As a new runner, I found that much of the information available was both confusing and inconsistent. If fact, in some cases, it could even increase chances of injury. So, I’m putting together this beginner’s running guide to help new runners get running in healthy and fun ways, without the confusion.
In this beginner’s guide to running, we will absolutely pull back the covers, and let you in on many of the secrets successful runners implement to have amazing results, build amazing bodies, and stay healthy, including our Ground-Zero Quickstart Running Method.
You and I will look at the unbelievable benefits you can get from running: from your mind to your joints, to your heart and lowering your risk from some of the biggest killer diseases, and the studies to prove it!
Who Am I?
That said, who am I? I am a running aficionado and endurance athlete. I’ve completed half marathons, sprint and olympic triathlons as well as a full ironman triathlon.
With many running miles comes many running experiences. I’ve been running on cloud nine feeling the runners high, then the next day, feet up, in pain, unable to run because of injury. So, with that spectrum experience, I’d love to be able to share some of that experience to you, so you feel the runner’s high…and just the high!
In this comprehensive guide, topics that will be covered are:
- Chapter One: Overall Running Benefits
- Chapter Two: Running and Weight Loss
- Chapter Three: Strength Training for Runners and Weight Loss
- Chapter Four: Running Technique
- Chapter Five: Sample Beginner Running Program
- Chapter Six: Build Your Running Gear
- Conclusion – It’s Time to Lace Up
Also, links to Amazon and identified as such are affiliate links and may result in a commission to this website.
Chapter One: Overall Running Benefits
Running is such a powerful workout:
- it can improve your mood,
- it can can benefit your entire body.
Let’s dig into some of these amazing, running benefits.
Mental Health
Incredibly, running can improve your mood and make you happier. It’s truly amazing how running for 20–30 minutes can completely change your perspective and improve your thinking and mood.
For example, I can shamelessly say that on more than one occasion, I have felt stress, frustration, and a little trapped by life around me. But after running for 30–45 minutes, I have come back feeling much less stressed and feeling much more positive and confident. And that mental improvement will last for 2–3 days!
Now, you know what is really genius? Science backs me up.
In a 2012 study in The Gale Encyclopedia of Fitness, it was found that running is effective in decreasing depression, stress, anxiety and tension.
Hah! I love it! Feeling down? Lace up, and run!
Don’t believe me? Harvard Health found that the effects of running can in some people be just as effective as antidepressants!
Not only that, but running boosts mental alertness and improves sleep, which are essential for good mental health. Another study done in the same year (2012) in the Journal of Adolescent Health showed that running for thirty minutes each week day for three weeks improved sleep and psychological functioning!
Another study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2016) with a small sample size of young adults found that after seven weeks of running intervals, the participants had improvements noted in both cognitive flexibility and aerobic fitness.
If for no other reason at all, running can make a positive impact on your mental and emotional health. And that alone makes running the ultimate workout.
Get this! Back On My Feet uses running to get homeless people back…uh…on their feet! In all seriousness, they have helped thousands of people get housing and stay employed by getting them involved with running. If that isn’t the best testament to the power of running to improve your life, I don’t know what is.
But let’s keep going, there are more benefits.
Running May Actually Be BENEFICIAL for Your Knees
Is running bad for you knees? Well, don’t say yes too fast.
A study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology (2016) found that running may in fact be beneficial to the knee joint facilitating changes to the biochemical environment inside the knee that help the knee to work more smoothly.
In more laymen’s terms, they also recognized that degenerative joint disease is widely recognized to be caused by chronic, low-grade inflammation. After running for 30 minutes, they were able to determine the inflammatory promoting cytokines had lower concentrations in the knee. In other words, the chemicals in your knees that cause inflammation were not as concentrated.
Other studies Arthritis Care and Research (2016) and American Journal of Sports Medicine (2017) suggest that the chance of developing osteoarthritis in runners are lower than non-runners.
So there you go! Running can provide benefits for your knees! The real knee killer is chronic inflammation. Here is where recovery comes into play, to allow your joints and muscles time to repair themselves. More on that later!
Cardiovascular Benefits
While, cardiovascular benefits from running seem to be more common knowledge, it’s still important to highlight them.
