Is there a Thing as 5K Walking

We all walk everyday. Some of us just to around the house, or to places where the distance is too short to make it worthwhile to take the car. You probably have been told this before, but walking is a great exercise. But to get the maximum benefits from walking you need to do it properly. A 5k walk four times a week will help to keep you is shape and shed a lot of excess weight. This does not mean a slow casual stroll with your friends. It means walking with speed, precision and with an objective in view. The best way to do this is to set yourself a goal of entering a 5k walk and doing well. You probably won’t win because there will be experienced walkers and perhaps even professionals in the pack, but then again, you shouldn’t expect to.  Taking part in the event and completing it in a reasonable time is enough of an achievement and once you do it, its all the motivation you need to keep on walking and perhaps even going in for longer distances.

The first thing to do is to make a regular Jogging walk a part of your daily routine. Don’t worry about the distance initially – walk as much as you are comfortable. Try it increase the distance gradually along with a slow increase in speed. If you push yourself too hard then you are more likely to have problems so don't push yourself too hard. An increase of 0.5k per week is fine. That means that if you start with a 2k walk, you should reach 5k in about 7 to 8 weeks. Don’t worry about your time – walk a brisk pace that does not leave you feeling exhausted at the end of the walk. A good target for a beginner to aim for is to do a 5k walk in between 50 to 60 minutes.

There is a lot of material available on 5K Training walking. While this may seem needless for such a common and basic activity, read a few books and articles. Knowing what posture to keep, what strides are best for you and so on are necessary to get the best results from your walk, both in terms of performance and exercise.

Once you have this down as a part of your daily schedule, find a 5K Training race to enter. On the day of the race stay to the rear of the starting grid – let the experienced walkers and the pros get off to a clean start. One you start you may find yourself in a pack of other walkers. If the speed suits you, stay with the pack, but try and keep to the outside so the crowd doesn't cramp your walking style. If the pack is either too fast or slow, drop out and walk at your own pace until you find a pack the matches your speed.

You will find people speeding up away from the packs as the finish line approaches. Don’t let that worry you – you can pick up these tricks later on. The best thing to keep your mind on is that you are going to finish the race. After the race compare your performance with others of your age and fitness level. It will give you an idea of where you stand and if you have to improve your performance which you can do when training for the next race.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today and if you sign up to be a member for free then you get your free jogging ebooks.
 

Beginner Tips for 5K Training Runs

Getting ready for a Jogging run does not need any drastic changes to your life style, taking it for granted that you live a reasonably healthy life and are in good physical condition. Running is not just good exercise, but it should also be fun and over doing the training and preparation will not just take the fun out of it but can also result in overstraining yourself and, in fact, reducing your running abilities.

What follows are just general guidelines and can be modified within reasonable limits to suit individual requirements. Just remember that the plan has a focus of getting you ready in 8 to 10 weeks for running the 5k and tampering with it too much can make the plan less effective. The plan calls for 4 days a week of active exercise and training, 1 day of relaxed exercise designed to keep you loose and flexible and 2 days of rest.

Many people tend to ignore the rest days and put in more exercise. They think that the more effort they put in, the faster they will be ready for the Jogging . They also feel that since they are not suffering from any form of tiredness or soreness, they don’t need the rest. Wrong on both counts. Your muscles need rest not just to recover from the exertions of the exercise, but also to build themselves up which they cannot do while being is constant use. If they do not have this chance, their development is restricted and you will not see the kind of results you may be expecting. Another thing to watch out for is to not feel too tired or sore which is a good thing to not feel that way. It means you are not pushing your body too hard, which can be counter productive. So never ignore the rest your body needs. Keep Mondays and Fridays as your rest days.

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are the days when you run. Find a good warm up routine to start the session with. After that, begin your 5K Running at a comfortable pace. You really want to try to not push yourself too hard and you especially don't want to be too lazy and not work hard enough. At first running 1k like this is fine. You can build up the distance slowly. You don’t have to run a longer distance everyday, but a good target to set is to increase the distance by 0.5k a week. Increase the distance more if you are comfortable with it but don’t be afraid to reduce it if you find the 0.5k a week too much. The idea is to run 5k, and whether it takes you 8 or 12 weeks to reach that level doesn’t make much difference.

On Wednesdays do some other form of exercise like cycling or swimming to exercise the other muscles of you body. About 30 minutes per day is fine and using the same principles you can build it up slowly.

What you really want Sundays for are to help loosen up your body. Do a slower run or a run and walk combination over a longer distance than you do on the other days.

