If you’ve decided to start running at 50, we have good news: it’s not stupid. In fact, it’s literally never too late to start running at 50 and you just might achieve results you don’t even imagine. But maybe you don’t even care about the results, and at the moment you’re aiming above all to get some exercise. Motor activity more than sporting, as we’ve learned to say this past year. Now, having said that starting running at 50 is not one Like yours but what is good and right, we must not forget, however, that 50 springs are no joke. More or less you are 2/3 of the way through our life and with all the optimism the downward spiral from the physical point of view has already largely begun.
Have you decided to start running at 50? Watch out for these things!
Having said that, don’t be discouraged, don’t give up, don’t put the project back in the drawer, because there won’t be a better time than this, and go ahead and run. But maybe you should write down some of these 8 tips first.
1. Go to the doctor
Maybe you’re fit. Let’s hope you feel fit and you’re not. Maybe you have some hidden flaws. If in doubt, go to your doctor: a blood pressure check, a blood test, a cardiac auscultation, a minimum of medical history to see if at least the bodywork – bones, tendons, ligaments – is in order, it doesn’t hurt . Of course, a good check-up would be better, but at least a trip to the general practitioner is an hour well spent. If you want to figure out if you’re fit or not there are these simple tests you can do yourself (but don’t be discouraged if the result is disappointing).
2. Spend 2 cents on shoes
Yes, at the age of 20 you jumped ditches lengthwise with bare feet, but now you’re 50. The muscles have certainly lost strength, perhaps even the bones are starting to be less dense, and the ligaments are consequently what they are. Unfortunately running has a traumatic component, especially if you carry around a few kilos too much compared to when you jumped the ditches for a long time. And the only thing that can somewhat protect you from various and assorted pains caused by impacts on the ground of your entire musculoskeletal system are good shoes. Everything else will come later – trendy technical outfit, space watch, assorted gadgets – but if you really have decided to start running at 50, go to a good specialist shop, put your modesty aside and say more or less like this: “Hello, I’m 50, I’ve never run and I would like to start. What shoes can I use?” If they’re good, they’ll give you a minimum biomechanical visit and they’ll sell you a pair of shoes that you’ll feel like walking on velvet: you’ll thank us for this advice for the rest of your years (spent running).
3. Go out walking
Yes, we know you burn with the desire to dart under the neighbors’ terraces, but curb your enthusiasm. Unless you are a tireless walker, if you start running you stop after less than 1 km, with the engine packed. The rule is very simple: get used to being around for a while. At first it will be half an hour, then 1 hour, then 1 hour doing more and more intense activity. But if in 50 years you have never run in your life, at first it will be difficult for you to even understand when you have run 1 km. After all, the programs to start running all say the same thing: set yourself a goal of time (30 minutes, 1 hour) and go around alternating running and walking until you reach it. It’s the only way to break the rubber wall that separates you from the actual race. If you do it consistently (see next point) you will gradually run more and walk less and less, until you run your first consecutive distance. And the most will be done.
4. Give yourself a calendar
At 50 you should have a clear head and a minimum of organization. So if you’ve decided to start running, organize yourself and give yourself a calendar: every other day, at least 3 times a week. Better little and often than occasionally. Well explained: better 20′ 3 times a week, when you get back from work, than 1 hour on Saturday. Then you’ll arrive that Saturday morning time is not much, but in the meantime you do little regularly and without excuses.
5. Rest
Rest is part of training, or rather it is essential for triggering the metabolic processes that make a workout worthwhile. So one day you run and the next you do Stradivanoletting your muscles, bones, ligaments and all your cells have time to recover and adapt.
6. Fai stretching
Do you still touch your toes with your fingers? Well, if the answer is no, it’s because joint mobility is one of the many physical parameters that significantly worsen with age. Then on the rest day you stretch. Done before running is of little or no use (indeed, it could be a bad idea) but done on the day of rest is a lot of health. More joint mobility means smoother movements, dynamic, ergonomic and therefore less traumatic. 10′ a day is enough for you, at any time, even while watching TV.
7. Do gymnastics
Today they call him cross training, but in fact it is the good old and healthy calisthenics gymnastics. Or bodyweight. If you run 3 times a week – and that’s already a lot of stuff – you can dedicate another day to muscle toning exercises. The reasoning is simple: at 50, muscle tone and strength are what they are, and running, in addition to being traumatic, is also very unbalanced from a muscular point of view. So you need to rebalance your muscles a bit, especially with regard to the abs and back and the whole postural aspect. Not that leg exercises are to be disdained, by the way. However, a little cross training once a week can only do you good.
8. Don’t eat before running
A fairly common mistake that arises from this reasoning: I have to make a physical effort, I could run out of energy, I eat. Now picture the scene: everything you ate within the 2 hours of starting a run is in your digestive system, which now bobs up and down with your strides as you run. What do you think could happen? Exactly: a reshuffling that helps neither running nor digestion. A snack 3 hours before running is enough to have all the energy you need, and if in doubt, read also what to eat before running for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Credits photo: Running Stock photos by Vecteezy
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