have harmful consequences.
Let me share my experience. When COVID struck, I face a long-term lockdown, I am getting fat, I am getting weak. After the pandemic alleviated for a little bit, I tried jogging, while wearing mask, bringing no water, choosing a crowding timing to jog on a narrow path, and this was a total disaster.
I am seriously exhausted. I am lucky that my fat and clumsy body still has the energy to avoid crashing into people on the route time and time again. And I am fortunate that this happened in Winter, otherwise I will already have suffered from heat stroke.
One important lesson to take is that jogging is easy to start, but it doesn't mean that you can know nothing and start recklessly.
Let us go through the beginner guide to jog. From selecting location and time, to equipment and routine management.
This is Antlerium PotatoNews, a series focusing on the daily lives of ordinary people, including habits. Today we explore an exercise - jogging.
Jogging pose
The first thing you must know is that jogging should last for at least 20-30 minutes. This is an aerobic exercise. We are not sprinting, we are like attending a marathon.
To waste as less energy as possible, you must learn the proper posing.
- Body
- Relax. Stay as straight as possible, but keep the shoulders facing forward.
- Arms
- Keep elbows at an angle of about 90 degrees. Swing the arms naturally and rhythmically (synchronize with feet) back and forth
- Feet
- Land on the ground with the entire foot (sprinting is with tiptoe)
- Sight
- Stare upfront, not the ground.
Following this pose can help anyone to jog longer. But good posing is not enough to make one jog longer. Jogging is an aerobic exercise, breathing is also an important aspect to deal with.
Breathing during jogging
When you are breathing during jogging, stay natural. You don't need to synchronize with your feet, but you still have to keep it in sync.
If you cannot keep up the breathing pace, this is a signal that you are at your limit, you need to rest now.
Everyone has a body limit, and for the beginner, it can be around 10 minutes. Yes, it is recommended to jog for at least 20 - 30 minutes, but switching to walking for a little rest is also acceptable.
Breathing is a signal to see whether you need the walking break. After your breath is stabilized you can jog again.
When you do any aerobic exercise, including jogging, it is highly inconvenient to wear masks. That disturbs fast pace breathing. If the law requires you to wear a mask outside, you have no choice, you must wear it when jogging. But when you have the choice, DON'T WEAR MASK.
If you have any respiratory disease, for example, flu, you should arrange more walking breaks than normal circumstances. Of course, staying at home is the most appropriate option. But if jogging is a habit, you want to do it anyway, then you should prevent fast pace breathing at all costs.
Control breathing, prevent disturbance, arrange walking breaks properly. These are the tips to help you jog longer.
Stay hydrated
Doing fine on posing and breathing is great, but stay hydrated would by highly appreciated. Always bring a bottle of water for good.
I was fine at that time because it was Winter. In high-temperature seasons like Summer, with increasing body temperature during exercise, plus the high atmospheric temperature, it is likely to get heat stroke.
Heat stroke is a sign of dehydration.
So, always bring water to prevent any chance to get heat stroke.
Location - jogging route matter
Now you are ready to jog. You know the pose, you know the breathing technique. Jogging really needs no equipment except water. Jogging with sports shoes and sportswear is common sense. But the route, seriously, must be chosen wisely.
Always consider 2 factors when selecting a jogging route: safety and accessibility.
Safety is the most important factor. To achieve maximum safety, the route must:
- Get rid of vehicular and pedestrian traffic as much as possible. Get rid of any possibility to face crashes.
- Have a flat, stable, and smooth pavement, to reduce running resistance and the risk of injury.
- Have sufficient safety facilities and emergency rescue measures to ensure your safety and health.
- Keep out of direct sunlight as much as possible. Less sunlight means cooler, fewer chance to get heat stroke.
To achieve maximum accessibility, the route must:
- Meet your time. Every time you jog, you can use that route openly.
- Close to shower place or changing room, or close to your home. Every time after exercise you are sweaty and smelly. Without facilities to clean yourself up, you and your surrounding people would be uncomfortable.
- Have multiple exits. In case of emergency, you can shorten the route and early leave.
Take my poor experience as an example. The route started from the entrance of my home estate, and after a short turn around the estate, I had to cross the road, and then there was a rural narrow pathway full of bumps and twists, all the way to a beach. I must pass that beach to fulfil the 30-minute duration.
I have maxed out the accessibility, but it is full of risk. If you are not that athletic, this route is not suited for you. That's why there are always sacrifices. You need to maximize both safety and accessibility, but you may need to prioritize safety over accessibility, forgoing the most accessible option.
One expensive approach to have the best of both worlds is to get a treadmill at home. One reason I no longer jog outside is that I have a treadmill at home. I can set 25 minutes and 3km/h, and I will jog without leaving my home. Efficient!
Sports arena is also a good option, maybe the best free option. For urban people, finding a sports ground is easy. But if you really want to be as economically friendly as possible, circling around the estate podium is also fine.
By the way, if your route is basically circulation, run anticlockwise. Turn left is more comfortable than turn right.
Technically, jogging can be done anywhere. It is still recommended to play safe, optimize safety and accessibility.
Schedule a jogging period
After finding the best route, you must find the best time.
Most people will choose to jog at dawn. This is early morning, they don't have to go to work yet. This is perhaps the best period for them. After working they are tired and maybe unmotivated to do exercise.
But not everyone can wake up early, that's why a few of them choose to jog in the evening.
Schedule jogging is easy. You just need to think of these 2 possible options and choose the suitable one.
Jogging routine
Jogging is a middle-to-low intensity exercise. You can do it everyday. For newbies, doing it every other day is recommended.
If your legs feel hurt after jogging, rest until the hurt is gone. Don't force yourself to jog everyday, this is not how you get healthy.
Conclusion
Jogging is an easy exercise, but you still have to get posing and breathing right. Well equip is easy, always remind yourself to bring water.
Find the time to jog is easy, just consider early morning or evening. But for the route, you must design the safest option.
This is the guide to jogging. To learn more about habits or other topics related to our ordinary life, make sure to follow PotatoNews. We will also post some cliffsnotes on our socials, make sure to follow them.
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