#Exercise Tips

[liesmyth]

I want to start running...any tips?

I WAS BORN TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION. Thank you so much for asking! Unfortunately, I am a nerd about my hobbies so this got quite long.

Keep it simple ✨

Running is easy to get into; our bodies are built for it. Don’t stress over technicalities and just do what feels natural to you. My local races are full of 70-something white-haired pensioners who are kicking ass at it. Don’t let anyone tell you that running is meant to feel like dying, that’ll harm your knees, or that you absolutely need to have that specific smartwatch model to get into it. All you need is a solid pair of shoes, everything else is optional.

Medium effort is the way to go

The ideal aerobic running pace is a speed at which you’re able to hold a conversation, even if a bit winded. NO faster. If you’re able to sing along to your playlist or chat with a friend, that’s your ideal running pace. If you’re gasping or wheezing, slow down! You’ll get a bit faster as your lung capacity gets better, but that shouldn’t be a priority unless you want to train for a race. You get most of the health benefits of running just by keeping up a steady, sustainable, conversational pace.

Walking breaks are fine, actually

That’s the reason why I don’t love C25K as a beginner program — the way it’s structured sort of implies that walking breaks are something you should grow out of to become a more experienced runner. If you need to walk for a bit, go ahead.

If possible, jogging is preferable, just because the mechanics of even a glacial-pace jog are more similar to running than those of a faster power walk, so you might try switching to a jog after a bit of a walking interval. But walking is not a failure; there are serious marathon training plans out there that use walk/run intervals as a viable strategy.

(Related: picking up speed helps you keep going! If you feel like you are completely drained, try speeding up for a very short interval, then slowing back down. It’ll often give you an energy boost to keep going)

Run for time, not distance ⌚

Especially for beginners, I find that getting fixated on numbers can be counter productive, and the most important thing is to listen to your body. If you’re aiming to hit a certain mileage, you might get the urge to speed up at the end to get done faster. Instead, set yourself time-based goals and end every run with a cool down jog or walk.

SHOES!! 👟

Good running shoes are essential, and pretty much the only fitness-related purchase on which I’ll always support dropping money. If you get to the point where you’re consistently running 10 km (6 miles) each week, you’ll want to go to a running store — the kind of place where you’ll get fitted, and they’ll have you try on models and jog on a treadmill to evaluate your gait and let you know which characteristics your ideal shoe needs. I can’t stress enough how useful running store staff can be. They’re all running club nerds who LOVE getting new people into running, and they really want to help you find your ideal fit. Also get good running socks while you’re at it.

Be prepared to drop at least 100€ (or equivalent currency) but they usually have a great return policy if the model isn’t a good fit for you. Take care of your running shoes — maintenance, wearing them only for running, gentle cleansing etc — and the cushioning will last for quite a while (600km / 370miles at least). If you decide that you hate running, they’re still great for walking around. Once you find your ideal shoe model, it gets a lot easier to shop for it during end-of-season sales, or looking for online bargains etc. I love stocking on end-of-series shoes and rotating them so they’ll last even longer, and I buy online quite often! Just make sure your FIRST pair is fitted, for ideal injury prevention and joint health.

Injury prevention 💪

I’d love to still be running 10k races when I’m 70, but it takes some care to get there. When you run, you’re slamming your body weight up and down with every stride, and that might be hard on your joints if you’re not used to it. If you’re completely new to running, cap your runs at 15/20 minutes every other day. Do that even if you feel like you could keep going! If you have a good aerobic base already, you need to give your joints time to catch up with you lung capacity, and give your body time to recover. Do bodyweight exercises like lunges and planks and glute bridges to strengthen your core, legs, and hips. Dynamic stretches are great for warmups, and static stretches are better for cooling down. If you have the option, running on softer surface like grass or dirt is better than asphalt, which is better than concrete and pavements.

(If nothing of what I’ve said here makes sense to you, shoot me another ask, or look at some of the resources I’ve linked down below!)

Don't get bored! 🎶

I love running in groups. Running clubs are great. You can learn so much in a hands-on way from seriously experienced people, you can chat about gossip over a running job, and you can make some interesting friends. If you don’t have access to a running community, then personally I love just chilling on a run by myself listening to an audiobook or podcast or exploring a certain area.

Running form❓

Don’t stress about it. Just go out and move your body. Attempting to modify your ‘running form’ too quickly can do more harm than good. There ARE a few things you could pay attention to — I recommend trying to focus on one of these at a time for a minute or so, and alternate between them. After a while, it’ll start to feel natural to keep track of all of them:

1. Don’t slouch! But a slight lean forward is great.

2. Keep your shoulders pulled down and your upper back tense.

3. Swinging your arms in a way that helps with your stride is good, but I shouldn’t feel forced.

4. Even breaths, inhaling through your mouth and expiring through your nose.

5. Take turns to check with every part of your body, and relax them in turn: are your jaw and neck too tense? Are your fists tight?

