Two Painless Methods For Becoming a Runner

Mind is All

If you've hoped you could get into running, but found the initial workouts to be too difficult, take heart. Most wanna-be runners give up because they push too hard on the first few workouts, frustrating themselves. The least painful way to go from walking to running is to walk, then run, and then walk, and then run, slowly increasing how much you run versus walk. It’ll take time and perseverance, but eventually you’ll get there.

Build up to being a runner by using your stopwatch to guide you. Your handy dandy stopwatch can be an incredibly effective training tool. When working out, start out by walking to warm up. Then pick up the pace, going into an easy run and jogging along until you feel like it's getting too hard to be pleasurable. Note how long you were able to run before it became uncomfortable. Thirty seconds? Now use your stopwatch to walk for double the time you ran. Alternate running and walking in this manner, always walking double the length of your run time. As you enjoy subsequent run/walking workouts, you'll want to change your ratios such that you walk and run equal amounts, and later run double what you walk, working towards running without any walking breaks at all.

Another way to ease into running is to use a heart rate monitor as a trainer. The heart rate monitor will help you adjust your exertion level such that it's never too much for you, but is challenging enough. Calculate out what your fat burning zone heart rate is, and then set out for your workout by walking. Once your muscles are warmed up, start running, watching your heart rate monitor, pushign yourself until your heart rate is up in your fat burning zone. Once you hit heart rate numbers in the upper part of your range, slow down and walk for a while, just until your heart rate reaches the bottom of your fat burning zone. Keep running and walking, always keeping within your fat burning heart rate zone, so you'll have an exercise session that is challenging but not too hard. Keep this up until you can run but stay inside your fat burning heart rate zone for an entire thirty minutes without walking.

These methods may not be the fastest ways to become a runner, but they are the least painful and are easy to stick with.