You can play around with the days to suit you convenience. Just don’t bunch the exercise and rest days together.
  
Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

Yes You Can Achive Your Fitness Goals

The start of a new year always brings out the resolutionists who use it as a motivator to try to get in shape and lose weight. Why people have to wait until January to begin exercising is rather disconcerting, as any day of the year is a good time to begin a fitness training program. Motivation is key. If you are not ready to begin exercising today, then you will not last much past the second week of January either.

So what does it take to begin exercising? It could be that you working out is something that you have never done. Then the best place to start is in your neighborhood and simply find the time to walk briskly 30 minutes a day. You should keep working towards building the intensity. Tackling a hill as you walk, maybe twice a week, to increase the effort. Maybe you can begin jogging a few minutes at a time. You should always look to set your goals higher. Simply going out and walking the same pace day after day will not work your body well.

Many people enjoy going to a gym. There is a benefit to having so much fitness equipment at your disposal. Your motivation can increase by working out with other people. A fitness trainer can help you achieve your fitness goals. They will create a fitness plan for you and meet with you once or twice weekly. They can help you learn the exercise correctly and will help monitor your progress toward your fitness goals. Exercise classes are available for attending. Popular gym classes include total body fitness, Pilates, yoga and indoor cycling. There are tons of cross-training activities like basketball and swimming available. If you have the interest and money then a fitness gym can be a great place to begin your fitness workout program.

You can work out at home if you prefer to exercise alone. There are numerous commercials on television marketing any number of home exercise equipment devices. Typically simple is usually best until you decide exactly what your fitness goals are. Beginners would do well to find a good exercise DVD to start out with. You want to make sure you are concentrating on cardiovascular activities as well as muscle training. Purchasing home fitness equipment is not necessarily important as you can derive as much benefit by doing those old-fashioned exercises like push-ups, sit-ups and other muscle building and cardiovascular exercises that you learned in gym class. The DVD will help you get started. Working out your whole body is important.

The main thing is that motivation is what getting fit is all about. If you want to be in shape, lose weight, and/or achieve your goals of being fit, then you simply have to get out there and get moving. If you do not have the desire then no expensive exercise equipment or gym membership is going to make much of a difference.

Learn the Miles in a 5K

When you think about it does it really matter if its measured in kilometers or miles? No matter what way you tend to look at things or think about things, the distance itself is not going to change. But it does have a psychological effect on people who may be running the distance.

A 5K Training is 3 miles long. Or if you want to be really accurate, it is 3.10615969 miles long.  Its basically nothing more that a mental attitude which depends on what system of measurement you are more accustomed. Whether you have done your running training based on a 3 mile distance or a 5k one, you have been doing exactly the same thing. If you are honest with yourself, the difference of about 100 meters will not really affect your performance in your race. The only difference will be, for runners who measure their performance in seconds, it the few moments longer running time the extra 100 meters of the 3 mile run will take over the 5k one.

The difference in performance requirements in nothing. For a runner who normally puts in a final burst over the last 500 meters of the 5k course, it means postponing the start of the bust by 100 meters, or doing a 600 meter burst at the end. The only time measuring a races distance as either 5K Running or 3 miles will make a difference is when the run is over a closed circuit where runners who are regulars on the circuit will have a fixed mark or point from where they begin their final push to the finish line. If a runner has a mark he has been using regularly in 5k races, when he is in a 3 mile race he will have to either find a new mark to sue for starting his burst or judge the extra 100 meters from his regular mark and then begin his final burst. If its the reverse then you are normally a 3 mile runner.

Of course, the terminology of 5K Training and 3 miles is being used more and more interchangeably and non professional races often set a 5k distance for a race that is called 3 mile one and a 3 mile distance for a 5k race. The variation in distance is so small it makes no difference to those who run it and has had no measurable impact on the outcome of the races.

However, many professional runners feel that this casual attitude towards a difference of a 100 meters is a mistake. In a world where victory and defeat is measured in hundredths of a second, the extra 100 meters of a 3 mile race will add up to 15 to 20 seconds to a race time and will give an incorrect measurement of a runner’s performance. After all, even the best of sprinters take about 10 seconds to cover a 100 meter distance so the extra amount that needs to be run should not be ignored.