A study done in 2014 found that running is associated with a 45% reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
In a Harvard Study, people that had already experienced a heart attack were 20% less likely to have serious heart problems when they participated in aerobic activities or running. The key from this study was consistent exercise. Not epic workouts done occasionally, but 30 minutes a day. This same workout length shows up in many of the research findings we’ve cited so far.
Finally, another study showed that engaging in moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercises was associated with favorable cardiovascular biomarker profile. Running does fit as moderate to vigorous intensity exercise, which as demonstrated in the study, improved many of the measures of cardiovascular health.
The cardiovascular benefits are undeniable. Next, we’ll look at other diseases that can be improved with running.
Decrease the Risk of Diabetes and Developing Cancer
Now, we’ve seen the mental and cardiovascular benefits from running. Let’s look as some other diseases that kill a lot of us today.
According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2018, 34.2 million Americans had diabetes.
Now get this! A study done in 2013 found that running reduced the risk of hypertension by 4%. And, get this, reduced the risk of diabetes by 12%! Thats significant!
The American Cancer Society found 1.7 million new American cancer cases in 2018. And in the same year almost 610,000 died.
Contrast that with different studies that have shown that running helps to reduce the risk of cancer. One specific study in 2014 found that if you expend 7.5–12.5 MET hours/week (equivalent of running for 30 minutes for 2–4 days per week), you could reduce your risk of kidney cancer by 61%! And another study in 2019 found that higher cardiorespiratory fitness with regular exercise reduced lung cancer incidence and mortality.
It’s undeniable that running can provide immense benefit at reducing your risk of some of the serious diseases we now face.
Chapter Two: Running and Weight Loss
Do you find this ironic: the more the United States have focused on obesity and weight loss, the more overweight we have become. The CDC found in a study ending in 1994 that obese people accounted for 22.9% of the population. Fast forward to 2016 and they found that obese accounted for 39.6% of the US population!
On top of that, overweight Americans made up approximately another 32%–33% of the population.
Ouch!
Can Running Help Me Lose Weight?
To answer this question we need to tackle the weight loss equation because unfortunately no exercise alone will help you lose weight.
Yes, there’s not a lot of magic, it’s the balance of calories that count. Now, what running can do is substantially increase the number of calories you burn in a day. But to make that work, you have to be smart with the food you eat before and afterward.
Nutrition Is Key
Food, glorious food. Let’s face it, the majority of us like to eat! And after a long hard run, that desire for food is much stronger.
Not only that, but my bet is that you also feel less guilt over how much of it you eat because you just burned a lot of calories in that run. So, you overshoot.
You overshoot because you don’t pay attention to the number of calories you eat, and two, you over estimate how many calories you burned in the run.
Does that mean you need to adhere to a crazy strict diet? Not necessarily. When challenged to lose weight by eating only certain kinds of food or going on strict diets, you will find it difficult to stay with it long-term and fall off the band wagon at some point.
So, running for weight loss is not as simple putting on your shoes and expecting that the pounds will magically disappear. In order to reach your goal of losing weight, you will have to burn more calories than you consume.
PRO TIP: Before you reach for the candy bar to reward yourself after a run, remember that if your goal is weight loss, you have to create a caloric imbalance.
Now, here are some guidelines put out by Mayo Clinic: 1 lb of fat equals approximately 3,500 calories. With that ratio in mind, you will need to maintain a 500 calorie deficit per day to lose 1 lb per week.
So how do we figure out what we burn?
Calculate Burn Rate
Your body requires a significant amount of energy/calories to perform regular functions including breathing, brain support and contraction of muscles. The energy needed for the body to function while resting over a 24 hour period is the basal metabolic rate or BMR. Your BMR is dependent on your height, weight and age.
Use a BMR as a rough estimate of your basic needs. This estimate will be a good start to monitoring your diet. BMR to your food intake is like your base salary is to your budget!
- Men: BMR = 10 x Weight (Kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (years) + 5
- Women: BMR = 10 x Weight (Kg) + 6.25 x Height (cm) – 5 x age (years) – 161
BMR Calculator
For example, if you weigh 180 lbs (81.65 kg), you are 5ft–8in (172.7cm) tall and are 42 years old and a man, your BMR would come out to 1,691 calories.
