[8/31/11] Wednesday Wellness: Beginning Running Program

This morning in the shower I was thinking. That's where I think my best stuff. I was thinking about my days as a Certified Personal Trainer and how I kind of miss those days.

When we moved to Georgia I closed my personal training business, and even though I know this is not my season for actively being a Personal Trainer, I'd still like to share some of the knowledge I've gained through the years from professors and such.

So just in case anyone's interested, and to help me remember what I've learned and experienced, I hope to post wellness-related stuff every Wednesday.

And if there's something in particular you're interested in, please leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do to answer your question/concern/curiosity.

Today I'm sharing my awesome beginning running program. And it really is awesome. I've used it with clients, family, friends, and strangers who quickly became friends.  It's from Runner's World, the absolute best running magazine around (in my opinion):

If you're already a walker or an exerciser, you can skip the first two weeks of walking. I usually skip stage 8 because 1 minute of walking really doesn't make the 14 minutes of running any easier. And it's best to have a day off in between the running days if you can. Two days in a row is okay, but it's better to run every other day. If you do the 4 days/week program, you could run Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, for example. Or something like that.

99.9% of the people I've done this program with are very hesitant to move on to the next stage each week and don't think they're ready. But they always are, so move on to that next stage. You can do it. I promise!

Another very helpful thing for making this program successful is this watch (or one like it): 

*Image courtesy of amazon.com

It's a Mens' Timex Ironman 100 Lap Flix Watch and you can find it on the internet or at Target or Walmart. No matter what watch you use the key thing is for it to have intervals so you can set it to beep when you need to go from walking to running and vice versa, otherwise you'll constantly be looking at your watch and the running part will seem like it takes for-e-ver. I know this from personal experience. I'm on my fifth or sixth of these watches. They are very durable but I use them a lot. This particular watch has the flix light which comes on when you flick your wrist. A very helpful option for running in the dark.

Now I know you might be looking at this program and thinking, "There is no way I could do this!" But believe me, you can. Like I said, I've used this program with many people who thought the same thing but who survived and realized it can be done.

And there are not many things more enjoyable than seeing someone's face the first time they finish running 30 minutes straight.

It's priceless. 

*Disclaimer:This advice or any advice concerning nutrition and exercise should only be followed after consultation with your physician.  

And I don't know why the spacing is so messed up in this post. After many attempts to fix it I've decided to let it go and move on. :o)