Jaldi Fit
Running, Skipping and Cycling
Run, skip and cycle your way to a fitter body

Do you think you have to be confined to a gym or an aerobic class to be fit? Not at all. Fitness needn’t be expensive, boring or regimented. Be innovative and do different activities, indoors or outdoors, to get out of a fitness rut. Whether you choose to run, cycle, skip or even play a game of catch, it doesn’t matter! Indulge in whatever activity you enjoy. Make sure you have fun to the boot while getting trim, toned and taut.

Regular exercise is important for everyone. Yes, you’ve heard that a million times, but it should become an integral part of day-to-day living. If you need a reason to stay committed, it is a great idea to team up with a partner or a friend. Having a partner to workout with you, not only provides additional motivation, but also makes exercising twice as much fun!

Buddy workouts help you increase intensity without trying too hard! When you are busy pacing one another, you don’t realize the effort you are putting into your workouts.

The three forms of fitness activities described below are:

  • Running
  • Skipping
  • Cycling
RUNNING

Running is a wonderful aerobic exercise that pushes your pulse into your target zone and keeps it there for as long as you desire. It is a simple activity that you can do anywhere at your convenience. You can run on a track, the beach, grass, hills, set of stairs, parks and trails.

Once you have a running foundation, you can work on improving your speed, stamina and strength. When you make running a habit, you are sure to get hooked…. it is an exhilarating experience!

Running is known to be a mood-altering activity that can still your mind and sharpen your focus. It eases stress, alleviates depression and helps renew and restore your mental well being. How does that happen?

Running is known to release endorphins and other brain chemicals that help relieve pain and induce pleasure.

The Core

Good runners power their performance from their centre or core. You have a center of gravity at the mid-section of your body, right around your belly button. That’s your core, and every movement should be balanced from that point out in terms of arm action, how you place your feet and track your legs. Proper form can make you a more efficient runner, but even more important, it can help prevent injuries.

Technique

  • Hold your stomach muscles tight to maintain good posture.

  • Keep your back flat and your head in line with your spine.

  • Use your arms. They act as a balance for your legs. Keep your elbows slightly bent, and movement of the arms should initiate from the shoulder joint.

  • Relax your shoulders. Hunched shoulders will impair your arm action and create tension in the neck and shoulders.

Training tips

  • Always maintain a heel-toe action when running.

  • When you want to quicken your pace, ensure that you work the arms harder as well as the legs.

  • When running uphill, alter your body weight forwards in the stride to allow for the steeper gradient.

  • Wear a pair of good quality running shoes so that there is greater shock absorption for the legs.

  • When sprinting, alter your running action so that you run on the balls of your feet, rather than maintaining the heel-toe action.

Benefits

Running strengthens the legs, develops endurance, eases tension and burns fat.
It is one of the most efficient ways to improve cardiovascular fitness.

Can you take the pounding?

Not every human body can take the stress of activity involved with running. Running places intense stress on your joints; about three or four times your body weight. If you are new to exercising, progress gradually from jogging to running. Make sure your knee joints and back muscles are strong enough to be able to withstand the sport.

Running workouts

Do these running workouts with your partner. Try to increase speed or endurance using your partner as a pacer.

  • Sprint workout
    Do 100-m sprint intervals with 2 minutes recovery intervals.

  • Distance workout
    Jog 5 minutes. Run 25 minutes. Jog 5 minutes.

  • Hill workout
    Run up hill. Walk down hill. Jog on level ground for 2 minutes. Repeat.

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