Health and Fitness

Andy Murray, the great hope of British tennis carries the weight of expectation of a nation going into his first round match at Wimbledon 2008, but is Murray's fitness up to the task to see him go all the way to become Wimbledon champion this year?

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Business trips aren't meant to be leisurely vacations, but if you're spending every waking minute in seminars and meetings, planning presentations and associated work-related pursuits, the end result will be fatigue and stress - which will make you less productive.

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So you've decided to become a runner - good for you! running is one of the quickest and most effective ways of getting into shape and improving your health and well-being. It's also supremely accessible, requiring very little in the way of technical ability (left, right, left, right%u2026 got it?) and equipment - so you can start right away.

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Running may only entail putting one foot in front of the other, but it is a demanding activity, so it's important to prepare for each run, physically and mentally, rather than launching straight in. This is what a 'warm up' is all about. It gives your heart and lungs - as well as the muscles and joints - a chance to get primed for the activity to come. Equally, once the body has been firing on all cylinders during your run, you don't want to stop suddenly and fling yourself back on the sofa. The purpose of the 'cool-down' is to gradually return the body to a resting state. Then, once you've finished your run, you need to stretch out the muscles, to counteract the repetitive shortening actions involved in a run.

It's time to get running! But remember, the way to start is slowly if you want your first steps to be successful. The best thing to do is to combine walking and running to begin with, gradually increasing the amount of running and decreasing the amount of walking as you get fitter. You should do this even if you are fairly fit from another type of activity, such as swimming or cycling, as it's not just your heart and lungs that need time to adjust but also your joints and connective tissues (including bones, ligaments and tendons).