Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Jt Clough of Big Island Dog.
Running has always been my staple exercise. Why?
Because it’s easy. Though at first it may sound like something that isn’t for you, take a few moments to find out why running just 10 minutes a day could change your life from sedentary to active, from carrying a few more pounds than is healthy for you to feeling better every day.
Don’t take that statement wrong, I’m not saying that running is easy for everyone, especially if you haven’t done it before. What I am saying is if you are in need of exercise as a habit in your life, running is easiest to adopt.
Why Run?
- You probably don’t need anything you don’t already have to do it.
- You can do it from your front door.
- You can find 10 or 15 minutes in a day to fit in a run.
- You will get more oxygen to your body and your brain maintaining a more youthful you both mentally and physically.
- You can do it alone.
- You can develop a relationship with a running partner.
- Your running partner could be your dog.
- There are no monthly gym fees involved.
What Not To Do
I did not say run fast. I did not say go out and buy special running shorts, a heart rate monitor, $125 pair of shoes, and hire a coach to find out how to run, how far to run, or write a running plan you should follow to the T.
What To Do
- Depending on the weather put on a pair of shorts or sweats, a t-shirt or sweatshirt, a pair of socks, and any pair of shoes that don’t hurt your feet. Many times the broken in favorites are the best.
- Go out your front door.
- Walk for a couple of minutes. Then run. 16 steps. Or 100 steps. The length of your block. Around the block. However far you can run for right now, in this very moment today. Walking in the middle or the end is good too. Don’t be harsh on yourself. Keep moving forward for 10 minutes.
- Just do it. (to coin a Nike phrase)!
What You Do Every Day Counts
If you took just 10 minutes a day to run or walk, you’d have accumulated over an hour a week or 4 hours in a month. Those are very do-able steps to a more healthy, youthful you and you’ll find after a few weeks that is seems easy.
You will find that you start doing it longer. You’ll find you start liking how you feel even more. One day when filling out a profile questionnaire online or for an application, you’ll write in a very natural way: Runner.
Simply run 10 minutes a day. Amaze yourself.
As a 9 time Ironman finisher, and author and creator of 5K Training Guide | Running with Dogs, Jt Clough writes in Hawaii at Big Island Dog and encourages you to make that change you want so badly today!
