I come across a lot of people that tell me “I haven’t exercised in a long time but I picked up running a couple times a week” or (I love this one) “I started training for a half marathon to get back in shape.” More often than not that is also followed by “but I'm having knee problems" or "I got shin splints,” or something of the sort.
I’ll repeat the title of this blog post….running is NOT a beginner’s activity. Each time your foot hits the ground, you are putting 3-4 times your own body weight of stress on your joints (This is 450-600lbs of stress for a 150lb person). Of course everyone is different and everyone has a different grasp upon the knowledge of his or her own body. But in my experience, the mind-body connection for most people has been lost somewhere in the countless hours sitting at a desk, watching TV or just complete lack of movement in general. If you’ve been a runner before, an ex-athlete or just have a great awareness of your body and know when to back off and when things don’t feel quite right, then I am not necessarily talking to you in this article (although I believe my upcoming recommendation still holds true). If it’s been 6 months or more since you’ve regularly exercised and/or you are 20 or more pounds overweight, then I highly suggest holding off on the running routine until you have complete at least a month of body weight, low impact strength training followed by a gradual increase of plyometric activites (like burpees, squat jumps, speed skaters). At Boot Camp U, we start everyone at his or her own level. Since we do most exercises for time, this allows you to do every activity at your own level and pace. We can modify all activities to your own fitness level as long as you communicate your fitness level and/or any injuries to your trainers before the first class. Every single high impact exercise has a low impact modification.
So to sum it up, before you throw on your Asics, head out the door to start your exercise journey, please consider starting with some low impact strength training such as (squats, push-ups, lunges and LOTS of core exercises). This will help you build up leg, hip and core strength so that you have a strong enough base for running. Muscles are your body's "shock absorbers" so make sure you have strong enough ones to keep the stress off your joints.
Ok, so I've been meaning to ask you about running so I'm glad you posted something about it. I've been attending Boot Camp now for 7 months or so and have felt so much healthier and stronger, so thank you! :) In fact after one particular work out with LOTS of running I was shocked about how much I could keep up and felt really good. (I've never been a runner) So the next day was super stressful so I took a "jog" around my neighborhood, I'd say 25 minutes maybe and my entire body ached for days. I mean all over body ache, got hit by a truck, ow. What the heck!?? Running might not be my thing!
ReplyDeleteWell, we do running on short bursts at boot camp so your body just might not be used to the constant impact and the length of time that you ran. Your legs might be strong, you may have good cardio endurance but the impact on your joints over a period of time just might not be something it's used to. Work your way up from 10 minutes, to 15 minutes, then to 25....
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