Elevate Your Running Game With These Helpful Tips

While there are some people who really enjoy running, studies suggest that only around 8 percent of surveyed runners actually love it. The rest tolerate it with around 50 percent actively hating it. So why do people still run even if they hate it? Essentially, it’s due to a combination of factors including wanting to improve their physical and mental health as well as improving body image. A running routine also provides a sense of consistency and stability, two things that are sorely needed in people’s lives.

Still, running isn’t completely horrible. In fact, when done properly, it can actually be a rewarding and even meditative experience. Plus, running can help boost your mood. When you start running, your body transitions from your at rest state to a more active state. Your breathing gets heavy and your pulse quickens as your heart works harder to move blood to your muscles and brain. While you might not experience a runner’s high afterwards, you will feel more relaxed thanks to the increased levels of endocannabinoids in your bloodstream which elicit a feeling of calm.

Besides feeling more relaxed, a good run has plenty of mental and health benefits including:

• Improved working memory and focus

• Elevated mood

• Greater productivity

• Improved sleep quality

• Increased cardiovascular fitness

• Stronger muscles and bones

• Decreased risk of developing heart disease

Even if you never experience the sought after ‘runner’s high’ as you can see there are plenty of benefits of following a stable running routine. Whether you’re just getting started or have been running for a while, there are still plenty of ways you can improve your next run. Boredom is one of the more common complaints from those who run, so why not try these tips to keep your next run fresh.

Turn Off The Tunes

This might sound counterintuitive, but turning off the music can help you build up internal motivation to keep going. Sure, a good sound track can keep you running for longer, but there’s something to be said about focusing your mind on the task at hand. Much like meditation or mindfulness, when you’re not distracting yourself with something else, you can live in the moment and hopefully clear your mind. You’ll also be much more aware of your surroundings and your own body so you can adjust your run as necessary.

If you can’t run without some music, then consider changing up your playlist. New tunes can transform a run from boring to exciting. When looking for new music, make sure the ideal beats per minute (BPM) for a jog is between 120-125.  However, if you’re looking to keep running at a consistent pace, you should aim for a tempo between 150-180 BPM. These are all suggested, but you should find your own ideal tempo. You’ll need a treadmill and a friend. At first, you want to run at a normal, easy pace and then set your watch to 60 seconds. You want your friend to count how many times your right foot strikes the ground. Take that number and then multiply it by two to find your natural cadence/BPM. Once you’ve got it, you can find the music best suited to you.

New Wardrobe

Do you find that you have extra pep in your step when you wear new work or casual clothes? You’ve probably heard the saying, “dress for success” and that’s true for work and for exercise. The clothes you wear can have an indirect yet subtle effect on your stress and anxiety levels, so why not spend a little extra cash to get some workout clothes that make you look and feel great.

When choosing your new ensemble, you don’t want to fall into the trap of trends. While it might be useful to see what other workout influencers are wearing, more often than not they are being sponsored by the companies they highlight on their social media. Influencers and brands will often stretch the truth to make a sale, so it’s important that you are able to try on the clothes and return it if it doesn’t fit. Don’t be ashamed to wear budget outfits. Remember, it’s about what works on your body, not what other people think about. Plus, other people who are working out properly are too focused on their own run to really think about someone else’s outfit.

You don’t have to wait until your workout clothes are in tatters to buy new ones, although you should make sure you don’t break the bank on your new wardrobe. Instead, slowly replace items that don’t fit properly or are damaged. Don’t be afraid to spend a bit more than you normally do especially for running shoes. There’s nothing worse than experiencing foot pain because your shoes are too small or don’t provide enough support.

Switch Up Your Route

Routine is good. Your brain craves it. However, after a couple of weeks, you’ll probably get bored of seeing the same scenery. Once you start getting bored, your run will feel like even more of a slog. Considering that 43 percent of people give up their fitness goals within a month, you’ll need all the help you can get to stay engaged and motivated.

Depending on where you live, finding a new route might be easier or harder. If you don’t live near any parks or the streets around you aren’t safe to run, you can still make some changes. For example, instead of running at a consistent pace, you can do some interval training to really get your heart pumping and vice versa. You can also adjust the incline and decline of your treadmill to for a nice change of pace. If you usually just listen to music, consider listening to an audiobook or maybe even watching a video of a scenic beach, forest, waterfall, etc.

If you are able to get outside and run, then you can easily change up your route. Have some fun and explore new places or even drive to a local park for a nice run out in nature. You want to break up your routine every now and then as new stimuli will keep your brain and body engaged. Change up the time you run as well to give you a new perspective and visuals. If you normally run in the morning try it at night (if it’s safe) and vice versa.

Turn Off Your Step Counter

Sure, you want to keep track of your progress, but sometimes it’s good to just turn off your counters and just enjoy the run. Easier said than done for a lot of people, but if running starts feeling like a chore, stop attaching data to it! Sure, you want to know if your performance has improved, but sometimes the numbers aren’t always important, especially if you’re just running for your health and not professionally. Once a week, just go for a run without the expectation of hitting new goals.

