The Running Shoes

In today’s world, it seems that almost any topic is open for debate. While I was gathering facts for this article, I was quite surprised to find some of the issues I thought were settled are actually still being openly discussed.

For the vast majority of people, weight gain is a very slow, almost imperceptible process. Most of us are familiar with the experience of stepping on a scale and wondering just where, exactly, did those pounds come from? For most people, the weight comes from times in the past year where they indulged. What happens is that you indulge for a week or two (vacation, Christmas) and then go back to your normal lifestyle — you do nothing to lose the weight. So these small weight gains stay with you and build up over time. For this reason almost anyone would love to lose 10 pounds at some point, and a great way to do so is by jogging.

Depending on who you talk to, jogging is considered the best exercise to lose weight. The reason is because the high intensity of jogging burns a lot of calories. If you’re looking to lose 10 pounds, there are a lot worse things you could try than a half-hour jog a few times a week.

Jogging is also preferable for many people because it incorporates exercise in a more interesting way: trying to lose 10 pounds by going to the gym 3 times a week isn’t a whole lot of fun. It will certainly feel like “work” as you count off the minutes of your workout. Jogging, on the other hand, requires nothing but a pair of shoes, and allows you to enjoy some scenery.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

One of the problems people face when trying to lose 10 pounds is incorporating exercise into their daily routines. Most of us are busy enough as it is, and can’t find the time to go to the gym at scheduled intervals. If you’re trying to lose 10 pounds, you’ll find that jogging is a much more flexible activity – you don’t have to drive to the gym: you can do it wherever and whenever you want.

While jogging is an excellent way to lose 10 pounds and increase your fitness level, you should keep in mind that it is harder on the body then a lot of other physical activities. Jogging involves lurching your full weight around repeatedly – this is precisely why it’s such a good workout – and this can cause stress on the joints in your knees and feet. You should also keep in mind that jogging is an intense physical activity, so if you’re starting from a very low level of fitness it may be a little too much, and you may want to work up to it.

As long as you keep the above in mind though, you’ll find jogging an excellent way to lose 10 pounds. As an added bonus, jogging is recognized as one of the best ways to maintain weight as well, so you don’t have to worry about a diet that gains all the weight back once it’s stopped. And even though you may be jogging primarily to lose those 10 pounds, you’ll also be doing wonders for the health of your heart and cardiovascular system.

Don’t limit yourself by refusing to learn the details about weight loss. The more you know, the easier it will be to focus on what’s important.

By: Bryan Miller

Running. It’s the exercise goal that many people want to be able to do, and for a lot of good reasons. It’s famous for its dramatic benefits to cardiovascular health and weight loss, but it doesn’t stop there. Running causes your body to produce a powerful anti-aging element known as the Human Growth Hormone. This is a substance that celebrities pay a lot of money for and take every day to help keep themselves looking young. It will also improve your bone health, making your bones stronger and able to handle more stress, helping to prevent bone-related diseases later in life.

Unfortunately, as well known as running is for its health benefits, it’s also almost equally as famous for its rate of quitters. Every day thousands of people decide to take up this health-boosting activity, but there are very few people who stick with it long enough to really receive the benefits. They get outside and start running, only to find that in a very short amount of time they are exhausted, out of energy, and completely winded. It seems like this is an impossible task, and they feel that they are just too out of shape to tackle it. The issue here, however, doesn’t come from running itself – it comes from people not preparing themselves and going about it all wrong.

You can’t simply go straight outside and start running cold turkey. Not only is it incredibly difficult, but your body won’t realize any weight loss benefits at all, and only minimal other benefits. This is significant – research has shown that at least 60% of people who decided to take up running did so because they wanted to lose some weight. How is it possible? It’s simple – if your body isn’t conditioned towards physical activity, it won’t burn fat. Instead, it will burn other, more easily accessed fuels such as sugar. These sources of energy are quickly used, and before long, a person finds themselves out of gas and breathing heavily. They have only been running for a short period of time, but already can go no further. This builds up the task of running in their minds as impossible and even more difficult than it really is, when in fact, they simply haven’t gone about it the right way for their body to handle the task.

The trick is to start small. Don’t begin by running at all. Go outside, do your stretches, and take a very long walk. By doing this, your body isn’t going to turn to high-output energy solutions because it’s doing something it’s more used to. It can then access deeper resources of energy, such as glucose, or fat. More importantly, your body is building up its stamina. After a day or so of taking a long walk, take a long, quick walk. Pick up your stride a little and try to maintain it. The goal is to get your body slowly more accustomed to a harder work load. Push yourself, but don’t overdo it. When you’ve been walking at a certain pace for a bout a week or so, pick it up again. Your first goal is to get to power walking. You want to eventually be able to walk at a very fast pace for long periods of time. When you are finally able to accomplish this, keep it up for a month or so. Then start introducing jogging into your routine gradually. Power walk for a few minutes, and then jog for thirty seconds to a minute. Ease yourself into it.

