Ready to pick up the pace after making a habit of walking for exercise? Running could be your next challenge.
“Running is a sport,” Dr. Paul Ochoa, a physical therapist and owner of F Squared Physical Therapy in New York City, tells TODAY.com. And beginners should know that like any sport, it takes time to learn, and there will be some pain and discomfort as you get used to it.
New runners need to progress slowly or risk getting injuries. Many beginners make the mistake of doing too much too soon. It’s normal to be sore, but if you experience acute pain or pain that doesn’t go away, seek help from a physical therapist, Ochoa advises.
If you can, get a running coach to help you move at the correct pace.
How to start
“You’re just gently nudging in,” says Johnson. “You’re allowing the body time to adapt.” Start with a brisk walk to prepare the body for the stress of running, says Chris Johnson, physical therapist, endurance coach and owner of Zeren PT LLC in Seattle. “I call it fitness walking, which is brisk walking with the arms pumping 3 to 3.5 miles per hour,” he says.
If you haven’t been walking regularly, be sure to do at least two to three weeks of fitness walking for 30-45 minutes a day, with longer walks on the weekends. “That would slowly morph into a walk-run,” says Johnson, “and then eventually continuous running.”