Before you start
If you haven't exercised for a long time, have a heart condition, high blood pressure or diabetes, or take medication that affects your heart, talk to your doctor first. For everyone else, the best starting point is walking: if you can't walk briskly for 30 minutes without trouble, start there.
The walk–jog method
You alternate short stretches of jogging with stretches of walking, and gradually make the jogging longer. It's the safest way to start because your joints only take impact for short periods at a time.
- Week 1: 8 rounds of 1 minute jogging and 2 minutes walking.
- Week 4: 5 rounds of 3 minutes jogging and 1.5 minutes walking.
- Week 8: 20 minutes of continuous jogging.
You'll find the full week-by-week plan in our cardio section. If a week feels too hard, repeat it. There's no rush.
How fast to run
Much slower than you think. You should be able to say short sentences while jogging. If you can't, slow down or walk. Most beginner injuries come from running too fast, not too far.
Shoes and surfaces
- Buy running shoes in a specialist shop and try them on in the afternoon, when your feet are slightly more swollen.
- You don't need the most expensive model. What matters is that they feel comfortable from the start.
- Dirt trails, park paths and athletics tracks are kinder than tarmac when you're starting out.
Strength protects runners
Two strength sessions a week for your legs and core lower the risk of injury to knees, ankles and back. Squats, step-ups, glute bridges and calf raises are the most useful exercises.
The most common aches and what to do
- Pain at the front of the knee: reduce your volume, avoid downhill running and strengthen your quads and glutes.
- Pain in the Achilles tendon or the sole of the foot in the morning: reduce the load and work on calf strength.
- Pain along the inside of the shin: usually means you've increased your volume too quickly.
Pain that makes you limp, appears in a specific spot on a bone, or doesn't improve after one or two weeks of relative rest needs a medical assessment.
Sources
This article is for information only and does not replace an assessment by a doctor, physiotherapist or other health professional.