Jogging was and still is the best way to lose weight, burn fat, strengthen the cardiovascular sytem all while having fun outdoors. You can jog almost anywhere and just about any time you want, making it very convenient to do. This is why there are so many people who do it.
A wrong beginning like setting the bar too high even though they may not have the right stamina to begin creates failure. This has prompted scores of people to quit doing it before it has had enough time to do them any good.
Let’s take a look at some things that may make it a little easier to get started on a jogging routine without running yourself into the ground.
The first and probably the most common mistake people make when starting a jogging routine is that they start out too fast. They go out and pace themselves too fast and end up huffing and puffing out of breath after 5 or 10 minutes. This is an instant recipe for failure and many people quit within a few days. So my advice is to get yourself organized and get the right equipment including, obviously, a good pedometer to be able to make your jogging a bit easier and rewarding.
People with patience and a little endurance likes to keep going for a while anticipating that jogging will get easier along the way. It can get harder because as some people build stamina, they push for higher jogging intensity. So it seems that there is no progress.
When you are about to set out on a jogging routine, the best thing you can do is buy a heart rate monitor before you ever jog your first step. With one of these, you can set up a pace that is comfortable for you and you can keep within that level throughout your jog. This means that you will not have to “guess” about the pace and you will not have to feel like your lungs are on fire when you are finished. This is when a good pedometer can make a difference. In this regard many people ask me what is the righ pedometer and I usually advice newbies to consider pedometers like the Accusplit AE170, not only are they very basic, but they are easy to use and understand.
The key here is to always jog between 50% and 70% of your maximal heart rate. You need a good heart rate monitor to stay within this limit. You can speed your pace up if it goes a little low, and slow down if it goes a little high. You can even slow to a walking pace if your heart rate goes too high, and resume a jogging pace once it goes below 50%.
The way for you to know where your heart rate should be to be between 50% and 70% is by using this formula:
Subtract your age from 220. This will be your maximal heart rate. Now, simply multiply this by .50 and .70 and that will give you your targeted heart zone. Below is an example of this formula.
Say you are age 42
220 minus 40 equals 180
180 times .50 equals 90
180 times .70 equals 126
By looking at this example, you can see that if you are 42 years old, you would keep your heart rate between 90 and 126 while doing your jog.
The fact is you do not need to go fast to get benefits from jogging. It is how long you are moving that counts. It is more beneficial to cover a mile in say, 17 minutes, than to cover it in 8 minutes and then be exhausted.
If you stay within the limits of your heart rate capabilities, you will begin to add more time and miles to your jog as you go and jogging will become something you look forward to instead of something you dread doing.
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