5 Tips to keep you moving and improve your overall wellbeing after running

Running top tips

Are you a keen runner, or just starting out?

Here are five top tips to keep you moving and improve your overall wellbeing before and after activity, such as running

1. Good Hydration: Get the balance right for running

Water will keep you hydrated, however too much water and you can become hyper-hydrated, causing all the good stuff in the system to be flushed out. To prevent this occurring introduce sodium or electrolytes into your drink to help absorption of the water. If you are exercising for more than 60 minutes the body will require 700-900mg of sodium every hour.

2. Prevent sugar crashes whilst running

If you use energy gels or foods to supplement your energy levels try to avoid purely glucose based products. Using gels that are a mix of fructose and maltodextrin will prevent insulin spikes. Purely glucose will absorb quicker, but the downside is that your energy levels will drop more dramatically with it too.

4. Stretching and warming up

A question i’m often asked is whether you should stretch before running. Unfortunately there isn’t a straight answer as everybody is unique and different methods work for each person. However, if you are going to run, make sure you warm the entire body up beforehand – and not just the legs. (When we run the arms and the torso are vital to produce smooth rhythm and prevent fatigue in the lower back and in the core.)

5. Train gradually, don’t run before you can walk!

If you aspire to run a marathon or conquer a 5k, progressive overload is key. Muscles develop quicker than the tendons. So, if the volume of running is too great too soon, there is potential to develop issues such as tendonitis (aka runners’ knee). To prevent this, increase the distance each week in stages (such as by 1-2k each week). This way, the body can adjust gradually. If this advise doesn’t work for you and you find it too slow, just make sure you leave ample rest between sessions to allow optimum recovery.