Starting a running routine requires planning and discipline. From the beginning, establish a goal. Choose something realistic that will keep you motivated, such as running a specified distance in a certain amount or time or losing a targeted amount of weight. To ensure longevity, begin your running routine slowly and build on your progress as you go forward. Do not skip ahead in your program, even if you feel you can. Doing so may place excess strain on your body, leading you to burn out well before reaching your stated goal.
![Establishing a running routine can help motivate you to get in shape.]()
Instructions
- Purchase proper running shoes. In order to get the right shoe, you must figure out your foot’s pronation. Pronation is the way the foot rolls from heel to toe on each stride. To determine your level of pronation, grab one of your old sneakers and look at the sole. Your foot overpronates if most of the shoe wear is on the medial (inside) side. Runners who overpronate should buy motion-control running shoes. Your foot underpronates if most of the shoe wear is on the lateral (outside) side. Runners who underpronate should buy cushioned running shoes. You have a neutral stride if the wear on the underside of your sneaker is uniform across the forefoot. Runners with neutral strides should buy stability running shoes.
- Sit down with a calendar and plan your running schedule. Try to find three or four days a week where you can dedicate at least half an hour to running. Space out the days to give your body a chance to rest and recover. According to Running Times, you should try to run in the late afternoon or early evening. This is the time of day when body temperature peaks, allowing muscles to be loose and supple. A study conducted at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center bolsters this opinion, revealing that lung function is more than 6 percent better in the afternoon hours than at other times during the day.
- Complete a five minute warmup walk before beginning each and every exercise.
- Alternate 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking during Week One. Do this for 20 minutes uninterrupted. According to Runners World, alternating between jogging and walking is a good way to increase heart rate levels while reintroducing your body to the rigors of exercise.
- Complete two rounds of the following exercise each day during Week Two: jog 200 yards (or jog for 90 seconds), walk 200 yards (or walk for 90 seconds), jog 400 yards (or jog for three minutes), walk 400 yards (or walk for three minutes). According to Cool Running’s Couch-to-5k Running Plan, it is more important to increase stamina and endurance during the early weeks of your running routine than it is to worry about speed.
- Complete one round of the following exercise each day during week three: jog 1/4 mile (or jog for three minutes), walk 1/8 mile (or walk for 90 seconds), jog 1/2 mile (or jog for five minutes), walk 1/4 of a mile (or walk for 150 seconds), jog 1/4 mile (or jog for three minutes), walk for 1/8 mile (or walk for 90 seconds), jog for 1/2 mile (or jog for five minutes).
- Complete one round of the following exercise each day during Week Four: jog 1/2 mile (or jog for five minutes), walk 1/4 mile (or walk for three minutes), jog 3/4 mile (or jog for eight minutes), walk 1/4 mile (or walk for three minutes), jog 1/2 mile (or jog for five minutes).
- Jog 2.5 miles (or jog for 25 minutes) at a comfortable pace during week five.
- After completing week five exercises, continue to add distance or time to your runs if you feel like you can. Increase distance by a maximum of 10 percent each week going forward if you haven’t already reached your initial goal.