EXERCISE OPTIONS TO STAY SLIM: JOGGING
If you want to jog and your physician approves (if you have arthritis it may not be a good idea, or if you're more than 20 pounds overweight running may be unduly stressful to your ankles, knees, and hips), you'll get exercise benefits faster than from walking, but remember to start out slowly and build up speed only as your fitness increases. (If you're overweight, you'll find your pace picking up as you lose weight.) Proper warm-up and cool-down sessions are critical; the calf, hamstring, and Achilles-tendon stretching exercises are especially important before and after jogging to prevent muscle pulls and strains.
If you haven't exercised regularly for the past three months or more, don't push yourself, even if your doctor says jogging would be all right for you. Start with a walking program for the first few weeks to minimize wear and tear on your muscles and get your body used to moving at a steady rate and intensity. Then, when you feel you're ready, step up your pace to a slow jog (after a good walking warm-up) and maintain the jog as long as it's comfortable. Drop back to a walk for as many minutes as you feel you need, then jog again when you're ready. Gradually you can work up to longer, more vigorous jogging sessions.
The easiest and best way to know the correct speed for you is to check your pulse rate. Exert yourself until you feel your heart beating faster and until you've reached your training heart rate - but don't go over that rate. Check your pulse as often as you need to (sway your hips while you do, so your blood won't pool in your arm or leg muscles). If you're short of breath or unable to talk, you're working too hard: Slow down, perhaps to a walk. If you're not jogging with a companion, try humming or singing to yourself; you're not overdoing it if you can still speak easily. Or just sing along with a tape! (Many people find running to music keeps them going longer and farther, as well.)
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WEIGHT LOSS/BODY-BUILDING