All your activity comes on top of this. So, according to the American Council of Exercise, if you run for 30 minutes and you weigh 180 lbs, you’ll burn around 417 calories. Add walking to and from your car at work, and to and from a few meetings, you add another 295 calories.
You’re looking at a grand total calorie budgets of 2,400 calories!
To be at a 500 calorie deficit, you would need to intake 1,900 calories per day.
One of the favorite recovery drinks for runs is chocolate milk! Take a look at the label on that 14 ounce bottle…330 calories! Do you really want to burn almost 20% of your daily calories on that one drink?
Another measurement to consider is your BMI. The BMI is different from your BMR. Your BMI (Body Mass Index) is an indicator of body fat and is also used to by many healthcare organizations to screen weight categories. Higher BMIs may lead to other health problems.
Now assuming you can keep your caloric intake controlled, running can have a greater effect on your BMI than walking as proved by this study. And, that should be expected as the running caloric burn is greater for the same investment of time.
With that base line, you now have the tools to allow running to help you lose weight. The focus is on properly aligning your caloric intake and burn.
There are other factors, for example, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn. However, the actual difference is 4–7 calories/lb additional muscle per day, which is not going to move your needle by much.
For some, there are some other underlying health conditions that can make weight loss more difficult. As stated before, you should review your workout plans with your physician before starting any program.
Okay, with that out of the way, let’s look at some other considerations that can help you optimize your running to help improve weight loss.
Benefit of Running in the Mornings
If you are not a morning person, the following points may provide some motivation to get up early and run anyway. Research suggests that people who do moderate-to-high-intensity aerobic exercise in the morning are more successful at losing weight than compared with those did an evening exercise program.
More importantly, getting your running in early also guarantees that you get your running in before succumbing to excuses like “I am too tired” at the end of the day that would reduce your effort or nix the workout altogether.
Exercising early also helps to turbo charge your metabolism enabling your body to burn more fat. This creates a phenomenon called the after-burn effect which is the expenditure of energy after exercising. Yay for fat burning while you sit on the couch!
An incredible way to maximize this is through HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).
HIIT is a form of exercise that involves a series of short bursts of high-intensity efforts (90%–95% max heart rate for 30 seconds to 3 minutes) followed by short low-intensity rest periods (70% max heart rate for 3–4 minutes).
We will discuss interval running briefly later, which can be used as a form of HIIT workout.
That said, the morning workout is a great option to help ensure you do your workouts consistently.
Sweet Sleep
Another tool that isn’t exactly running, but will increase the effectiveness of any workout regimen is sleep.
Getting a good night’s sleep will help you feel refreshed. Also morning runs aren’t nearly as painful if you wake from a good night’s sleep.
More importantly, adequate sleep will allow your body to recharge and recover (we will cover recovery in more detail shortly).
Adequate sleep at night is also crucial component in your weight loss program. A study found that a full night’s rest facilitated more than half of weight loss to be fat.
Run Types and the One Ideal for Weight Loss?
Now, let’s walk through some common running terms for the types of runs you will hear from experienced runners. By separating the different effort levels, you can hone in on what is most effective for your goals:
- Base Run: This is a short to moderate-length run that is run at a natural pace and is not meant to be challenging.
- Long Run: A long run serves to increase your endurance and should leave you moderately to severely fatigued. The pace is reduced to allow you to maintain it for the whole run.
- Progression Run: This run is begins at your natural pace and ends with a faster portion. They are generally moderately challenging.
- Recovery Run: These are short runs that will be at an easy pace. Perform a recovery run after a hard workout run like an interval run.
- Hill Run: This involves short intervals of hard uphill running. These are done after the base building phase and the runner is ready to transition to a harder high-intensity training program. A hill with a steady moderate gradient of 4 to 6 percent is recommended.
- Fartlek: This is where you would do a base run with a mix of intervals of varying distance and duration.
- Tempo Run: This workout is where you run at the fastest pace that you can sustain for a designated period of time (one hour for runners who are highly fit, twenty minutes for runners who are less fit). This is probably not the best workout if you are a beginner on a weight loss program. This run will include the warm up, middle run (with increased effort) and cool down.
- Intervals: These workout consist of fast high intensity sprints separated by slow jogging, walking or standing recoveries.
