Have you seen that episode of Friends where Phoebe goes running with Rachel and she runs like Kermit the Frog? She says she runs like that because it’s like when she was a kid and it makes it fun. That episode makes so much sense to me.
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I’ve never really enjoyed running. No wait, let me correct that–I’ve never enjoyed running for long periods of time. I’m not one to go running for miles and miles for an hour straight. First off I’m not in that good of shape but secondly I just get bored. However, I DO like running for about twenty minutes. In intervals.
Here’s what I do: I do a walking warmup for about 5 minutes at a slowish pace, slowly getting faster. Then I start running, fairly slowly for about a minute. After that I back off to walking again for another minute. Then running, faster this time. Back to walking. I keep switching back and forth between walking and running, each time running at a faster and faster pace. Basically the goal is to push yourself as hard as you can during your running to work your heart. It shouldn’t be a long time, only like 30 seconds to a minute.
This is a good way to lose weight (if you do it regularly.) It forces your heart to work harder so it gives you a higher heart rate for longer after you’re done running. Versus if you run at the same pace for 45 minutes, your heart will find homeostasis and your body will adjust. It’s great for training for marathons and all, but it’s not as effective for weight loss.
So maybe try it out for awhile if you’re tired of running and not seeing any results.
PS. I don’t run like Kermit the Frog…at least I try not to.
Melissa says
March 7, 2012 at 3:32 pmOh my gosh that episode cracks me up every time! I am training for a half marathon this fall (had my baby boy three month ago and need to whip myself into shape now!) and the training is the same in the beginning…run 20 seconds of each minute until you can successfully run all the time. Oy. I think running in public has been the hardest part of training for me! Ha!