Procrastination is the biggest enemy of exercising, so make sure you start walking as soon as you possibly can. For you to be able to exercise effectively you must allow running to become a common routine. Don’t put it off. – Make sure you have a habitual schedule that you follow, even if it’s only for a short time each day. Once you start procrastinating and making excuses, your efforts are going to be completely ruined before you ever even start. Exercising takes extreme discipline, and while it may be an enjoyable thing to do, a person has to be determined to do it.

Running is a fantastic way to boost your health, appearance, and energy in one simple exercise. It’s a great way to get outside and experience the beauty of the outdoors while you strengthen your bones, heart, and make yourself feel better. Just make sure you ease yourself into it, and don’t overdo it. Stick with it, and you’ll reap the rewards of an exercise that burns more calories than almost any other exercise available and is completely free.

By: Cole Carson

jogging

Everything there is about it is wrong. You either run or you walk. Jogging as a warm-up – NOT!; Jogging as a workout – NOT!! In my opinion jogging should be outlawed. Jogging is something the English invented and America adopted and eventually created a compulsive passion for in their attempt to get. Do you get the idea I have an opinion on this matter. You have no idea. There have been times of near madness that while observing the bad posture, painful looking, laboring, pounding foot strikes of a bad jogger running alongside the slanted, pitted edge of the road in a cloud of car exhaust as I drove up on them and for that brief moment I actually believed I would be doing them a favor by running them down and putting them out of their misery. So far I haven’t snapped.

If you know how to run it surely can be used as a part of a fitness program. If you are an athlete involved in pivotal sports, there are much better alternatives than running slow for a long period of time. Joggers’ intentions are honorable in finding an activity to improve or maintain their fitness, but when an activity is damaging important parts of your body in a cumulative fashion an argument for finding an alternative arises without much of an intelligent come back available.

There is a significant difference between running and jogging. Running is efficient, graceful, light footed, balanced and a biomechanical sound movement. Jogging is characterized by various degrees of incorrect movement techniques and posture. Posture is rarely close to acceptable ranging from hunched over and placing., tremendous stress on the thoracic and cervical spine to running ramrod erect with a pronounced hyper extension of the cervical spine which magnifies the compressive force on the lower back. Running: Personally, I am not a fan of distance running for fitness. Ice, uneven grades, foot, ankle, knee, hip, low back, neck pounding repetitions on hard surfaces, and car exhaust are a few of the negative impacts associated with running. On the other hand, I know many people enjoy it and it is a cost free form of exercise that can be done outdoors. Notice I stated that I am not a fan of distance running as opposed to running. A major portion of my all around training is running intervals on a track or a field. As with all the areas of fitness, maintaining good technique is the key to safety and performance. When running intervals I am using the muscles of the body to challenge the ground with each step, minimalizing concussive force in the joints up the length of my body.

Running is a world away from jogging. Two completely different animals. Jogging is characterized by various methods and degrees of ill form. Joggers can demonstrate a posture that ranges from having an hyper-extension of the lower bask to being hunged over, carry their arms too high, land heavily on the heel, and have their feet turning inward or outward. Such form uses excess energy and magnifies the impact of the each footstike, twising ankles, knees and hips as well as providing dangerous compressive impact to your spine, especially the lumbar area.

A well trained runner can move much faster than a jogger, yet experience much less impact due to a smooth form that minimizes vertical motion, and which doesn’t exhibit the heavy rear-foot landing during the footstrike. Think about it!

By: Greg Alario

Gone are the days that a stroller was just a stroller. Today, jogging strollers are extremely popular among the active parent who likes to combine a leisurely jog while taking their little one along for the ride. Designed to be used by either men or women, the jogging stroller was first introduced in the 1980′s and has steadily grown in popularity since then.

If you are considering the purchase of a jogging stroller, you can expect to pay anywhere from $100.00 to $300.00 depending on the quality and features of the unit. All jogging strollers require a 16″ fixed front wheel, which provides the jogger with additional control over uneven areas and/or bumps on their route. In addition, it allows for greater ease when traveling over curbs and other similar surfaces. Jogging strollers also feature a built-in shock to help promote a smoother ride for both your child’s body and your own. A taller parent will enjoy the benefits of selecting a jogging stroller with an adjustable handlebar. Some children, especially those that are still young and require head support, will need to have a stroller that features a reclining seat.

Speaking of traveling, when it’s too far to jog, you and your child will have to be prepared for highway travel. In order to do this, a car seat is required for your child’s safety and should be placed in the backseat facing the rear of the automobile. If you need help getting the car seat installed in your vehicle, you can take it to a local car dealership and ask that they provide assistance with the installation. This will ensure that the car seat is properly secured in your vehicle and will help to avoid any mishaps while traveling.

As you are shopping for car seats, take the time to make sure you are buying a quality product above all else. While cost is a consideration, safety has to come first when it relates to your child. Make sure to check out the sturdiness of any car seat before you use it and confirm that it is assembled correctly. In addition, you will need to make sure that the particular car seat that you purchase has not been involved in a recall by visiting the manufacturer’s website. If you already own a car seat and learn that it has been involved in a recall, stop using the product immediately and call the manufacturer for further instructions on how to handle the repair, replacement or refund of the product.

By: Matt Shupe