Jogging isn’t only one of the best ways to burn fat, get in shape and lose weight; it’s also an excellent way to make your heart and lungs stronger. On top of that, it’s free to participate. All you need is a good sturdy pair of shoes, an open road or trail, and your set. You can go out and jog almost anywhere you want and at any time you want. Jogging is one of the most convenient and most refreshing activities to do. This is the sole reason why there are countless people on a Sunday morning running in the sun, wind or rain.

The biggest problem however, is that beginning enthusiasts who want to start a running program, do not know exactly how to get started properly, and in most cases they usually end up quitting or getting injured. So your wondering, how hard could it be, it’s just running right? Well, this thinking has prompted numerous early morning warriors to get hurt or stop jogging altogether, before they can realize the real cardio benefits along with other advantages of running.

So here are some easy steps that you can take to get yourself established on a regular jogging routine without running yourself into the ground.

Getting Started On Jogging
The first and usually the most common mistake that most people make when starting a jogging program is they start out of the gates too fast. Novices will put on their new spanking running shoes and will then pace themselves way to fast and end up eventually huffing and puffing out of breath, just after 5 or 10 minutes. This is a recipe for potential disaster, discouragement and failure, and many people unfortunately quit within a few days.

For others who may be a little more resilient, they may decide to keep going for a while longer, thinking that if they just stick with it long enough, it will hopefully start to get easier. Well, what usually happens is it gets harder because even though they may be getting in better physical condition, they will continue to push harder and harder and then somewhere down the road, there is no real progress.

How To Start Running Properly
When you are ready to set up a dedicated jogging routine, the first and best thing that you need to do is buy a heart rate monitor. With one of these meters, you can then accurately set up a reasonable pace that is comfortable for you and your fitness level. So when you jog, you can then keep within that level throughout the run. This means that you’ll never have to “guess” what pace you should be running at and thus you will not have to feel your lungs burning when you’re finished.

The key that you should note is that you should always jog between 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. This is easy to track with a heart rate monitor as you can easily track your heart rate while you’re running. You can speed up your pace up if it gets a little low, and slow down a bit, if it gets a little too high. You can even slow down to a walking pace if your heart rate goes beyond the 70% rate, and then resume your jogging pace once it goes below or around the 50% level.

Know Your Proper Maximum  Heart Rate
The best way to calculate what your targeted heart rate should be (50% to 70%) is by using the following formula:

Subtract your current age from 220.
This will be your maximum heart rate.
Then multiply this number by .50 and .70
That will give you your 50% and 70% targeted heart zone.

Here is an example of this formula.

Say that you are 40 years old

So 220 minus 40 = 180

180 times .50 = 90

180 times .70 = 126

So, you are 40 years old, you should keep your heart rate beating between 90 and 126 at all times while jogging.

The secret to jogging is that you do not need to go that fast to get the benefits from jogging, it’s how long you’re running that counts. It is a lot more beneficial to run a mile in say, 12 to 15 minutes than to do it in 7 minutes and be exhausted.

If you stay within the limits of your targeted heart rate, you will then begin to start adding more time and more miles to your run. You will then discover that your jogging will become something that you look forward to instead of something you dread doing.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 16th, 2009 at 5:02 pm and is filed under Fitness Programs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.