Every type listed here is a tool in your belt, however, when weight loss is your goal, there is nothing like running high-intensity intervals. That said, high intensity intervals are also a huge strain on your muscles, and if you do them everyday, you increase your chance of injury. So, understand they are effective, but don’t overdose on them.
The interval workouts have shown to increase fat oxidation while decreasing carbohydrate oxidation, which was before thought to be only something long and slow workouts could do.
But, where HIIT outperforms the long and slow workouts is a concept known as Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). As the name might suggest, this is the post workout fat burn. HIIT has a higher level for longer than long, slow workouts.
So, if you’re running to lose weight, interval or Fartlek runs are going to give you some of those results.
If you want to track your weight with a smart phone, here is a scale from Fitbit on Amazon that can make that easy.
Chapter Three: Strength Training for Runners and Weight Loss
Another critical component to your weight loss program is strength training. Strength training is a key to reduce running injuries. As you build lean muscle mass, you will burn more calories while resting.
There are a million and one strengthening exercises out there and it is easy to get overwhelmed as to which ones to do. To simplify things, we need to pick exercises that are movements over multiple joints like lunges, that work the hips, knees and ankles.
Also for a runner, we would need to emphasize strengthening exercises targeting your core, gluts, hips and knees.
Exercises To Get You Started
One thing to remember, as you get deeper into running, you’ll start following a plan that will allow you to peak for a specific event or race. As such you’ll have easy days, or days to do cross-training workouts (workouts that don’t involve running).
Later, we will provide a starter plan, but as you progress you’ll want to graduate to more targeted plans.
So, pulled together here are some exercises to get you started. Perform these exercises on your cross-training or easy days two to three times a week (be sure to have a rest day in between when performing your strengthening exercises).
Always talk to you healthcare provider before you begin your strengthening program. If you have any questions or concerns with performing these exercises, modifications can be made to meet the needs of the individual.
KEY: Transverse Abdominus (TA):
This is the key core exercise to start with. Master this exercise before you move on to any other exercise listed below as you will need to keep your Transverse Abdominal muscle (TA) engaged when you are exercising, running and performing day to day activities. Hold for 10 seconds and perform 5–10 repetitions 2–3 times a day. When you are able to perform this well while lying on your back, try it in different positions i.e sitting, standing.
Here is a link to a video demonstrating how to perform this exercise:
Be sure to engage your transverse abdominal muscle while performing the following exercises
- Single leg bridge with extension: If you are unable to maintain good form with the single leg bridge, start off with double leg bridging and then progress to single leg bridge as you get stronger. Perform 10 repetitions 2–3 times
Here is a link to a video demonstrating how to perform this exercise and progression of exercise:
- Dead Bug: Perform 10–15 reps each side alternating 2–3 times
Here is a link to a video demonstrating how to perform this exercise:
- Forward and side planks: If you are have not done these before or in a long while, start off by holding each position for 10–20 seconds. As your core gets stronger, work yourself up to holding each position for 60 seconds. Repeat 2–3 times.
Here is a link to a video demonstrating how to perform these exercises:
- Clamshells: Perform 10 – 15 reps / to fatigue. Perform 2–3 times.
Here is a link to a video demonstrating how to perform the exercise with progression.
- Lunges: Perform 10–15 reps 2–3 times
Here is a link to a video demonstrating how to perform this exercise.
- Monster/Crab walk: Perform for 1 min or until fatigue. If you need resistance bands, here is an option on Amazon.
Here is a link to a video demonstrating how to perform this exercise with progression
- 4 way hip with band: Start with a band with light resistance (Amazon link). Perform on x10 reps on each leg 2–3 times. Move up to the next resistance when you are able to perform 3 sets of 10 repetition without fatigue.
Here is a link to a video demonstrating how to perform this exercise:
Chapter Four: Running Technique
Have you watched how some runners run so effortlessly with a “smile” on their face and wondered, how do they do that?
Everyone runs with different running form. It is affected by factors like our build, strength, flexibility and level of fitness.
However, running form can be a contributor to injury. And proper form can also improve pace and endurance.
With that in mind, let’s dissect the basic principles behind achieving proper run form that will enable you to use less energy while running and also help reduce risk of injury.
