By Pat Crandel
It's January and if you're like every other American over the age of 21, you are going to resolve that THIS is the year that you're going to lose a couple of pounds to get trimmer and healthier! And THIS time, gosh darn it, you MEAN it! Whatever. If you're like the rest of us, you won't have the will-power to stick with an exercise regimen and you'll find some really good excuses why you're too busy to have the time to exercise.
I'm not going to insult your intelligence and tell you all the cardio-vascular benefits to dedicated (pulse-heightened, sweaty-browed) exercise. I will tell you that you only need 20-30 minutes, three times a week to see significant changes in body and spirit. The main reason to exercise is to look better, feel better and be healthier, and those are some pretty compelling reasons!
I'm here to motivate you. Stand up straight! Put that doughnut down! Drop and gimme 50 push-ups! No . . . Not that kind of motivation. The real kind, the lazy procrastinating-person kind. I'm going to talk you into running. Yay! But here's the cool part - I hate running too! Quick flash-back: when I graduated from school, I knew I didn't want to turn into The Blob, as I saw my other friends doing, so I did some research into exercise and got the bad news: running may be the best source of conditioning, calorie-burning and heart-healthy exercise.
But running is soo boring, you say. I'm wit' ya', bro! But I learned some tricks early on, and I've been running for 35 years now! And seriously, if I can do it, ANYONE can. But you have to trick yourself into overcoming the inertia of a coach-potato life-style. And there IS a good trick!
Step 1 - After you got your doctor's OK to exercise, treat yourself to some new spiffy-looking running shoes. Any good brand name like Nike, New Balance, Reebok, etc., will do, but they have to be real running shoes, not walking or "leisure" shoes - there IS a difference. If you have funky feet (like my EE ones), you'll have to go to a place that can TELL you what to buy, like First Place Sports (not a plug - I just know they're all runners there).
Step 2 - Get in your car and in your neighborhood or wherever you plan to run (more on that later), drive the route and measure out, on your car's tachometer, a 1-mile, 2-mile, and a 3-mile course. Be as exact as you can and remember where the mile-markers are.
Step 3 - Block out the time you'll need (half an hour is fine at the beginning) three times a week. You MUST dedicate this time to yourself. You're worth it, aren't you? Be a little selfish in this! The best time to run is before a meal, because running also has the added benefit of suppressing your appetite for up to an hour afterward.
Step 4 - Depending on how outrageously out of shape you are (the worse the better - I'm serious), walk/run 1 to 3 miles and time exactly how long it took you to do it, to the second. If you're already in SOME shape, run up to 3 miles, but getting your time is very important. Stretch AFTER you run.
Step 5 - Start a running log. Write down exactly how far you walked/ran and how long it took. This is where being out of shape comes in handy. Your goal is to walk/run faster and/or farther every week. So if it took you 12 minutes to run/walk one mile that first time, then next week all you have to do is walk/run UNDER 12 minutes or walk/run a mile and a half at the 12-minute pace. THIS IS THE KEY STEP and the fun part. Beat yourself! See the progress you're making. You'll see slow progress at first, but after 2-3 weeks, you'll start making steady progress. And the primary incentive to KEEP running is NOT to lose whatever progress you've already made!
One of the keys to running is to switch it up and not get in a rut. For that you can find other places to run, like parks and (my favorite) the beach. There's nothing so stress-relieving as a nice little run (or walk/run if you're in the beginning stages) on the beach, listening to the waves and watching the surf roll in (and watch it roll away again - Otis Redding).
C'mon, you know you want to look and feel better, so take it from a running-hater like me, let the games begin. Can you beat you? Why, yes, I think you can!
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