6. Don’t overstride! shorter strides with quicker leg turnover are better than huge strides that feel awkward to you.

7. Use your glutes to drive up the motion of your legs, not just your quads. This can take a while to get used to, but it’s a game-changer.

8. ENGAGE YOUR CORE. This is a great skill to develop whether you work out or are just existing in the world — basically, let your inner abdominal muscles help you carry your weight forward. This is VERY intuitive once you know how to do it, but it’s hard to get a grasp of it if you don’t know what it means, so here are some resources about it.

an extremely fucking comprehensive article that improved my life and eased my big-boobs back pain

similar content but in video form

a running-specific form video

Personally, learning to do this made me feel like I unlocked a superpower. Go forth and brace.

Accessories and tips 🤓

Like I said above, the only thing I really suggest spending money on for real is running shoes. Everything else is details! However, I’m nothing if not wordy I have Thoughts about those details, too.

Run tracking: I suggest downloading Runkeeper if you want to keep track of your runs — it’s free, intuitive, and solid! If you decide to get into wearables, a low-level Garmin >>>>> anything else.

Self-care: use sunscreen and/or thick face cream as needed. Stop to sip at a public fountain if needed. Get a small fanny pack to hold your phone, keys, or lip balm if needed. If chafing is an issue, anti-glide gel is relatively affordable.

Outfits etc: I get all my running gear and clothes from Decathlon — they are in most countries and ship worldwide. I especially love this thermal shirt for colder weather

Safety: if you’re running on the road, make sure to run in the opposite direction from traffic and to wear something bright. If you run with headphones near traffic, keep the volume down, or get over-the-ear conductor headsets. I love shokz, they're fantastic.

Post-run snack: eating something small and carb-heavy within 30 mins of a workout is great for kickstarting recovery. I love dried fruit personally.

Various resources 📝

Routine basics: check out the r/running order of operations, which is a great “how to” guide to building a basic running routine. I also recommend that subreddit's wiki! Running programming gets exponentially more involved the more advanced you get, etc — if you ever have any questions, hit me up!

Dynamic stretching warmup: a quick leg swing workout to get your legs ready to go. If you’re feeling overachieving, here’s a lunge warmup routine and a how-to bodyweight squat video.

Cooldown routine! Check out Strength and Mobility, a great post-run quick cooldown routine that includes some bodyweight exercises to strengthen your hips and core. Video included.

that's all, folks! 🏃‍♀️

Sorry I got carried away! I love running. I love getting people into running. My mental health, cardiovascular system and my popping quads also love running. But FYI, some people hate running and that's also fine! If you decide it’s not for you, find something you like more. There are a lot of misconceptions out there and a lot of guilt-tripping and body shame-y rhetoric around exercising, especially aimed at women, and I want to make clear it’s all bullshit. Just have fun <3

[sensible-tips]

Fitness Friday

Tips for perfecting your push-up game.

[essence-inked]

Based on recent events, apparently my stupid hyperactive gremlin exercise takes are helpful, so I figured I may as well cobble them together and make a post about it.

Disclaimer here that not every example I give is going to apply to everyone and all that jazz, but hopefully the broad ideas are useful.

You don’t actually need to do a certain number of reps or miles or whatever - it can be helpful if you want to measure your progress, but if it’s not fun, you can just… not do it. Instead, you can do the thing until it stops being fun, and if your goal is to do the thing better or faster or more, if you keep doing it until it stops being fun, you’ll improve a tiny bit every time, and eventually, you’ll tire out a lot less quickly.

"I should exercise” feels kinda like a non-sequitur to me; there’s a ton of ways you can do that, and a lot of different things it can accomplish. Instead, ask yourself what it is you actually WANT to do (i.e., “I want to have less back pain,” “I want to be outside,” “I want to get better stamina so I can climb this mountain”). And when that’s hard because there are a lot of things you want to do at once and you’re not sure where to start, pick the easiest first, and go from there.

Sometimes you don’t want to stop the thing you’re doing to go move around and junk, and I did not realize that people actually put all their other stuff on hold to go do that? And that's why a lot of people think exercise is boring? Anyways yeah you can watch videos or listen to podcasts or audiobooks or hang out with friends while moving around. I can’t listen to or watch anything without doing something else, so this just sorta Happens for me, but yeah if the idea of exercise sounds boring to you, you can totally spice it up a bit.

