The ultimate rundown for new runners

If your new to running, here are some tips to make it more enjoyable and get the most our of your training. Whether your looking to improve your cardiovascular fitness, loose weight or just get your body moving so it feels less stiff and ridged.

Decide why you are running? What is the purpose of this exercise? If you are running for weight loss, running for a shorter duration with an uphill gradient, will have less impact on your joints whilst burning more calories. Therefore short uphill sprints of 5-15 seconds with rest periods of 3-6 mins based on your fitness level will be sufficient. You can time the sprints and see if your improving your speed every week. you can start with three sprints. Then working up to 6 sprints, then 9 and then 12.

If you are aiming to improve your cardiovascular fitness, then running at a pace where you could have a light conversation is the pace you want to keep. running on a flat surface is also beneficial as your not trying to overwork and use the energy stored in the muscles. You should aim or build up to over 15 mins and progress to to longer duration runs.

If your trying to build endurance in the muscles then running slightly faster for a shorter duration will target the energy stored in the muscles. A sprinter running a 100 meters is using a different energy system than a 400 meter runner, the same way an 800 meter runner uses a different energy system to both. Keep an eye out for my future blog on understanding the body's energy systems.

Before you start any exercise you need to warm your body up by raising your heart rate and mobilise your joints correctly. A simple way to mobilise is create circles in the joints that need to be mobile such as the ankle, hip and shoulders. As well as the upper spine which is designed to twist as you move your opposite arm and leg as you run. you can aim for 8-12 circles in both directions and the same for spinal rotations.

Learn to control your breathing whilst running as oxygen intake is essential. I have found that if you can synchronise your breathing with your movement you can run for longer. If you run too fast you will be struggling to breath in enough oxygen. However if you run too slow you will also struggle to synchronise your breathing to your movement. Some runners prefer to breath from their mouth and some through their nose. I prefer to keep my mouth closed as I find I can run for longer regulating my breath through my nose on long steady runs of 3k -5k.

Water helps regulate functions such as regulating body temperature, lubricating joints, maintaining blood volume and pressure, nourishing cells, carrying food through the body and eliminating waste. Once you start to run the body will warm up and you will start to sweat to cool down. Therefore replacing fluid after a run is very important. It is advised that you drink at least 500ml in the first 30 mins after your run. It is also advised you drink one and half times the fluid lost during your run. you can check this by weighing yourself naked before and after a run. If you sip water slowly it is more likely to be used constructively by the body. If you on the other hand drink a large quantity in one go don't be surprised if it goes straight to your bladder and you don't make the best use of it in your system.

Running form is very difficult to observe yourself but plays a crucial role, in where your muscles will feel sore and tight as well as any impact on your joints. This is why making sure your mobile joints are mobile is so important. Your muscles are designed to function like springs and so you should not be making any loud thuds against the floor when running. I always try to maintain a neutral spine from my neck to my lower back. With a slight lean slightly forward from the hips but this also depends on if your running with normal thick sole running shoes or barefoot style running shoes.

Running shoes play a huge role in how efficiently you run. The feet affect the structure of your body and therefore your movement when you run. Feet can be slightly different shapes with no arch, low arch, mid or high arch. So making sure your feet have the right shoe to support you is paramount. I advise going to a specific shoe outlet for running where they can check your movement and advise the right shoe for you. At the same time I prefer to run in minimalist running shoes myself. However your running form slightly differs to the above and learning to run in a different way, takes time and practice. For the average person looking to add some cardio to their exercise routine its best to stick to with the footwear heel they are most use to running in. However long term I think its best for your joints to learn to run the most natural way.

So how do we know we are making progress with our running? I suggest tracking distance and speed which is a great way to set short and long term goals. Nowadays we can use our mobile phones and download free running apps. I also like to wear a heart rate monitor and see how hard I worked and how many calories I used on my run.

Lastly make sure you stretch well after running whilst the muscles are warm. Slow static stretches are ideal after training holding the stretch for 15 seconds at least. Make sure that apart from stretching the major muscles in the legs such as the quads, hamstrings and calf's. Also stretch the glutes, IT band and hip flexors. I also like to stretch the spine out on all three planes to make sure there hasn't been a build up of tension through bad impact or bad posture during running.

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