Look Straight Ahead
It is easy to “zone out” and get into your own world while running. A common issue is looking down as you run.
This causes your shoulders to scrunch and become more rounded. This reduces breathing efficiency and moves your weight.
Instead, try to look straight ahead, keeping your head over your shoulders and your chin in a neutral position.
Relax Your Shoulders
Scrunching of shoulders is one of the most common running mistakes. This goes hand in hand with looking down.
As said before, when we look down, our shoulders naturally will go into a rounded position. Try to keep your shoulders relaxed and down. Avoid putting them in a shrug position.
As you get tired, you will find your shoulders getting tense and maybe even dropping from side to side as you try to power through your run.
If you notice this, try to keep your shoulders level, pull your shoulder blades back and relax your shoulders and arms as best you can.
How Your Arms Play an Important Role
The swing of your arms works together with the strides of your legs. The movement of your arms can help you either increase or decrease your speed.
To maximize this, keep your arms and elbows relaxed by your side and close to your body. With your elbows bent at a 90 degree angle, swing your arm forward and back and try to avoid crossing the midline of your body when swinging your arms.
Don’t Forget Hands
Save your clenched fists for your kick boxing class. Be sure to keep your hands as relaxed as you can while running.
We want to try to conserve as much energy as possible and not waste precious energy by clenching our fists.
Keep Your Torso Tall
Maintaining an upright posture is one of the key components when running.
Imagine that you have puppet strings attached to you and the strings are pulling you up. Just as the position of the shoulders are affected by the head, the position of the torso is affected by the positions of the head and shoulders. When your head and shoulders are in the ideal position, as describe above, your torso will follow suit.
This allows for the optimization of stride length and lung capacity. It is also important to keep the deep layers of your core engaged while at the same time allowing your core to react to the dynamic movements of running.
Lean with Your Hips
Having your torso in the right position will place your hips in proper alignment. While running, you want your torso to be slightly forward of your hip and lean slightly into the run which will maximize the of use your hip muscles.
Knees, Legs and Ankle Positioning and Your Stride
All right, we’re to the business end of running. However, efficiency is the key to the city when running, as it improves endurance and speed.
First, let’s look at the knees. If you were to look at your knee from the side, you should keep your knee vertically in-line with the middle of your foot. In other words, you don’t want your foot getting out in-front of your knee.
Use a slight knee lift and a short stride as longer strides put undue stress on your knee.
When running with the ideal stride length, you want your raised shin to be close to perpendicular to the ground and your landing knee slightly flexed when your foot lands and your foot should land right under your body.
There is an ongoing debate on how your foot should hit the ground: should you be landing on the heel, mid-foot or balls of your feet/toes? Regardless of that, where there is consensus is that we want to maximize the push off. And that by extension gives merit to the recommendations of landing on the balls of your feet and/or landing on your mid foot with quick roll forward.
Also, it’s important to have light feet. You don’t want to stomping with you run, but instead have light, quick turnover with your feet.
You Must Recover
Running is high impact.
Just think about it, you’re feet are striking the ground somewhere around 150–200 times per minute, depending on your pace. A simple 30 minute lunch-time run puts 4,500–6,000 impacts through your legs. Now do this everyday for 1 year and you’re putting 1.6 million – 2.2 million impacts through your body!
To help emphasize this, each foot fall is sending an impact wave through your foot, up through your ankle smashing into your knee and on up your body.
This is huge!
However, this stress on your body introduces both benefits and damage. Our job as runners is to minimize the damage, and enhance the benefits.
Recovery is exactly that. When you recover properly, your body is able to repair the stress from your previous workouts, and prepare you to be fresh for the next run.
Recovery can mean several things.
It can show up in complete rest, and ceasing from all workouts for 18–24 hours. This is valuable after really high intensity or extremely long workouts giving your body time to put the pieces back together.
It can also show up as a slower, lighter workout. Such as an easy run or bike ride, where you’re trying to keep the heart rate and intensity low.
Recovery is the one thing that separates professionals from the Age Group athletes. Professionals work hard to recover properly.
Chapter Five: Sample Beginner Running Program
Finally, let’s put this together with a strategy I like to call the Ground Zero Quickstart Method. The strategy is designed to get you running while reducing your chance of injury as much as possible.