Exercise doesn’t need to be rigorous daily routines. It can be (and occasionally, that's helpful if you’re trying to do a specific thing), but it can also just be doing things that involve moving around on a day-by-day basis. Like, it can be “today I want to go find cool rocks in the woods” or “today I feel sore, so I’m going to do some stretches,” or “today I’m going to go swimming because it’s hot as hell.”

Also! Walking around museums is exercise! Helping a friend move is exercise! Splashing around in the ocean is exercise! Moving your body can be the secondary goal of the activity rather than the main one!

If you’re sitting there thinking “man, I need to get out and move around, but I have no clue where to go,” may I suggest a quest? Pull up google maps or apple maps or whatever, and go looking for weird new stuff to explore. And like. You are allowed to walk three miles to an antique shop. You are allowed to bike way out on some backroads and walk into a general store all sweaty and bedraggled. You are allowed to schlep ten blocks through the snow to get to a coffee shop and spend two hours there with a hot drink and a good book.

It’s neat when exercise is the sort of good uncomfortable where it’s challenging and fun, but be aware of when it gets to the bad-uncomfortable point before it actually hurts you (I am prone to not doing this, so reminding myself to not get too wrapped up in stuff is a whole thing). Anyways yeah, make sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard, and remember that limit is different depending on the person.

But yeah basically the crux of this is that making your body feel good should go in tandem with taking care of your mental health, and that exercise is a lot more fun when you’re doing things that you actually want to do, not things that feel like obligations.

[softyin]

does anyone know anything about building muscle?? i want to start the gym again and get stronger but not rly sure on how to do so effectively bc im trying not to lose weight rn and just want to build muscle

[healthybeautyqueen]

THE BENEFITS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE IN YOUR ROUTINE!

[nyinginyi]

5 Super Simple Exercise Tips

With each New Year comes the determination to begin exercising. Perhaps even you made a promise to add more exercise into your day. If your efforts at exercising are not going as well as you had planned, take a look at these tips. They might help get you back on track.

Tip #1 – Do Something You Enjoy

Exercise doesn’t have to mean spending hours at the gym peddling away on a stationary bike. It doesn’t mean you have to spend money on exercise gadgets you will likely never use, either. Anything you do to get your body moving is going to be better than doing nothing. Walking is an easy exercise that you can do just about anywhere, in any climate. Situbondo Bike riding, dancing, gardening, weight lifting, swimming, playing a favorite sport, house cleaning and even playing in the yard with your children are just some of the ways you can add exercise into your daily routine.

Tip #2 – Schedule Time for Exercise

As you would a meeting or a doctor appointment, sometimes the only way to make time to exercise is to put it on your daily schedule. We’ve all got busy lives and we’re often so busy taking care of others that we never seem to make time for ourselves. Once exercise becomes part of your daily To-Do list, you’re more likely to do it. Some people have only a certain time during the day available for exercise while others will have to vary the time each day. Some people need a nudge and for them, exercising with a friend is a good solution. Choose whichever way works best for you. Just remember to actually go and do it!

Tip #3 – Remember that Exercise Can Energize

Even though you might feel too tired to exercise, give it a try anyway. You might be surprised to find how energized you feel while you’re at it and afterwards, when you’re finished. Exercise is a great stress-reliever too and if you know anything about stress, you know that it is one of the body’s biggest energy-sappers.

Tip #4 – Don’t be Afraid to Mix it up

Like anything that is done over and over again, exercise can become mundane. When you get bored with exercising, you’re less likely to keep at it. To keep from getting bored with your workout routine, change it. If you’re tired of walking, try cycling. If you’re into weight lifting, try alternating this with cardiovascular exercises throughout the week. Go bowling or play a game of tennis once in a while, and if you find you enjoy these types of activities, join up with a team.

Tip #5 – Always Begin by Warming up

Regardless of the type of exercise you choose, it is very important that you begin each session by warming up your muscles. Stretching helps prevent damage to muscle tissue and it gets your blood flowing. It gets your heart pumping, too. Just five minutes is all it takes to get your exercise session off to a good start.

[blotips]

7 Tips for Achieving Your Fitness Goals and Living a Healthier Life

Fitness is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle, and it involves a range of activities aimed at improving overall physical and mental well-being. Engaging in regular exercise not only improves physical fitness but also reduces the risk of chronic diseases, improves mental health, and enhances overall quality of life. Read more

[emmysclubhouse]

the most effective form of exercise is the one that you can commit to.

