Jogging Tips for Beginners - What You Must Know Before Pounding Pavement

Wear reflective clothing when running in the dark. Always assume drivers cannot see you. Wear a safety vest with reflective tape if youe going to jog in the evening to avoid getting hit. Be sure, too, that you jog facing traffic so you can get out of the way if necessary.

* Wear running shoes that feel good on your feet and offer adequate support. This is a critical point and very important to your jogging program. Poor foot support equals injuries. You will be more likely to suffer from shin splints, blisters and joint pain without proper foot support.

Consider Interval Training

If you get out there and realize jogging is just too difficult or uncomfortable to do safely, do not hesitate to rotate between jogging and walking. You can do a fast walk that builds up to the jogging bursts and with time you will be able to run longer and longer at a stretch, until you are jogging a solid half hour, hour, and beyond.

There are some great jogging programs that take you through structured interval training that progressively builds up to running longer stretches of time.

Take your time building up your endurance to avoid injury and burnout. You want to enjoy jogging. It a great activity after all, but it no fun if you get hurt. Your body needs time to come up to speed on your new fitness routine. Performing interval training will be a great help toward building your muscles and strengthening the ligaments and tendons around your joints.

Plan Your Route Carefully

You want to consider flat terrain when youe beginning a jogging routine. Since you may not be able to handle running up steep hills or through wooded areas where the terrain is varied and uneven. It makes sense to map out jogging routes that are less demanding. You can add in some hills or wooded areas as your endurance and cardiovascular health improves, or you could plan to just walk those big hills for now. Do what feels comfortable and keeps you coming back for more. Too much too soon can lead to burnout, injury and disappointment.

As a beginning jogger you may feel uncoordinated or awkward at first. Your legs may feel heavy and you may feel anything but graceful and pretty. Don't give up! Most people feel this way when they start jogging, especially those who have been mostly sedentary for quite awhile.

You can do some cross training with other sports or perhaps with strength training on the days you do not jog. Walking, hiking or biking are great cross training options to consider. They will help your body tremendously as you develop strong muscles and lose weight faster.

The more you jog, the faster youl feel graceful and at home in your running shoes! This is a great exercise to do and youl enjoy it if you take your time, listen to your body and get out there and do it regularly.