Exercise - Your Second Month Running

You’ve completed your first month running, now onto your second month.

You read the other posts on how to get motivated, how to start running and your first month. If you haven’t you really need to read those first.

So, you’ve been running for a month. You’ve followed the schedule for the first 4 weeks, you’re still motivated and you’re beginning to feel the benefits of feeling fitter. Well wait to you get to the end of this month, as hopefully you will manage one run of 30 minutes without stopping, but really don’t worry if you don’t.

As we said in a previous article, depending on your age and fitness level, we all progress at different rates, so don’t increase the rate of training if you don’t feel comfortable to do so. Just repeat the same week over again, and the distance only when you are ready.

But please, if you have still not yet checked with your Doctor or Physician, please do so first before running.

Running is both about getting fit and can also be about losing weight and burning fat if that’s your goal. You will burn more fat than swimming or cycling, 100 calories per mile, roughly, and it’s doesn’t take that long. Lowering cholesterol and your blood pressure as well.

Remember to try to keep your route on reasonably flat ground. One steep hill at this stage, will be too difficult. Stick to the pavement or sidewalk if you can. Even running on grass can sap the energy from your legs.

OK, we’re ready to progress to week 5. You’re going to be out of the front door a little longer than last month, only about 10 minutes or so, but it will be worth the effort. Previously you were doing sessions about 3 times a week. You now need to step this up to 4 times a week.

OK so week 5. Walk for the first couple of minutes as before to warm up. On week 4 you were running for 7 minutes, so this week you’ll run for 8 minutes. Then repeat 3 further times, ie. Walk for 2 minutes then jog for 8 minutes.

For week 6, you’ll again walk for two minutes and then jog for 9 minutes, repeating three times. At week 7, move up to 11 minutes.

Now on to week 8. If you managed to follow the schedule so far great, your target for this week is a 30 minute run at the end of the week. If you haven’t kept up, do not feel bad or demotivated. Just progress at your pace, and believe me you will get there. So walk for about 5 minutes, and then jog for about 20 minutes with another short walk and a further jog, the second jog does not have to be 20 minutes again if that’s too much. The goal here is to jog for 20 minutes without stopping. In the next session, move onto 25 minutes then when you can do your first 30 minute run without stopping. After a 30 minute run, that’s enough! No need to repeat. Just walk home to cool down.

So well done. Follow the cooling down exercises from our earlier article and get ready for Month 3

Lana Soko is passionate about health and writes for http://www.lose-weight-with-us.com