Current:Home > NewsRunning is great exercise, but many struggle with how to get started. Here are some tips. -Mastery Money Tools
Running is great exercise, but many struggle with how to get started. Here are some tips.
View
Date:2025-04-13 16:31:29
Few things are more daunting than lacing up your shoes and heading out the door to attempt a run for the first time. You know it’s healthy – but you may be concerned about feeling pain or even embarrassment with your pace or fitness level. Running is hard.
We aim to ease your nerves with practical tips.
To find out the best physical and emotional strategies for new runners, we spoke with Jeremy Golden, the former Director of Athletic Training at Santa Clara University, the former Strength and Conditioning Coach for The University of Virginia Women’s Basketball Team, and the current Director of Fitness at Tehama Golf Club in Carmel, California, and Marcos Esquivel, CSCS, the owner and lead trainer at MDE Athletics in Chandler, Arizona.
How to start running?
People who want to make a positive change for their health and follow through with it generally have something in common: purpose.
“Breakups are good for business,” Esquivel says with a laugh. “There’s often a major paradigm shift in their life – a health scare is another example. Sometimes people realize that their health is at risk, and they want to be there for their kids. They want to make a change because they realize other people depend on them being here,” he adds.
Purpose doesn’t have to be something as dramatic as a breakup or a health scare, but having something to motivate you is often key for starting and maintaining a running habit.
One thing that holds some people back is a fear of being judged about their current fitness level. One refuge for people who want to run in a judgment-free and supportive atmosphere is the Slow AF Run Club – a virtual community designed to support each other.
How should a beginner start running?
Running is a mechanical motion that requires good technique, both for speed and efficiency and for reducing the risk of injury. Golden recommends starting slow. “You crawl before you begin to walk, you walk before you run. You don’t want to go all out right away because then you put yourself at risk for injury.”
Golden recommends working on running mechanics and having a baseline strength level to make sure that your body can handle the level of pounding that comes with running. “Any time I’ve been around a cross-country runner, and they’ve been successful, they’ve gotten stronger. They haven’t forgotten about the weight room. To run faster for longer, you have to have good strength,” he emphasizes.
Prevention:8 tips for preventing sports injuries
What are good running mechanics?
In an interview with Nike, Jes Woods, a Nike running coach, ultramarathoner and ultra and trailhead coach for Brooklyn Track Club, says she tells people to stand tall and keep their shoulders and hands relaxed. Additionally, she encourages her runners to have their feet landing directly under their hips – which will inadvertently help you land on the midpart of your foot, the ideal position. She also advises against taking long or bouncy strides, as this can lead to injury.
Which muscles should I focus on strengthening?
For runners, Golden emphasizes the need to strengthen the posterior chain, particularly your glutes and hamstrings. He says that many athletes (and people in general) tend to be quad-dominant, which makes the posterior chain even more important. He recommends a few exercises:
- Romanian deadlifts
- Leg curls
- Glute bridges
- Squats (to 90 degrees, if you can get there!)
Esquivel adds that directly training your hip flexors can also be helpful. Along with the exercises above, lunges and mountain climbers are a good way to stretch and strengthen the hip flexors.
Starting running is going to be hard. It may even be painful. But if you can find your “why” and follow safe techniques, you’re on your way to developing a healthy habit!
Working Out From Home:Safety tips from athletic trainers for exercising while staying home
veryGood! (2)
Related
- What polling shows about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ new running mate
- Larry David says he talks to Richard Lewis after comic's death: 'I feel he's watching me'
- Jennifer Crumbley's lawyer seeks leniency ahead of sentencing: She's 'also suffered significantly'
- Massachusetts city is set to settle a lawsuit in the death of an opioid-addicted woman
- Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
- Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says aggressive timeline to reopen channel after bridge collapse is realistic
- Missouri to reduce risk of suffering if man requires surgical procedure at execution
- Lithium Companies Fight Over Water in the Arid Great Basin
- Bet365 ordered to refund $519K to customers who it paid less than they were entitled on sports bets
- The Rock, John Cena, Undertaker bring beautiful bedlam to end of WrestleMania 40
Ranking
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Dawn Staley thanks Caitlin Clark: 'You are one of the GOATs of our game.'
- South Carolina beats off challenge from Iowa and Caitlin Clark to win NCAA women's championship
- Weather is the hot topic as eclipse spectators stake out their spots in US, Mexico and Canada
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Deion Sanders rips Colorado football after professor says players disrespectful in class
- 2 dead after car crash with a Washington State Patrol trooper, authorities say
- Purdue student, 22, is dying. Inside a hospital room, he got Final Four for the ages
Recommendation
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
How to watch the solar eclipse on TV: What to know about live coverage and broadcast info
South Carolina finishes perfect season with NCAA championship, beating Clark and Iowa 87-75
In call with Blinken, father of killed aid worker urges tougher US stance on Israel in Gaza
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Total solar eclipse 2024: Watch livestream of historic eclipse from path of totality
Alleged arsonist arrested after fire at Sen. Bernie Sanders' Vermont office
What's next for Caitlin Clark? Her college career is over, but Iowa star has busy months ahead