Being in shape is not only based on going for a run, going to the mountains or going to the gym, there are several pillars on which a good physical shape is based. The time to achieve an ideal state of fitness will depend on these 4 points:
- Firstly moving with a purpose or determined objective, i.e. physical exercise.
- Secondly, something you will have heard 1000 times, a balanced diet.
- Thirdly, consistency.
- And lastly, rest. Doesn't that sound easy?
Before starting to run is very important sports equipment. Good Running shoes, quality socks, a breathable T-shirt, tights or, in the case of women, a sports bra.
Shall we get started?
Before giving you the necessary information and guidelines, you need to know what fitness is. Basically, it is the state or condition you are in to perform a given physical activity. Therefore, a good physical condition would correspond to the ability to perform an activity in a vigorous, efficient and effective way.
Physical exercise will be the best ally to get in shape and within the variety of sports, running is our favorite. One of the most important aspects will be to have the advice of an expert in the field.
Training
Training in a regular and constant way will be the basis for building a good physical shape. Logically, achieving a certain fitness will depend on several aspects, and will be different in each person due to physical, psychological and social conditioning factors:
- Starting point, i.e., what state of shape you are in when you start training.
- Age and sex.
- Previous or currentinjuries or illnesses.
- Training opportunities: space, material, company...
- Previous experience: this is key and refers to years or time of previous training.
Even if your current fitness level is low, if you have trained regularly in previous years, your body will be more willing and able to improve your fitness.
Pillars of running training
Let's get down to what really interests us, and that is how to improve your fitness when running, which is the core of the matter. In addition to the advice and perseverance we have already mentioned, organizing your training will be fundamental. This means that we must know what types of exercises or types of workouts are best for improving fitness and, more importantly, how to distribute them over time.
The programming, planning and periodization of training will be key in order to obtain a good physical shape.
Endurance training
It will be the foundation of our fitness improvement. Without going into technical details, the variety of stimuli should predominate, which should be correctly distributed and with logical sense. By variety of stimuli we mean training in different ways or performing various types of training sessions.
Continuous running at low intensity will be the basis of our training, but if our sport level allows it, we should include high intensity training. The series sessions or fartleks will be one of the best methods to improve our physical condition due to the improvements at physiological level.
- You may be interested in: What types of training are there?
Strength training
The great forgotten and more than necessary. In addition to strengthening our muscles, joints and tendons, it will be of great help to make us better runners. Strength training adapted to personal characteristics will allow us to be more economical in each stride, that is, we spend less "fuel" while running. This will result in us being able to resist running for longer or to run faster over the same distance.
Strength training combined with running will NOT lead to an excessive increase in muscle mass, it is almost impossible due to the caloric consumption while running. As far as possible we should include strength exercises with overload and move the loads as fast as possible.
Active life
Training is not enough if the rest of the time we adopt a sedentary style. Take a walk after lunch, use the stairs instead of the elevator, leave the car for short journeys and walk, cycle or use public transport, avoid sitting in front of a screen (TV, computer) for more than 2 hours at a time, visit colleagues instead of sending them an e-mail, play with your children, do the housework... everything counts.
Commitment and planning, the keys to success
How long it will take you to improve your fitness through running is something we can't answer for you. As mentioned above, it depends on many factors and conditions. What we can assure you is that with perseverance, effort and good planning it is possible to go very far, even further than you think!
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