In the end it really comes down to a mindset and a runner’s habitual distance and his comfort level with the terminology.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging Tips is the premiere website to connect with all of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Visit the new Jogging TIp.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

Getting the Best 5K Race Results

Since you are not a professional runner you have doubtless been told over and over again that you should run against yourself and do the best you can without worrying about how other runners are doing. That’s fair enough because as an amateur runner your main interest is normally in keeping fit and the enjoyment you derive from running. But lets face it, man is a competitive animal and we all want to outshine others when we can. This is never more true that in a race when the race results are a generally accepted measure of success or the lack of it. You may be a weekend or occasional jogger who decides to enter a 5K Training just to see how your performance level compares with others of your age group. If you are 50 years old and finish in the middle of the other people of your age who are in the race, you should be satisfied with your 5k race result. The problem lies in the fact that while its nice to know that you are as good as your peers, you can’t help wishing that you could outperform them and rather than finishing the race in the midst of 50 year olds you could do it among the 40 year olds. People tend to think about being at that age and feeling so great and young?

Pushing yourself and your body too hard is not just foolish but also dangerous and you could do yourself serious harm. If you want to improve your 5K times and still take some of those things into consideration then there are a few things that can be done.

The most common method of improving your timing is to practice tempo running. This simply means maintaining an even pace (or tempo) throughout your run. Start with 1k and run it at a pace that brings you to the threshold of exhaustion at the end of it. Knowing when you have reached your threshold is important – overdo it and you could hurt yourself. When you muscles ache and your breathing becomes labored, you have passed your threshold. Once your have established a maximum pace for 1k, start gradually extending the distance (without letting your pace drop) – remembering again not to cross the threshold. Keep doing this until you are running the full 5K Training as fast as you can. This is you maximum pace and will give you the best 5k race results you can expect without hurting yourself.

The important thing to remember is that running should be fun. If you push yourself to the point where running is a task that has to be performed only to feed your ego by getting better results than would normally be expected of you, you are doing yourself a disservice. How long will the desire to run last? Is it worth it to take the pleasure out of running just to get great 5K Running results that, in the final analysis, do not improve the quality of your life? Keep striving for improvement, but know when to stop. And remember, if you are over 30 and want to push yourself hard in the pursuit of a good 5k time, check with your doctor first to be sure it is safe.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn the best tips for training for a 5K and what to expect for your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

5K Training Program with Running and Walking

The 5k run walk event is very popular with those who are regular walkers (and even those who are not!) as the next level in both a fitness regime as well as an enjoyable competitive sport. The mixture of running and power walking reduces the overall impact of the exertion on the body and lessens the risk of injury. Since it is up to you as to how much you run and how much you walk, you can find the balance that suits you best without over straining your body.

5k is about 3.2 miles and depending on the levels of fitness it can be run in about 20 minutes by fast runners and can take up to an hour for the non professional walker. When you begin a new sport you really want to distinquish that you are doing this for yourself and not to compete with those who are at a higher level than you.

Presuming that you are already a walker, 5K Running for the 5k run walk is not difficult. If you search bookstores and the internet you will fine a huge volume of material on run walk techniques and 5K Running programs. As a beginner you don’t need to worry about all that at this time. A simple 3 stage (3 days X 2 of Jogging and one day rest) weekly training program should get you into shape for the race.

Start each day’s training with a simple stretching and warm up routine. This should not take more than 3 or 4 minutes and should leave you feeling loose and relaxed.

Stage 1 (Mondays & Thursdays) – These are your speed training days. Run a sort distance – up to a quarter mile – as fast as you comfortably can. Slowly build up your performance. One Mondays keep trying the increase your speed and on Thursdays increase your distance till you can do 2k at a fast pace.

Stage 2 (Tuesday & Fridays) – These are your run walk day. Starting by covering 2k at a moderate pace by a combination of running and walking (about 50% each). Moderate pace means something between a flat out run or high speed walk and a slow jog or causal stroll.

Stage 3 (Wednesday & Saturday) – These two days are meant for stamina building. Start at 2 or 3k and work your way up to 5.5k. Really you can say that speed isn't as important but that does mean you should be lazy about it. The most important thing is that you finish the 5.5k without feeling exhausted and totally out of breath. If you are wondering why the distance is 5.5 and not just 5k, it because the extra distance will give you stamina for a fast burst at the end when you are in a race.

Modify the days to suit your convenience but ensure that there is one rest day a week so you muscles can recover and build themselves up. Adjust the training intensity and progress to suit your body. You really want to not try to measure your success by your time but how you feel after you cross the finish line.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

5K or 3 Miles?

