03 May Outdoor workout ideas: Jogging/running

This is the fourth in a five-part series on outdoor workout ideas. These can be used to enhance your indoor workouts on home gyms, treadmills, vibration training machines, elliptical, etc.

If you want to get the best results for your time spent exercising, few activities will provide better results than jogging/running.
Running is an outstanding way to stay in shape. Many people to turn to running as a way to stay toned or to lose weight.
Combined with healthy eating, people who run regularly will be among the fittest people around.
Even if you are happy with your current weight, running is a way to maintain that figure over the years.
Because running burns a great deal of calories, the healthier you eat when on a running program the faster you will lose the weight.
Even after you are at your ideal weight, you can continue your running routine to maintain a nice figure. Running also helps tone various muscles in your body, thus giving you an excellent physique.
Running also improves your heart health by making your cardiac arteries more elastic. As a result, the heart will not have to work as hard pumping blood throughout the body. This can help people from developing, or help them combat the effects of high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Jogging/Running is harder on your joints and ligaments than walking, so be careful not to push your self too hard, too fast.
Start slowly and build up the distances you run. A general running rule is to increase your time or distance by no more than 10 percent each week.
It’s also important to wear a good pair of running shoes to minimize impact.
It’s ideal to have a treadmill in your home to work in some indoor running king as well when it’s more convenient.
Be smart when running outside and follow these simple rules of the road:
* It’s better to see the traffic coming at you, rather than having vehicles approach from behind. Most experienced runners will always face the traffic – it’s just a lot safer.
* Run sidewalks when possible, but watch out for cars coming out of driveways onto the roadway.
* Whether on the road or sidewalk, always be on the lookout for obstacles that could hinder your path. In addition to the big obvious one (cars), be especially careful of dogs, potholes and uneven roads or sidewalks.
* Runners are under the same laws as a pedestrian and could be cited for jaywalking. More importantly, no matter how good a runner you are, it’s safer to use a crosswalk. Use a crosswalk when crossing the street to avoid being hit by a car. More accidents happen with runners crossing a street when they’re not on a crosswalk.

At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments, questions or ideas for future blogs at aaron@athomefitness.com