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Jogging is a mode of running in which a person moves the body at a constant, relaxed pace for a certain distance. Physical and physiological capabilities determine the exact pace and distance he or she jogs on an outing. Nevertheless, medical experts advise that the pace should be one at which a jogger can talk without becoming winded; panting and gasping for air, and the distance should be one that will not bring about bodily injury.

To distinguish runners from joggers, authorities on the subject say that runners run a mile in seven minutes or less, train and look for competitive events to race in, or run solely for the sheer enjoyment of running; whereas joggers, who on average run 10 to 15 minutes a mile, are not as interested in competing against others as they are in improving their health and fitness.

From the middle 1960s to the present, millions of people in the United States and abroad incorporated jogging into their lifestyles. Their participation in this sporting as well as recreational activity is indicative of the ever rising importance the general public throughout the world has placed on working out and getting in shape.

In the U.S. alone, a Gallup Poll released in the late 1970s reported that approximately 11% of the adult population named jogging as their main form of exercise. This amounted to more than 15-million joggers, contrasted with 6.5 million reported by a poll released three years earlier. By 1982, studies indicated that some 25 million men and women were running or jogging a minimum of 10 miles a week. And in 1988, a poll conducted by the National Sporting Goods Association reported that people from all age groups and income levels participated in jogging.

Recently, there has been a drop in the number of people who jog or run. To a large extent, this is due to a slump in amateur athletic involvement as a whole. But it's also because there are so many other ways for a person to spend recreational dollars in order to obtain a trim and muscular physique as well as a robust heart and lungs. For instance, there now exists a plethora of sports equipment manufacturers who have devised training apparatus (e.g., Schwinn Airdyne and NordicTrack) that can heighten aerobic performance and develop strength in the same workout session. This notwithstanding, jogging still boasts millions of adherents and remains near the top of the list as one of the favorite means of exercise.

Jogging's longstanding popularity stems from a variety of practical reasons. One of these reasons is its diverse health benefits, particularly its ability to aid in the prevention and cure of cardiovascular irregularities.

Other reasons are that it is convenient and inexpensive. Unlike so many athletic endeavors, such as swimming and tennis, jogging requires no specific setting or time, no partners, no special equipment (the only gear needed is comfortable-fitting clothes plus a good pair of running shoes) and in most cases just occasional medical attention.

To elaborate on the latter, jogging does have an element or two of risk associated with it. Because of repeated shocks to the body as the feet pound against the ground at three to five times the jogger's body weight, assorted afflictions to the ankles, knees, hips, and lower back are not uncommon. And some joggers have discovered - at times tragically - previously undetected cardiac disorders.

Yet you can reduce the odds of these kinds of problems from occurring by having a thorough medical checkup to assess your body's overall state before embarking on a jogging program, by purchasing shoes that cushion the feet, are flexible and fit properly, and by progressing from short- to long-distance runs cautiously.

In fact, most beginners probably should start out by walking at a brisk pace for 20 to 30 minutes, three to five days a week rather than jog. At this stage, they are wise to apply themselves to doing nothing more than getting their legs accustomed to carrying their bodies around for extended periods of time. After a few weeks, they can alternately walk and jog, progressively increasing their jogging time until they are able to jog 20 minutes without stopping. This schedule ought to be maintained for about 10 weeks. Then, they should build up to the point where they're jogging at least three jogs of two miles or more a week.

Several authorities say that along with putting in the aforesaid mileage per week, the most beneficial way to jog is to pace yourself so that your pulse rate stays below a maximum equal to 220 minus your age - and preferably not exceeding 70% to 80% of this maximum. To illustrate, if you're 40 years old, you would subtract 40 from 220 and find your maximum pulse rate is 180. You would then multiply 180 by .70 and get the number 126.00. Hence, you should be jogging at a pace that will cause your heart to beat at a rate of 126 to 135 beats a minute. (For a person having difficulty taking his or her exercising heart rate, the simplest places to count it are the radial artery on the wrist and the carotid artery on the side of the neck. Use the first and second fingers of the hand and place them on the thumb side of your wrist or place these same two fingers on the opposite side of your neck. Take your pulse for 15 seconds, then multiply by four.)

When compared to other exercises or sports, jogging is one of the easiest and safest fitness activities; and it provides its participants with a productive workout in a relatively short period of time. For example, the energy used by average-weight men and women while jogging burns calories at a rate of roughly 100 per mile (a pound of fat contains 3,500 calories), which plays a primary role in the regulation of body weight (i.e., weight control or reduction). Furthermore, jogging decreases the body's excess fat content, lowers blood pressure, pulse rate and cholesterol level, and increases stamina and endurance.

More important, jogging elevates and sustains physical wellbeing by improving the performance of the heart, lungs, respiratory and circulatory systems, and in many instances by reversing the harmful effects of coronary disease.

Jogging also strengthens the muscles of the calves, thighs and buttocks. Numerous joggers feel that jogging has psychological benefits, too. They say that it helps them relieve anxiety and tension, and enables them to deal with stress and everyday pressures in a calm, rational manner. Moreover, jogging offers its participants the opportunity to experience, through their outdoor runs, the world in which they live.

There currently is a huge collection of books and magazines on the market published especially for joggers. These publications give advice on how to run properly, how to pick a jogging program, how to train for anything from a 5K race to a 26.2 mile marathon, offer suggestions on how to combat fatigue and injury, test and rate jogging shoes, suggest seasonal running attire, and publish upcoming running events from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Los Angeles, California, to Chicago, Illinois, to New York City, New York, to London, England, to...I think you get the picture.