Are 5K Running and 3 mile races the same thing? The answer is yes and no. Yes because a runner who can do 5k can do 3 miles. No because 5k equals 3.10615569 miles and in today’s sports world where a thousandth of a second can mean the difference between victory and defeat, the extra hundred yards can make a lot of difference. Its like another 100 meters sprint added on to the 5k race.

A 5k race is all about pacing yourself as a runner. You need to know when to conserve energy, when to use short bursts of it during the course of the races and when to make the final push. The better the runner you are, the more finely you will be able to judge when to do what. And if you are a good enough runner to be able to define your race strategy in meters, the extra hundred can make all the difference.

Measuring your race accurately down to a few meters is something all professional runners do. But, to almost the same degree, so to regular amateur runners. If you are an amateur runner who has been competing in 5K Training regularly, you may not consciously know at what distance to hold back and when to push, but your experience will inform your subconscious mind when the time comes to change your pace. If you want to time the last bit of energy you have to use up then this is the best strategy to try and do this. But what happens if you suddenly find you have another 101 meters to go? Sure your body can do it. Its not vary far. But how fast can you do it?

If you are planning on a final burst over the last few hundred meters, your body, both physically and psychologically, has been primed to use up every last bit of energy it has over that distance. If you see someone at the beginning of the race running smooth and someone at the end of the race hurting badly this is probably what happened to them. The extra 101 meters required for a 3 mile race could mean staggering through the extra distance for those not prepared for it.

The best way to be prepared for both the 5K Training and 3 mile races is to run 3 miles during your training. This will condition your body to the distance. When you have a race planned, spend a few days before the race running exactly the 5k distance. Mark off the last 500 meters of your practice run and start your closing burst from here, or where ever you normally do it from. When preparing for a 3 mile race, do exactly the same thing for the last 500 yards. The real point of this is to help your body get used to the differences in the distances.

100 meters many not be much but have you seen how much a sprinter puts in over that distance and how drained he is by the end of it?

Jogging Tips is the premiere website to connect with all of your jogging friends. Jogging Tips is the premiere website to connect with all of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Come by Jogging Tip.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.
 

Learn to Train for a 5K

A lot of people wake up in one fine morning and decide they want to 5K Training . The know a sprint won’t give them the exercise they want. 10k and above are frightening distances to cover and most folks don’t have the courage to attempt it from the get go. But 5k (or 3 miles if that sounds more reasonable) is something most people think they can achieve easily. This can be made to happen only as long as it is going about it in the right fashion.

Most people start running because of health or weight concerns. Maybe your doctor told you that you need more exercise. The problem is that everyone wants to start running the full 5k from day one or thereabouts. It never works and trying it will result in a rebelling body, with aches, pains, sprains and a feeling of dejection when they see how little ground they are actually able to cover. This often results in people getting turned off and giving up the idea of running. Its sad, because not only are they missing out on a great form of exercise, but also on a great deal of fun and a sense of personal achievement.

The best way to start is to find a good beginners’ training program to follow. There are books and websites aplenty offering such programs. Remember its all about your own body and how it reacts so choose a program that you are very comfortable with. Stay away from those that promise miracle results in a short time. Things that aren't fun for you or your body is what comes about from doing things this way. Getting into shape for 5k running will take about 2 to 3 months, depending on your age and general condition. You really don't want to try to rush through things. Your aim is to run the distance, not see how fast you have reached the level of running it.

Whatever 5K Training program you choose, stick to it and don’t try to skip steps to speed things up. The plans will have been designed taking a lot of factors into consideration and even if you feel super fit when completing a step and think you can jump ahead one or two, don’t. Its important to remember that your body needs to be prepared and conditioned or else this process is going to be very painful. If you find a program does not suit you for any reason, find another more to your liking and try that.

Begin slowly and regularly. Remember that you should not 5K Running more than 5 days a week – your body needs rest to develop, which it can’t do while it is constantly being exercised. At the same time, don’t give in to the lazy urge and start taking extra days off. That too will ruin our training schedule.

Don’t expect great results from day one. Your body has first ot be conditioned to accept the training it will be undergoing and most programs are designed keeping this in mind. You really want to stick with a program for a good 2 months before you reevalutate your performance and take a look at changing the program. You must keep your expectations in check throughout this process or else you could become very dissapointed.

Jogging Tip is a brand new website that is all about jogging. Jogging tip is your perfect place to join with the rest of your jogging friends. Learn about training for a 5k and running your first 5K race. Visit the new Jogging TIp.com today to get your free jogging ebooks just for signing up to be a member of the jogging tip website.