Running is one of the most complete physical activity for our bodies. Running activity contribute to our physical and mental balance, but… warning!! You always have to take care and never exaggerate, otherwise you may end up with damages, and running is no exception. Even though running gives you a lot of benefits, you have to take proper precautions and a special care or some aspects of the running activity can become your worst enemies.
Running: 5 mistakes we make while practicing
We often practice sport because we want to improve our health, change our habits, turn our sedentary life upside down and combat excessive levels of stress accumulated during weeks, but… as the researcher Peter Schnohr claims: “Exercise is beneficial just until a certain maximum limit is reached”.
We make so many mistakes, from the beginning of the run till the end, that we usually do not even realize that there is a problem until we really need the help and intervention of a health professional, a physical therapist most of the times.
We list the 5 most committed mistakes before and after the practice of running:
1. Running without hydration on the way
While practicing running or any other activity, hydration is and always will be one of the factors that should never be forgotten. There are several questions on this issue and most of the time the answers are few or inadequate.
In order to explain it better: the hydration of our body during running is important, yes, but is not necessary or severely harmful for our body and health. Hydration in the world of running depends on which distance the athlete treads and on the rhythm that he takes.
For distances shorter than 5 km is acceptable to run all the way without drinking water or any other liquid which goal is hydration. If the distance is more than 5 km, then it is better to stop and replenish fluids lost during physical activity.
1.1 How to calculate the amount of water that must be ingested?
Calculate the amount of water to that has to be drunk during physical activity is very simple and can be done as follows:
- Measure your weight without clothes;
- Run for 1 hour and 30 minutes (without drinking;
- Check your weight again.
If you realize that your weight after the run is less than the one marked before the run, it means that you body lost liquids while practicing a physical activity and you can calculate the exact amount of liquids loss. For example, if your weight was 68 kg before running and it is 67,4 after the run, it means you lost 0,6 kg. As 0,6 kg is equivalent to 600 grams, your body approximately lost 600 ml of liquid.
2. Not using proper shoes
There a lot of shoes that can damage our posture or cause more complicated injuries such as tendinopathies. As already mentioned in other articles, having a comfortable and appropriate pair of shoes for each activity we practice it is something that we can not ignore. You can see examples just like the appearance of injuries on the Achilles.
When talking about running, the shoes are really important and they have to be the most suitable to your kind foot. For your health and physical well-being it is essential to do a test to your foot so that you can know exactly which type of shoe is the best for your foot before you go running. There are several things you should consider when you are buying a pair of sports shoes:
- Types of foot: high arch, normal or flat;
- Tread type: neutral, pronation or supination.
3. Do not stretch before running
Warm up before jogging is very important for the prevention of some types of injuries. In the following video you will see exercises and different ways of warming up your muscles properly to avoid injuries:
4. Not stretch properly after exercise
As we discussed above, not stretching is a common misconception among athletes and amateurs who practice physical exercise just to balance their physical well-being. What many people do not know or do not consider is that if you do not do it properly you will damage your body instead of benefit it.
Stretching the muscles prevents injuries and improves the physical condition of the athlete. Check out some stretching exercises you can do after running:
5. Increase the hearth rhythm too fast
When you start a physical activity like running it is necessary to take care of some important points. Since they start the activity, athletes who practice running should monitor their hearbeat during exercise and pay attention for it to increase in a progressive way.
Why should we control our heartbeat? When you start whichever physical activity our heart gradually increase the number of heartbeats and will work for your body to support the kilometers done while running and it can be dangerous to increase all of a sudden the heart rhythm.
It is necessary, not to say mandatory, to control the rhythm of the exercise, the physical effort intensity so that the heart can calculate the amount of oxygen and the effort needed to keep active.
