3 Beginner Running Tips You NEED to Know
Holly Martin
November 16, 2016
We believe that anyone can become a runner…as long as they have a firm determination and a proper training plan to follow. Here’s a few of our most powerful beginner running tips that will keep you healthy and motivated to improve daily!
Beginner Running Tip #1: Regularly Practice Your Breathing
Take note of your current running posture. Are you slumped over in your chair, car, or couch reading this?
Sit (or stand) up straight!
Optimal oxygen intake means creating space for the maximum amount of air to get into. Sitting and standing up straight gives your diaphragm maximum room to expand and take in oxygen. Who knew our mothers were onto something way back when at the dinner table?
Here’s a little breathing drill you can add into your run routine:
- Before leaving for the run, take 10 big belly breaths. Keep one hand on the chest and one hand on the belly to feel full expansion with each breath. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth.
- For the first 5 minutes of your run, breathe only through your nose. Take the speed down if you need to, but stay committed to this type of breathing. It will set you up for breathing tips for running, as well as encourage your shoulders and neck to relax into your stride.
We believe this to be one of the most important beginners running tips to implement.
Beginner Running Tip #2: You’re An Athlete, Not Just A Runner!
As beginners, it’s easy to categorize ourselves as runners…and just runners.
When we do this we limit ourselves to thinking we only need to run to get better at running. This is not the case!
Strength training and conditioning built into your weekly training regimen can make a world of difference in your ability to stabilize the shoulders, core, and legs for optimal run form… as well as help you to prevent injuries before they occur!
Take for example a lunge:
- It helps us access, identify and address the weakness in the glutes & hamstrings
- It forces us to find our core strength when the balance is compromised in a split leg position
- It opens up our hip flexors for an improved range of motion in our stride
- When done alternating continuously for a set period of time, it challenges our breathing and ability to maintain good form through fatigue
Here’s a little challenge for you:
Try to continuously alternate lunges for 5 minutes. Step out with the right foot, come back to two feet, step out with the left foot, come back to two feet, etc. For an additional challenge, hold dumbbells (either down by your hips or up on your shoulders).
Beginner Running Tip #3: Don’t Overdo It!
As a beginner in anything, it’s tempting to jump in head first! We can definitely relate to that excitement of starting something new and committing to it with all of your efforts. Not to mention, there’s no better feeling than officially being able to call yourself “a runner” 🙂
But just because you’re new, doesn’t mean you don’t have to train SMART.
Here are a few ways to build a solid training plan:
- Schedule both your run & rest days. Recovery is just as important as accumulating mileage.
- On your rest days and for at least a few minutes on your run days, do something good for yourself. Mobilize, take a bath, foam roll…work on something.
- Mix it up. If you run hills one day, run flat the next. If you run on a treadmill on Tuesday, run outside on a dirt trail on Wednesday or Thursday. *Here’s some advice on that terrain transition.
Bonus suggestion for your rest days: spend 3 minutes in the bottom of your squat position. Watch your hips, ankles, and knees open up instantaneously.
Need some ideas for mixing up your runs with strength work and mobility? Download this FREE 2-Week Training for access to tons more beginner running tips like these.
There are hundreds of beginner running tips to choose from out there. Feel free to implement the three shared here to make your “rookie runner season” as enjoyable as possible. Good luck out there!
