Tips For Beginner Runners
Before beginner runners put on their shoes for their first run, they should learn a few tips to make their journey better. When running is one of the exercises chosen to boost fitness, it has some pitfalls. People who start a program of running often begin excited and ready to tackle this activity. They often just start running without creating a plan ahead of time. It can mean they go full steam, thinking they’ll maintain that pace throughout the entire run, but the body often doesn’t cooperate. Dividing your run into sections and speed walking some of those sections and running others is a big help.
What you wear makes a difference.
Your shoes are the most important part of your run. You need shoes designed to run on the surface you choose. If you’re running on gravel, asphalt, or a rocky trail, the type of shoe you choose makes a difference. You need a good shoe that fits your foot properly. Getting it from a store that specializes in running shoes can make all the difference. Those stores often provide a gait analysis to provide a shoe that’s suitable for both the surface you run on and your gait.
Eat a snack an hour and a half before you go for a run.
Hydrate well, too. Keep the snack light. It should be between 200 and 300 calories and be high in complex carbohydrates and some protein. Don’t include fat in your snack and beware of too much fiber. Fat and fiber take a long time to digest. Don’t eat too close to the run. Both of those things will cause digestive issues. Do eat something, especially if you’re running a distance, so you don’t run out of steam before the run ends.
Don’t run every day at first.
When you start, only do it three or four days a week. On the other days, use two for other activities and take at least one day off from exercise. Your body needs time to heal and build endurance. Keep your runs shorter initially and work toward more time as you get stronger. Running every other day initially and doing strength training, flexibility training, or active recovery on the other days can boost your progress safely.
- Create a running schedule that’s attainable. Limit your distance and focus on running form initially. Your form will determine whether you end up prone to injuries as you increase your running time.
- Keep a water source with you at all times or plan your run around areas with fountains. Don’t drink too much right before a run can leave you searching for a bathroom.
- Modify your run by alternating between peak intensity and a recovery pace. It turns your run into a HIIT—high intensity interval training—workout that can get you into shape faster.
- Always warm up before a run and cool down afterward. Don’t run at night without reflective clothing. Always tell someone where you’re running and allow someone to track your phone if you’re running alone.
For more information, contact us today at VIP Fitness Center



If you’ve been out of shape your whole life or tried to lose weight before and failed, it can be difficult to see yourself as better. “If you can believe it, you can achieve it,” is real. That belief can help you become the new you. We help people in Fort Lee, NJ, change their self-image to a more positive one and finally believe in themselves to boost their chances for success.
Using the proper form for each exercise can make the difference between successful workouts and unsuccessful ones. The way you move during an exercise affects the way the body works a muscle. If you’re not going deep enough on squats, you won’t get the benefits. If you’re lifting something heavy, it makes a difference how you lift. Lifting the wrong way can cause injury. The same is true when you exercise.
People in Fort Lee, NJ, often face plateauing when they’re getting fit. They may face stalled weight loss or the inability to progress further in strength, flexibility, endurance, or balance. If you face those same struggles, don’t worry. You can overcome plateaus in fitness by making a few changes. Identifying the type of plateauing you face determines the solution.
At VIP Fitness in Fort Lee, NJ, we focus on ways to make client workouts more effective. Some of the ways involve how you do a workout and some are specific to our training. Other ways are for people who work out on their own without a trainer. One example of the second group is simple. Make every minute count. Have a plan of action and a list that includes the exercises, number of reps, and number of sets.
Squats are part of a group of several exercises that everyone should do. They’re functional fitness exercises that help prevent injuries from falls and strains by improving balance. When you can do a perfect squat, you’ll improve the potential of independent living. It’s a very basic move that most people can do as a baby but lose that ability as they grow older. It requires muscles from both the upper body and lower body that you use doing daily activities.
If you focus on eating healthy at home but find that travel can end that, here are tips to help. You can eat well when you travel, but it takes planning. You don’t have to be on an extended trip. It can occur when you take frequent short trips. Whether it’s a quick lunch from a drive-through or food at the airport, you’ll pay a price for those unhealthy meals. No matter how you travel, focus on eating healthy foods.
For some Fort Lee residents, running plays a vital role in their lives. There’s nothing wrong with running. It’s a great cardio workout. If they do it simply for weight loss, other ways to achieve that goal can be more efficient. Only doing cardiovascular workouts isn’t a healthy option. Your body needs workouts to build more than just cardio endurance. It requires strength, flexibility, and balance exercises, too. All types of exercise burn more calories than you would watching television, but two of them are better. Cardio is one, and strength-building is the other. Both torch calories, but one boosts your metabolism as it burns extra calories.
There are many ways to eliminate toxins from the body. There are toxins in shampoos, cleaning products, and even your food. There are healthy ways to eliminate those toxins from the body. Exercising until you sweat is one way to detox. Many people in Fort Lee, NJ, opt for that and a healthy diet. Sweating out toxins is the basis for saunas in Scandinavia and sweat lodges of native Americans. Other types of detoxing were part of ancient traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines. It all starts with preparing the body for a detox.
Every parent wants what’s best for their kids. They want them to have all the advantages they didn’t have growing up. Unfortunately, many fun activities for children today revolve around a sedentary lifestyle. While it might be fun, it doesn’t encourage fitness. Studies show that children perform better in school when they’re fit. It can benefit your child to search for ways to keep them active while having fun.