If you find it hard to turn off that app or not look at your step counter, just leave your phone at home. Not only will this signal to your mind that this run is not for ‘gains’, it will also prevent you from getting distracted by texts, app notifications, and calls. That way you can focus on you and your environment. So ditch the stats, at least a few times, and run free!

Run To A Guided Meditation

When you think of meditation, what is the image that pops into your head? For most people, it’s probably someone sitting cross-legged on the floor in stillness. However, meditation doesn’t have to be sedentary. In fact, you can meditate while running. Sound crazy? A lot of big names, like Nike, are getting behind meditation in a more active form.

So what exactly is meditation? Essentially, it’s the practice of focusing attention to clear your mind and reduce anxiety. In the beginning, you usually focus on your breath, but as you become more adept you can simply start focusing your mind. Not only does meditation calm you, it also has positive health benefits and can reduce stress, ease depression, cope with pain, and even strengthen parts of the brain.

Many people get distracted while running either due to your thoughts, environment, or physical sensations. As such, your form will suffers leading to a greater sense of exhaustion and bodily pain. Meditative running can help you fully connect your body and mind and balance focus and relaxation. When you’re not worrying about what you need to do after your run, you can give yourself the freedom to actually enjoy and appreciate it.

If you’re interested in guided meditation running, there are apps available from Nike to get you started. These are essentially recordings that help guide you through the process. Once you start getting the hang of it, you can leave the app behind and guide yourself through the meditation. One of the questions you should ask before you start the run is Why am I doing this? Do you want to unwind? Are you training? Or maybe you just feel like running. Whatever the reason, you can create a structured plan that will then help engage your mind.

Go Super Slow

Improving your pace over time can feel great, but if you’re feeling sluggish or unmotivated, you might benefit from slowing down a bit. Sure, shaving off some time off each run can feel great, but you don’t always have to push yourself to beat your personal best every day. In fact, sometimes going slower can actually help you run faster.

Before getting into why that works, it’s first important to understand the difference between aerobic and anaerobic training. Aerobic activity, as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine, is any activity that uses large muscle groups and can be maintained continuously and is rhythmic in nature. Aerobic running then is easy running below 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. This helps maximize your ability to burn fat as a fuel source.

On the other hand, anaerobic training happens when you kick up the intensity and step outside your comfort zone. If you’re a runner, this is essentially where you put forth all of your effort into an all-out sprint. You’ll be a lot faster, but you’re not able to sustain the pace for very long. Entering an anaerobic state means your body uses up energy in your muscle, which leads to a build of lactic acid. This mechanism stops you from pushing your muscles beyond the limit by slowing you down.

Why does this matter? As mentioned, with aerobic running, you’re burning fat stores for energy which can keep you running for longer and faster. However, in anaerobic training the primary source of energy comes from the glycogen stored in your muscles, which gets burned up much faster than fat. Even if you top off with carbs, glycogen stores will last less than two hours.  If you want your body performing in top condition, you want to remain in the aerobic zone for as long as possible so that you can tap into your fat instead of your glycogen.

Chances are your current pace is somewhere between easy and hard. While it might feel like a sweet spot, you actually want to focus on either aerobic or anaerobic training. The top marathoners run at a slower pace than they would during the actual race with around 10-15 percent of their runs being very hard. How slow you should go depends on you. In general, you want your heart rate to remain at no more than 80 percent of your max while running. Most smart watches can do the math for you, but you can also do it by estimating your max heart rate by subtracting your age from 220 and then work backwards to determine your heart rate zones. When you go slower, not only will you be burning through your fat stores, you can also take the time to focus on your breathing and maintaining proper form.

Enjoy Your Next Run Safely With This Helpful Runners Guide

While there aren’t too many people who actually LOVE the act of running, many people set aside their discomfort for a variety of reasons. Maybe you feel like you should run because you want to gain the health benefits that come with it. Or maybe it’s part of a healthier lifestyle. Whatever the case, running workouts can help you reach your goals.

Plus, if you follow the tips above, you won’t get burn out of running. Instead of viewing it as a slog, you’ll find yourself excited to go running not just because of the relaxed state you’re in after the run, but because you’re not falling into the pitfalls of following the same, boring route or pushing yourself too hard during a run. Even if you do miss a day, don’t beat yourself up for it or feel guilty. Feelings of guilt can lead people to dropping the activity or pushing themselves too hard the next day to the point they get injured. Just take each day as it comes and start slowly so that you can work up to longer runs. If there’s no race you’re training for, there’s no need to compare yourself to others so go out there and have fun!

Jessica Lauren is Founder, contributing Author and Owner of Citrus Sleep. Citrus Sleep is an online publication that highlights brands, sleep products, women’s fashion, subscription services and ideas creating positive social change and promoting a healthy lifestyle. After spending nearly a decade working in PR and marketing for several brands and startups, Jessica knows what truly drives conversions, sold-out launches and guest posts.

Follow Jessica at @jessicalaurencs | Jessica Lauren

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