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Jogging -
Health Benefits and How to Do it
By: Knut Holt
Performing regular
jogging gives better physical condition and other health benefits. Jogging also
gives physical and mental pleasure.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF JOGGING
Jogging on a regular basis gives a distinct good effect upon the general health,
provided it is not over-done. The effects are:
* Jogging makes the heart stronger. It increases the capacity of the blood
circulation and of the respiratory system.
* It speeds up the digestive system and helps you get rid of digestive trouble.
* It counteracts depression.
* It increases the capacity to work and lead an active life.
* Jogging makes you burn fat and thereby helps against over-weight.
* If you suffer from poor appetite, jogging will improve your appetite.
* Jogging will strengthens the muscles of your legs, hips and back. However you
will not get very big muscles from jogging.
* Jogging makes you sleep better.
THE PLEASURE OF JOGGING
Jogging gives you physical and mental joy, provided you do not exhaust yourself.
When jogging is done correctly, you will actually feel less tired when you have
finished a tour than before you began. You get nice feelings in your muscles
during the jogging and afterwards.
You will feel the wind blowing around your body. You will hear the birds
singing, the music of running water in the streams, or the sound of waves
dashing towards the seashore. During the jogging you will also get a euphoric
mental feeling after some time.
CLOTHES AND SHOES
The type of clothes you were must be suited to the weather conditions. In warm
weather, shorts and a t-shirt is enough. However, it may be useful to carry
along an extra piece of clothe in a light back-pack if you run out on a long
route, in case the weather aggravates. In colder weather you must add more
layers of clothes. In either case, the requirements for the clothes are:
You should use light and soft clothes without any sharp sutures, hard edges or
massive folds. They should sit fairly close to your body, but not so close that
you feel squeezed, trapped, or so that your movements are hindered.
The clothes should give good ventilation for moisture and sweat and perspiration
through the fabric. The fabric should ideally hold water totally out from the
outside, but this requirement is difficult to achieve together with the
requirement of good ventilation.
You should use fairly soft shoes, but with a good shape fitting the anatomical
shape of your feet. The soles should easily bend during the normal movements of
your feet, but support well against the ground. The underside of the sole should
give friction against any type of grounds, so that you do not slide during
jogging. The soles should buffer well against each impact from the ground.
JOGGING ROUTES AND SESSIONS
Jogging may be performed in a lot of ways
* Long distance jogging 6-20 km in a moderate speed on even roads or paths.
* Short distance jogging 3-6 km in a high speed.
* Jogging upwards in a steep terrain 3-4 km, in a speed adjusted to the
steepness
* Jogging in a hilly terrain with paths going both up an down 4-8 km
It is advisable to vary the type of jogging from day to day. Then the jogging
gets funnier and you get a variable type of training.
HOW TO PERFORM A JOGGING SESSION
You should move slowly with little efforts the first few hundred meters to warm
up your muscles. Then you gradually increase your muscular work and speed. When
you have done half the route, you can take a speedy spurt using most of your
capacity. If the route is long enough, you can take two or three spurts using
nearly full capacity.The last hundred meters you gradually slow down again.
STRETCHING YOUR BODY BEFORE AND AFTER EACH SESSION
It is advisable to stretch out both before and after each jogging session, and
not only the muscles in your feet, but your whole body 2 minutes before and 3-4
minutes after the session. When stretching out do the following movements:
* Bend forward and touch your toes.
* Kneel down on one of your feet, and stretch the other out backwards.
* Bend your body to both sides.
* Stretch out an arm, grab something, and turn your body round so that your arm
is bent backwards.
* Shoot your abdomen foreword, so that your spinal column is stretched into a
bow.
* Place your hands behind your neck and stretch your arms backwards. Then twist
your body to left and right, also bend to each side.
After the jogging it is sometimes best to wait for some minutes before you
stretch out, so that the worst tiredness has gone away first.
WHEN AND HOW OFTEN
If jogging is the only sport activity done, a jogging session every second day
is ideal. This is enough to give all the health benefits and increase your
condition and endurance gradually, but without wearing yourself out. If you
combine jogging by other types of sport activities, 2 times a week may be
enough.
You should not be too hungry before jogging, but it is not advisable to take a
jogging session straight after a big meal. The time of the day does not matter,
but your jogging should not be the first thing you do in the morning.
HOW TO BEGIN
If you are not accustomed to physical activity before you start jogging, it is
advisable to consult a doctor before you start. You may have health issues that
is not compatible with jogging activities, or that you must consider when doing
your jogging.
The first times, you should only jog on plain ground and only for 10 minutes.
Then you can increase the time, distance and speed, and choose steeper and more
difficult paths.
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