[kennedyroadau]

It's never too late to spring clean your skin! Spring is the season for cleaning, but have you ever thought about giving your skin a Spring clean too? Here are a few tips to get you on your way to beautiful, healthy skin this Spring:

💚Exfoliate your skin and get rid of that dull and dry layer of skin from the enduring Winter (our Exfoliating Crystals are perfect for this!) 💚Start using a lighter moisturiser - try our Ultra Hydrating Moisturiser or Lightweight Daily Moisturiser 💚Wear sunscreen - every. single. day…even on the cloudy days (that's why we stock Avocado Zinc) 💚Eat more fresh fruit and veggie intake - they are extra delicious at this time of the year 💚Keep hydrated - this is an all year round thing, but even more important as the weather starts warming up (why not sneak some Collagen Beauty™ - Lemon Lime into your water for delicious refreshing hydration) 💚Get your work out routine back on track - get that heart rate going and increase your blood flow 💚Clean out your make up drawer! Replace all your old makeup with fresh, new @runwayroom makeup (especially mascara cos it needs to be replaced regularly)

Enjoy your glow ✨💚🌸

[neuzboyx24net0]

Brisk Walking: Can brisk walking impact knees? Experts suggest how to walk right |

Brisk walking has recently gained attention to become a popular exercise for staying fit and healthy. It’s, of course, simple to do, and has sureshot effects on the body, and also is accessible to people of all ages. But does it pose any threat to our knees or can it be of concern for those with knee concerns, like arthritis or previous injuries? Can brisk walking hurt your knees? Does it worsen…

[liesmyth]

do you have any advice for people looking to get into running but are extremely out of shape and overweight? like best ways you think to start slow without hurting yourself and build on it

Hi! Every time I get an ask from someone wanting to get into running it makes my day 100x better thank you sooo much for asking ❤️

I don't know what your definition of "extremely out of shape" is, but if you currently can't handle running for an extended period of time, work your way up with long walks, or walk + run intervals, until you can handle 30+ mins of continuous exercise. GET RUNNING SHOES FOR THAT ALSO. Your body will thank you.

My general beginner running tips post applies + I really recommend paying extra attention to joint care. Running is an extremely high-impact activity — you're slamming your entire weight on the ground 100+ times a minute, and the greater your weight the bigger the strain. I can't stress enough the importance of keeping your runs shorts at first and listening to your body (15 mins 3/4 x week is already a lot!) but generally, strengthening your lower body goes a long way towards healthy knee joints.

Strength: I've already recommended Jay Johnson's Strenght & Mobility routine, but if you're feeling fancy I'd also suggest working your way up to weighted squats, lunges, and romanian deadlifts (2-3 sets, 6-8 reps, using whatever you've got around the house that can serve as a weight). As I said in the og post, I can't recommend enough looking into core activation, which will help a lot if you have breasts that bounce when you run. Big boobs back pain is real.

Chafing prevention: this can be a bitch, unfortunately. Jiggly bits (inner thighs, skin folds, breasts) can chafe a lot, and if possible get leggings / shorts / bras with as few seams as possible and anti-glide gel — if you have declathon in your country, their anti-chafe cream is good and pretty cheap. If you have never heard of declathon, you're probably in the US and I know there are good brands over there also. (This part is unfortunately born out of anecdotal evidence, i.e. my dad, who went on a 10km jog and then couldn't walk for like a week. Chafing is the crotch killer)

Stretching! I'm a hypocrite and don't stretch nearly as much as I should, but don't be like me. Some stretching tips from sports physiologist / very Fast Guy Pete Pfitzinger under the cut.

Again I'm very flattered you asked me!! GOOD LUCK lmk how it goes <3

[sensible-tips]

Fitness Friday- Tips for Getting the Most from Your Workout

[lavandamichelle]

Building a Lasting Fitness Journey: How to Create a Sustainable Workout Routine

Are you tired of starting and stopping your fitness journey, only to find yourself back at square one? Creating a sustainable workout routine is the key to long-term fitness success. It’s time to break free from the cycle of short-lived motivation and embrace a lifestyle that supports your health and well-being. In this blog post, we’ll explore practical tips to help you build a workout routine…

[dynamichealthinsights]

Staying Active and Fit with a Busy Schedule: A Comprehensive Guide to Prioritizing Your Health

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, it’s easy to let exercise fall by the wayside. Work deadlines, family commitments, and social obligations can quickly fill up your calendar, leaving little room for physical activity. However, prioritizing your health and fitness is not a luxury but a necessity. Regular exercise offers a plethora of benefits that extend far beyond physical fitness,…

[lilasnow22xoxo]

nothing feels worse than watching yourself gain back the weight you lost