Ground Zero Quickstart Method
The 3 pillars of Ground Zero Quickstart Method are as follows:
- Core Foundation Strength Training
- Smart Intensity Increases
- Running with Rest/Active Recovery Days Between
Core Foundation Strength Training
To run without injury, your body needs a solid foundation to work with. No building meant to last is built without a deep focus on a strong foundation.
You need the same.
The exercises we just went over are a great foundation to work from. The exercises will strengthen your core, ankles and legs which will help to stabilize your body and decrease risk of injury.
Smart Intensity Increases
This pillar is really easy to ignore. When you start running, you may feel amazing, and you build too fast. It’s important that you don’t add more than 10% to either your intensity or your distance from one week to the next.
This allows your body to adjust to the new workload. You risk anything from muscle tearing or damage to bone stress fractures. And those stop your progress immediately.
You will feel soreness and maybe even stiffness and pain. However, you should not be feeling musculoskeletal pain carry over to the next day. If you do, you should reduce your workout intensity and increase rest and recovery periods.
Rest or Active Recovery Days Between Run Days
As mentioned before, it is critical to allow your muscles to recover and rebuild.
Because of this do not run back-to-back days during this initial running phase. Until your body is stronger and more acclimated to running, you need to give it a chance to rest.
You may do low intensity, active recovery type workouts like walking, or yoga, or swimming. These workouts can help you keep your momentum if you feel you’ll lose your motivation by taking a rest day.
Sample Beginner Running Program
Here is a sample beginner running plan that you could use to help get started. Again, I would caution you that everyone starts at a different base line level (i.e. fitness levels, other underlying medical and physical conditions and considerations). As such, it is important to always consult your health care provider prior to starting any program. If you have any question or concerns they may be able to modify the program accordingly.
Before you start running, it is important to plan some time for a warm-up and also some time to cool down at the end of your run. When you’re time crunched, you will be tempted to skip the warm-up, but the warm-up will help in the prevention of injuries.
Before starting to run, it is important to warm up the muscles. A great way to do this is by dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching are stretches that are not held for any specific amount of time, but instead involves the lengthening of muscles, joint and tendons through movement.
Start your warm up by walking at an easy pace for about 3 minutes. Then gradually pick up your pace to a brisk walk for another 2 minutes. Keep your steps short and quick then return to an easy walking pace. End your warm up with dynamic stretches.
Here is a link to a set of dynamic stretches. Remember that you may have to modify the stretches shown depending on your flexibility/base line.
Always consult your healthcare provider prior to performing these exercises if you need help with your technique, modifications or any questions or concerns.
For the cool down, we will end off just like how we started our warm up. We will do 3–5 mins of walking to allow your heart rate to come back down. And then move to performing your static stretches.
Here is a link to a set of cool down stretches. Remember that you may have to modify the stretches depending on your flexibility/baseline or other medical conditions.
Always consult your healthcare provider prior to performing these exercises, and if you need help with your technique, modifications or have any questions or concerns.
Week 1
- Sunday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Monday: Walk for 25 minutes
- Tuesday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Wednesday: Walk for 25 minutes
- Thursday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Friday: Walk for 25 minutes
- Saturday: REST
Week 2
- Sunday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Monday: Walk for 1 min and run for 2 mins Repeat 8 times
- Tuesday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Wednesday: Walk for 1 min and Run for 3 mins Repeat 6 times
- Thursday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Friday: Walk for 1 min and run for 4 mins Repeat 5 times
- Saturday: REST
Week 3
- Sunday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Monday: Walk for 1 min and run for 5 mins Repeat 4 times
- Tuesday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Wednesday: Walk for 1 min and run for 5 mins Repeat 4 times
- Thursday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Friday: Walk for 1 min and run for 6 mins Repeat 3 times
- Saturday: REST
Week 4
- Sunday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Monday: Walk for 1 min and run for 8 mins Repeat 2 times
- Tuesday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Wednesday: Walk for 1 min and run for 9 mins Repeat 2 times
- Thursday: Perform Core and Strengthening Exercises*
- Friday: Walk for 1 min and run for 10 mins Repeat 1 time
- Saturday: REST
*You can replace core and strength exercise days with rest or 20–30 minutes of non impact cardio workout like swimming, biking etc.