Nonetheless, to get you started on the right foot (so to speak), here are a few basic tips; if you jog in warm weather, wear lightweight clothing. In the heat, you want to keep the body cool and ventilated. Additionally, to keep from becoming dehydrated, drink an adequate amount of liquids; water and sports drinks are excellent for replenishing lost body fluids. It is crucial to drink before, during and after your jogs. While jogging, many authorities recommend drinking eight to 10 ounces of liquids every 20 minutes.

If you jog in cold weather, dress in layers of clothing in order to trap body heat. Wear fabrics that are good insulators against nippy temperatures. Particularly cover your head (where up to 40% of body heat escapes), hands and feet. Nowadays, a host of well-made running suits, undergarments, hats, gloves, and socks are available to joggers at department stores and at sporting-goods shops.

As mentioned earlier, it is very important that a jogger purchase a good pair of running shoes. These shoes should have enough cushioning in them to absorb the shock of jarring foot strikes; should be flexible at the forefoot to ward off painful shin splints; should have a well-constructed heel at the rearfoot to keep the Achilles' tendon protected from injury, as well as to ensure that the foot remains stable on impact. And, of course, they should fit snugly on your feet.

To further aid in preventing injuries to the legs and feet, it also is very important to warm up before jogging and cool down afterward. Most authorities advise devoting no less than 10 minutes to stretching and strengthening exercises. (Explanations and illustrations of these exercises can be found in manuals written for joggers.)

After you've completed the warm-up routine, begin your jog at a relaxed, uniform pace, breathing deeply with your mouth open. Once you've loosened up and started to sweat, which generally occurs somewhere around the one-mile mark, gradually pick up the pace.

Following a big meal, wait one hour before jogging to ward off a "stitch," or pain in the side. But if you contract a stitch, you can ease this sudden and sharp pain by using proper breathing techniques: deep inhalations, pushing the air downward past the navel; and complete exhalations, forcing the air upward out of the abdominal area and ultimately out of the body.

An incorrect stride is yet another cause of injury to your legs and feet. Keep your body erect while jogging, with your head high and your arms swinging at hip level. Specifically, you should bend your elbows at 90-degree angles and hold them out an inch or so from your sides, with your arms moving naturally from front to back. Each foot should land under your torso, almost flat and toward your heel, and there should be a slight bend in your knee. A short stride is preferable for jogging; to get more speed, though, you will find it necessary to lengthen your stride.

The surface you jog on is important, too. Jog either on a track or other soft, padded surfaces such as gravel trails or grass, trying as much as possible to avoid sidewalks made of unyielding concrete. (With regard to exercise intensity and caloric burn, jogging on gravel trails or grass, or up and down hills, is physically tougher and burns more calories than jogging on a track.)

If you jog on gravel trails, however, the grade may still be taxing to your legs. Conversely, grass is less taxing than gravel trails but may be uneven. Clearly, you will have to do some experimenting to find out which one is appropriate for your structural make up. Nevertheless, don't forget about variety as a way of easing stress on overworked, weakened muscle groups, and as a way of keeping your jogs from becoming a mundane task to be performed.

Also, it's perfectly all right for you to slow down to a fast walk while jogging. You must erase the erroneous notion from your head that to slow down to a walk during a jog is to be a failure. No one is a failure who jogs smart, who listens to his or her body and does what he or she is realistically capable of doing. You don't prove anything worthwhile by being obsessed with completing a jog at an uncomfortable pace. So jog until you begin to get tired; walk fast until you've regained your strength, then, if possible, continue jogging. Remember that you're jogging to elevate your health and fitness levels, not to deplete them.

And be careful that you don't "stop dead in your tracks." Abruptly stopping and terminating a jog could lead to serious - if not disastrous - consequences. All the blood could be trapped in the muscles that have suddenly stopped working. As a result, an insufficient amount of blood flows to the brain or the heart or the intestine, and related symptoms arise. That is, dizziness when there is not enough blood flowing to the brain, accelerated heart beat when there is not enough blood returning to the heart muscle, or nausea and vomiting if the intestine isn't receiving enough blood.

Thus, when you've made up your mind to conclude your jog, it is very important to come to a halt gradually, allowing enough time for the heart, lungs, and other body systems and processes to recover and resume their normal resting functions.

Lastly, when you work out on a regular basis and engage in a prolonged, strenuous activity like jogging, take carbohydrates into the body before exercising to provide the stamina and strength you need to get through your workout session. After you've finished working out, you ought to take more carbohydrates into the body to keep from becoming weak and tired.

Carbohydrates change into glycogen easier than do either proteins or fats. And what your muscles need when they've been exercised by demanding, long-drawn-out motion is glycogen.

The carbohydrates that are beneficial to eat at a post-exercise meal can be simple carbohydrates such as candy or plain white sugar, however, it is better to get your sugar by eating fresh fruit. Or, you can eat complex carbohydrates, starchy foods such as breads, unsweetened cereals, potatoes, brown rice and beans.

But eating solely simple carbohydrates low in fiber and vitamins can produce a physiological imbalance that will invariably lead to a physical breakdown. It is to your advantage, therefore, to eat a broad assortment of nutritious foods from the four basic food groups.

Yet, you need not be overly concerned with consuming enough protein. To be frank, the majority of us eat more than our bodies require. Somewhere around 50 grams a day is sufficient for most people.