Runner's Guide for Couch Potatoes

I used to run a lot, back when I was younger.

When I was at university I would head out and pound the footpath almost everyday. My university had a large Japanese garden that was perfect for a late afternoon jog.

Then I left university and got a job. And a car. And slowly I stopped running. Actually I slowly stopped doing any exercise at all.

I packed on the weight.

12 months ago I reach 125kilos. That is 275 pounds for you non-metric folk.

I was officially fat.

I am not going to lie to you. The path back to running is long, and painful.

This is especially so if you haven't run in years or have never run at all.

I was so overweight and unfit I couldn't even run 100 meters. My lower back, knees and both Achilles (the tendon behind your heels) screamed at me every time I tried.

So my solution was baby steps. Small efforts. One thing at a time.

Buy at AllPosters.com

I stopped eating sugar. No soft drink, no fruit juice and no chocolate. I ate sensible breakfast cereals too. Soda Water became my next best friend. I dropped 5 kilos really quickly.

Now this might not be your cup of tea but you can't run easily without being healthy. It is very hard to run if you are overweight. I had to do something to stop and reverse my weight gain. I found that I couldn't continue eating the way I was and still run.

If you are overweight and you want to run then changing your diet is a must.

Sure, treat yourself. Changing your diet has to be a sustainable change doesn't it? We can't keep up a strict, punishing diet for long and nor should we. Baby steps.

Remember to consult your doctor if you are considering any major diet or a restructure in the foods you eat.

Walking is the path to running. I started with 20 minute walks. I varied my speed from slow to fast and back to slow again.

I told myself one walk a day - no excuses! I walked in the rain and I walked in the dark.

I found morning the best time to walk but it is really up to you. Set aside the time.

Walking strengthens your feet and legs and this prepares you for the running you are building up to.

I had a couple of friends encourage me on to do this. They had heard of my plans to start running and to lose weight. They told me I could do weights to help myself prepare.

Their reasoning wasn't just to build up my muscles. No. They told me that resistance training would also build up what is called my 'resting metabolism'. This is so that when I was resting my metabolism would still be firing and burning fat. My research later confirmed this.

Resistance work supercharges your weight loss.

You don't necessarily have to lift weights. Research 'isometric' exercise. Try push ups and lunges. Strengthen your core with sit-ups.

Go old school. You don't even need a gym.

This is simple but most people don't or won't do it. You will need to educate your self.

Read up on everything - diet, exercise, isometric exercises, barefoot vs shod running. The works.

Ignorance will cost you. It could cost you injury or worse your success. Even better it could make the path to running shorter. At the very least it will give you confidence.

This is my killer tip. Vary the pace you walk and run.

Walk slow and then fast. Walk and then run. Try 20 meters on and then 20 meters off. Work up from there.

Professional sprinters and marathon runners do this. Every personal trainer around recommends Interval training for beginners too.

Interval training is a key way of BUILDING your fitness and stamina.

Get out onto an oval with soft grass and run. Feel the grass between your toes.

Avoid dog poo.

Remember how you used to run as a child. Frolic on the grass. You will love it. It will make you feel free.

I thought this was a fruit loop idea when I first read it. But I was willing to try anything to achieve my running goals. The first time I tried it I felt great!

Try it. Go on.

When the body repeatedly does an activity it gets used to it. It doesn't work as hard. If you are transitioning from couch potato to walker, or walker to runner you can't let your body become complacent.

You need to get your body fit. You need to make it work hard.

Cross training forces your body to do things it normally doesn't do. So, play some basketball with some friends, Go swimming, Play Wii Fit. Get active in an activity other than walking and running.

No man is an island. Friends and family are some of the best motivation you can get. You can't bottle that stuff.

Surround yourself with like minded people and get out there.

Enough said.

Now if you have started running, even if it is just as a part of interval training, it is important to do it right. The following points are factors to keep in mind.

1. Rest -Give your body time to recover from your training sessions. Sometimes we like to compare our bodies to machines but in reality we are more dynamic and organic than that. recovery is key to coming back stronger than before.

2. Listen To Your Body - You will get sore from running, of course, but you still need to be aware of any pain that you feel is out of the ordinary. Sharp pain in particular should receive attentions straight away.

3. Dress Right - Dress for your environment. Wear safe footwear and your clothes need to be climate appropriate. Be aware that cotton fabric will soak up sweat and make your clothes heavy. Consider legging style pants or creams to avoid chaff too.

4. Don't Break The Bank - the mistake I make with every new hobby is to buy a bunch of fancy gadgets or gear. The advantage of running is that it can be done very very cheaply. Running isn't a fashion competition. You don't need the latest shoes or heart rate monitors.

5. Make Time - A lack of time is the number one excuse for avoiding exercise. Finding time to run is simply a question of prioritizing. Get up earlier of you have to.

6. Concentrate On Your Breathing - I find that establishing a rhythm helps me run. The rhythm helps me to pace myself and can be slightly hypnotic. Believe it or not I can find music in my ears when I run distracting. Then again if music helps you get out and about by all means listen to it. The beat in the songs you listen to can help you find a rhythm too.

7. Stretch - Don't be afraid to stop walking to stretch. stretching can help you to keep your training sessions last longer. Often it is our bodies that fail us rather than our cardiovascular fitness when we start running. This was the case with me to. Warm down at the end of your session as well with some stretches otherwise you could wake up the next morning with stiff muscles.

8. Be Sustainable - If you are anything like me you will train too hard, too much and burnout out within a fortnight. Running can be a lifetime's pleasure so don't rush. You have years of running ahead of you. If you are that keen to get out and exercise cross train instead.

9. Easy Does It - A general rule to follow in Running training is to increase the demands on your body by no more than 10%. This applies to your times and distances. If you are running 1km, make it 1.1km on the next run. Push too hard. too soon will result in burnout or more probably injury.

Before you embark on a fantastic new training regime you need to do is check that you have no underlying medical condition. This may affect your physical wellbeing. If you are not sure I strongly suggest you get a checkup and clearance from your medical practitioner.

I won't lie to you. This is a controversial idea. Many runners will disagree with me here so you need to make up your own mind.

There is a school of thought that running shoes are bad for our feet. That running shoes coddle our feet and make them soft.

Either way those who advocate barefoot running say you have to be smart about where you run and start doing it for small distances at a time.