Chapter Six: Build Your Running Gear
So, your next question is, what do I need to run? This section is meant to break down what you’ll need, and what’s nice to have.
Basic Gear
Ok, let’s get super basic here. To run, you need shoes, comfortable clothes, a phone, hydration, and an easy to follow route. I mean, you don’t want to get lost on your first run, do you?
Shoes
I will break down shoes in greater detail in the next section. But let’s be clear, you want a running-specific shoe. Anything with a heel is a perfect recipe for disaster. And, skater shoes aren’t going to be that great long term either.
But even after you’ve picked your perfect running shoe, be aware that your shoes do wear, and sometimes it can feel like it happens fast. Don’t be surprised if you need to replace a shoe once or twice per year.
For most people, the maximum mileage you’ll get out of a running shoe is 300–400 miles. You can measure this with most running trackers (watches, apps, etc, which we will discuss in more detail later).
Running on a worn out shoe will make you less efficient and can increase the chance of injury due to uneven support.
Comfortable Clothes
Comfortable clothes are very important. But how do you define comfortable running clothing?
Running clothing does 3 things:
1. It wicks away moisture
2. It is lightweight
3. It does not cause chafing
Let’s break these down.
Wicking Away Moisture: Most athletic wear available now is made from moisture-wicking material like some sort of polyester, polypropylene or nylon. What is most important here is that cotton is usually not a great choice. It will collect your sweat and then stick to your skin. That is equally uncomfortable, unsightly and gross.
Instead, when running with high quality moisture wicking fabrics, you will be able to run without being distracted by sticky, heavy shirts and shorts as they fill with sweat.
Lightweight: It’s hard enough to run, why burden yourself with needless weight. This applies to shoes, shirts and leg wear. Heavier materials are not only additional weight, but they generally add heat.
Shoes are getting lighter and lighter. It’s amazing to feel some of the old running shoes I started with and compare them to more modern versions. But updating to a lighter shoe can help you feel better if you’re getting stuck.
Heavier shirts and shorts tend to be more appropriate in cooler running conditions. If it is a hot summer day, you want certainly want lighter, thinner materials. Here are some great examples on Amazon for men and women.
Here’s a great example of some lightweight shorts on Amazon for men and women.
Chafing: Really, this has mostly to do with wearing loose clothing. If your shorts are too loose and thick, you can find that they rub the inside of your thighs raw. I speak from experience and it’s not comfortable.
The same can be said for your top, as your under arm and chest can have uncomfortable chafing from the rubbing of loose t-shirts. Wearing something a little snug, allows the fabrics to rub together saving your skin from the discomfort.
Socks: Let me throw in one more key item. Good running socks are extremely important. If you have cheaper cotton socks, you’ll find they absorb all the sweat and slide down deeper and deeper in your shoe. Both of these features make the experience horrible.
The best running socks wick away sweat and allow the moisture to evaporate. The best socks also tend to have a little extra cushion on the bottom of the sock, which is very enjoyable.
Here are socks that I use personally that I absolutely love (Amazon link)!
Phone: It’s important to have your phone with you. You can hold in your hand or in an armband phone holding strap like this one on Amazon. In your hand is very convenient, but also easy to drop. I find the strap more useful. But please carry your phone. If you get lost, or have an emergency, getting help is much easier.
Hydration: For super short runs, you may not need to carry hydration. But if it’s a hot day, or you’re dressed too warm, or a long run, you’ll need to carry water with you.
There are all sorts of options, here are a few I’ve tried or I think looks interesting on Amazon:
Depending on the length of your run, and the availability of drinking fountains to refill your water bottles will dictate how much water you carry with you.
Alright, with the basics out of the way, let’s look at shoes!
Shoes
Here’s where controversy get’s hot! Traditional running shoes, minimalist running shoes, barefoot running?!
Let me say, if you’re interested in the barefoot running or minimalist running category, don’t go cold turkey. It’s something you’ll need to build up to, regardless if you’ve never run before, or run with traditional shoes. Your leg muscles are not ready for it without some time to adjust and build strength.
As long as you’re not planning on running barefoot, my first recommendation is visit a high quality running store and have them measure your feet and look at your foot structure. Factors like your foot’s sole, or if your ankle has supination can change the type of shoe most appropriate for you.
