Jogging is fine for your health, but you do not need to run
for hours
Performing regular jogging gives better physical condition
and other health benefits. Jogging also gives physical and mental pleasure.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS
OF JOGGING
Jogging on a regular basis give a distinct good effect upon
the general health, provided it is not over-done. The effects are:
Jogging makes the heart stronger. It increases the capacity
of the blood circulation and of the respiratory system.
It speeds up the digestive system and helps you get rid of
digestive trouble.
It counteracts depression.
It increases the capacity to work and lead an active life.
Jogging makes you burn fat and thereby helps against
over-weight.
If you suffer from poor appetite, jogging will improve your
appetite.
Jogging will strengthens the muscles of your legs, hips and
back. However you will not get very big muscles from jogging.
Jogging makes you sleep better.
THE PLEASURE OF JOGGING
Jogging gives you physical and mental joy, provided you do
not exhaust yourself. When jogging is done correctly, you will actually feel
less tired when you have finished a tour than before you began. You get nice
feelings in your muscles during the jogging and afterwards.
You will feel the wind blowing around your body. You will
hear the birds singing, the music of running water in the streams, or the sound
of waves dashing towards the seashore. During the jogging you will also get a
euphoric mental feeling after some time.
CLOTHES AND SHOES
The type of clothes you were must be suited to the weather
conditions. In warm weather, shorts and a t-shirt is enough. However, it may be
useful to carry along an extra piece of clothe in a light back-pack if you run
out on a long route, in case the weather aggravates. In colder weather you must
add more layers of clothes. In either case, the requirements for the clothes
are:
You should use light and soft clothes without any sharp
sutures, hard edges or massive folds. They should sit fairly close to your body,
but not so close that you feel squeezed, trapped, or so that your movements are
hindered.
The clothes should give good ventilation for moisture and
sweat and perspiration through the fabric. The fabric should ideally hold water
totally out from the outside, but this requirement is difficult to achieve
together with the requirement of good ventilation.
You should use fairly soft shoes, but with a good shape
fitting the anatomical shape of your feet. The soles should easily bend during
the normal movements of your feet, but support well against the ground. The
underside of the sole should give friction against any type of grounds, so that
you do not slide during jogging. The soles should buffer well against each
impact from the ground.
JOGGING ROUTES AND
SESSIONS
Jogging may be performed in a lot of ways
Long distance jogging 6-20 km in a moderate speed on even
roads or paths.
Short distance jogging 3-6 km in a high speed.
Jogging upwards in a steep terrain 3-4 km, in a speed
adjusted to the steepness
Jogging in a hilly terrain with paths going both up an down
4-8 km
It is advisable to vary the type of jogging from day to day.
Then the jogging gets funnier and you get a variable type of training.
HOW TO PERFORM A JOGGING SESSION
You should move slowly with little efforts the first few
hundred meters to warm up your muscles. Then you gradually increase your
muscular work and speed. When you have done half the route, you can take a
speedy spurt using most of your capacity. If the route is long enough, you can
take two or three spurts using nearly full capacity.The last hundred meters you
gradually slow down again.
STRETCHING YOUR BODY
BEFORE AND AFTER EACH SESSION
It is advisable to stretch out both before and after each
jogging session, and not only the muscles in your feet, but your whole body 2
minutes before and 3-4 minutes after the session. When stretching out do the
following movements:
Bend forward and touch your toes.
Kneel down on one of your feet, and stretch the other out
backwards.
Bend your body to both sides.
Stretch out an arm, grab something, and turn your body round
so that your arm is bent backwards.
Shoot your abdomen foreword, so that your spinal column is
stretched into a bow.
Place your hands behind your neck and stretch your arms
backwards. Then twist your body to left and right, also bend to each side.
After the jogging it is sometimes best to wait for some
minutes before you stretch out, so that the worst tiredness has gone away
first.
WHEN AND HOW OFTEN
If jogging is the only sport activity done, a jogging
session every second day is ideal. This is enough to give all the health
benefits and increase your condition and endurance gradually, but without
wearing yourself out. If you combine jogging by other types of sport
activities, 2 times a week may be enough.
You should not be too hungry before jogging, but it is not
advisable to take a jogging session straight after a big meal. The time of the
day does not matter, but your jogging should not be the first thing you do in
the morning.
HOW TO BEGIN
If you are not accustomed to physical activity before you
start jogging, it is advisable to consult a doctor before you start. You may
have health issues that is not compatible with jogging activities, or that you
must consider when doing your jogging.
The first times, you should only jog on plain ground and
only for 10 minutes. Then you can increase the time, distance and speed, and
choose steeper and more difficult paths.
