Running is one of the easiest activities to take part in, but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. Anyone can walk out their front door right now and embark upon a healthy run, but far fewer are willing to take the time to really understand the mechanics of the activity and determine what the best sort of running regimen will consist of.
If you’re a runner and you’re looking to better yourself on your next run and any future runs, then you might consider the tips available from Yahoo Health in a new report. The article advises runners on the best ways to exercise without increasing the risk of an injury.
You should be willing to make running habitual, but that doesn’t mean you have to engage in the same exact type of run day after day. It’s actually in your best interest to switch things up on a regular basis. Engaging in an identical path and movement on a daily basis actually increases the risk of an injury, because you won’t be able to differentiate things in a way that allows the entirety of your body to benefit.
For instance, if you’re used to running the same direction on a sidewalk near your house everyday, one leg might receive more of a workout than another due to the way that the curb, and in turn the sidewalk, slopes inward toward the road. It’s thus in your best interest to change directions and/or run on the opposite side of the street regularly.
Most runners also get in the habit of running the same lengthy distance every day. It’s actually not a bad idea to interject a bit of change into your exercise. Instead of distance every single outing, maybe run a series of 100 yard sprints. Or head to a nearby hill near your home and run up the hill fast and cool off on the way back down. You can even take a break from running altogether, getting your cardio in with a swim or a run and the supplementing everything with some attention to weight machines at the local gym. This kind of differentiation in your routine will allow you to reap more benefits than if you just did the same thing repeatedly.
As the report notes, you also shouldn’t wait around until you feel pain before you set out to reduce pain. It’s a better idea to take steps that will allow you to root out injuries before they ever threaten to get worse. For instance, after a day of intense exercise, you should be willing to take the next day off, allowing your body to recuperate from what you’ve put it through.
About the author