If your foot needs more support to properly align your ankle and knee joints, running in a neutral shoe can cause pain. Alternatively, running with a highly supportive shoe, when you don’t need it will again move your ankle and knee alignment off and create pain and injury.
So, a stop at a good running store can help you as they will look at your structure and pick the type of shoe you need. Also, pick a store with many different brands, as sometimes you’ll find some brands fit your foot better than others.
For example, there are a couple of brands that my foot does not get along with as I find my ankles rub on the top of the shoe. Another brand is just too narrow. If I had gone to a store with only one of those brands, I may have come out with a shoe that would have just been frustrating over the long-term.
Environment Specific Gear
If you are running only in summer like weather, you don’t need anything special. But if you run in rainy weather, snow, or on trails, the gear you need may change.
Rain: Here’s where moisture wicking materials shine. Like sweat, rain is moisture that can collect and make you cold. So good moisture wicking material will help. Also, a breathable, waterproof jacket can help. Materials like Gore-tex are great to keep moisture out, but allow the sweat to evaporate through the material and keep you dry inside.
Snow: When it’s really cold, you want to run with some caution. The most common problem is frostbite on exposed skin or inadequately protected nose, fingers or toes. So protect that skin with good gloves, warmer socks, and balaclava or scarf or mask if needed.
But really, if it’s getting that cold, think about going inside to a treadmill.
Trail Running:
The big deal here is traction, variable conditions and safety.
Trail running requires a different approach. Because of the variable conditions, you’ll be running around rocks, tree roots, branches, and the occasional critter.
Because of this, you may need a shoe with different traction. You may also want to carry additional safety equipment like:
- Small first aid kit (bandaids, tape & gauze)
- Small lightweight flashlight
When trail running, you may be farther from help, so you’ll need to be a little more prepared.
Gadgets & Geekery
There’s always a place for geeks in almost any activity, and running is no exception. There are many electronic tools to help you in your running efforts.
The tools I list here are tools that can really help you with your running. They are the tools that I have used, and have helped manage in workout efforts, recovery and motivation.
Many of the fitness watches available today have most of these features built in.
So here we go!
Heart-rate Monitors: The heart-monitor is an awesome tool. By tracking heart rate, you know during interval workouts when you’re entering high effort heart rate zones (as we talked about earlier in HIIT workouts). Also, when you slow down, you can tell with your heart rate when you’re back into your recovery zone. A good heart rate monitor is a very useful tool.
GPS: GPS provides some some great feedback. It is useful for pace tracking mid workout. If you’re attempting to hold a pace, you can see how fast you’re running right on your wrist. Not only that, but when you return, you can see how your efforts relate to the topography you were running over.
Also, I may have also used my GPS watch to help me to find my way back when I got lost one time. Maybe…
I use an iteration of the Garmin Fenix smart watch which you can find on Amazon here, however for beginners, I would recommend the Forerunner 245 also on Amazon. The beauty of these two Garmin watches is that they both have GPS and heart rate monitoring built it. So you don’t need multiple devices.
Also, the Garmin Connect software that comes with the watch allows you to track all of your workout stats like pace (high, low, average), distance, and other random things like how many miles you’ve run on your shoes helping you know when to replace them.
Online Trackers/Social Media: Probably the most popular app for tracking fitness and following friends doing the same is Strava. Strava is a fitness social media app that connects you with friends gives you a feed where you see their fitness activity, including running. It also includes a tracking feature, like the watches above, track your GPS location and speed. You can sign up here.
Another app that can fill the GPS track need is Runkeeper. This is a great app that is now owned by shoe and apparel maker Asics, but the training programs they provide are great as you get more skilled and are attempting to train for races like a 5K.
Other honorable mentions are Runtastic (now owned by Adidas) and Couch to 5K (IOS version). These apps bring training plans and workout tracking.
Conclusion – It’s Time to Lace Up
I hope that you were able to glean some valuable information from this guide to help you kick start your weight loss journey with running.
Running is a very accessible, and the benefits to your physical and mental health can be massive.
Now I’d like to hear from you:
Do you have a running or fitness challenge you are struggling with?
I would love to hear it by leaving a comment below right now.
