How to Start Running as a Total Beginner
Even with how popular running is, I’d argue it’s still under-rated.
I say this for the following reasons:
It is arguably the most accessible form of exercise
It is incredibly effective at improving cardiovascular fitness + health [source]
It has very low injury rates when programmed properly [source] (this is what this article will help you)
It gets you outside to experience nature, the elements, or your city
As far as I can tell, the reason more people don’t take up running are one of the following:
They’re concerned about getting hurt
They’re unsure how to make it entertaining
I’ve recently published an article providing 4 ways to make running more fun. Click here to see it.
They’re worried about cardio killing your gains
NOTE: I have written extensively about combing strength + endurance training. If interested, see one of the following:
So, in this article I will provide you with a simple 2-phase system that is perfect for beginner runners to start making progress.
Initial testing:
In an effort to make this article less cookie-cutter, I am going to recommend a simple test so you know how to structure your first runs.
Here’s what you do:
Begin a run and start a timer as you start running (phone, smartwatch, stopwatch, etc.)
Run as SLOW as you possibly can (~4.5-5.5 mph or so)
Run at this pace until you reach a ~5/10 level of difficulty
Take note of the time it took you to hit this level of difficulty
It doesn’t matter if you hit this subjective difficulty in 30 seconds, 10 minutes or 20 minutes.
What is a ~5/10 difficulty?
In order to be more objective with this measurement, you can use the talk test.
We’ll consider a 6/10 difficulty the point in which you can no longer speak a 10-word sentence without gasping for air.
So, a 5/10 difficulty is the point just before you hit this.
Another way to put it: if you were listening to a podcast, you should be able to follow along well-enough.
Phase 1: Building the base
In this phase, you’re going to block out 1 hour per week into one of the following structures:
30 minutes 2x/week
Ideally with each session separated by 2-3 days, if possible
20 minutes 3x/week
Ideally with each session separated by 1-2 days, if possible
15 minutes 4x/week
Sessions do need to be separated
Neither of these is better than the others, choose what works best for your schedule.
For even better flexibility, you can choose a different structure week to week if need be. The goal is just to hit 1 hour of volume per week in this phase.
You’re going to perform run/walk intervals in the following fashion:
Run as slow as you can for the time recorded in the initial test
Walk for 1 minute
Repeat until you reach the scheduled time
For example, say you ran for 5 minutes in the initial test and you’re doing 30 minutes of work 2x/week.
You would run as slow as you can for 5 minutes, walk for 1 minute, and then repeat until you hit 30 minutes total time. You would do this twice per week in the first week.
Each week, double the duration of the run interval.
Given that the starting point of the run interval was a ~5/10 difficulty, a double each week should be more than manageable and allow you to progress quickly.
Let’s use the same example as before to illustrate this.
The 1st week: all the runs would follow the example just given.
The 2nd week: you’d run as slow as you can for 10 minutes, walk for 1 minute, and then repeat until you hit 30 minutes. You’d do this twice in this week.
The 3rd week: you’d run as slow as you can for 20 minutes, walk for 1 minute, and then repeat until you hit 30 minutes. You’d do this twice in this week.
The 4th week: You’d run as slow as you can for 30 minutes. You’d do this twice in this week.
To reiterate: the run portion of these intervals should be done as SLOW as humanly possible.
For most humans, a fast walk turns into a jog at around 4.5-5.5 miles per hour (13:20-10:55 minutes per mile).
So, you should be around this pace for these run intervals, just past the point of fast walking.
I only used the 30 minutes 2x/week framework as an example, but hopefully that illustrates well enough how it would work in general.
Once you do all your weekly runs with no walk intervals, you move onto the next phase.
Phase 2: Adding volume
In this second phase, your goal is to increase your total duration spent working from 60 minutes per week to 90 minutes per week. Still, you will perform all runs as SLOW as possible.
You will do this by adding 10 minutes of volume per week. So, this phase will last for 3 weeks.
You can add these 10 minutes per week however you want, really.
Let’s use the same example as before to illustrate this:
The 1st week of this phase: you’ll run as slow as you can for for 35 minutes, twice per week.
The 2nd week of this phase: you’ll run as slow as you can for 40 minutes, twice per week.
The 3rd week of this phase: you’ll run as slow as you can for 45 minutes, twice per week.
Again, you can add the 10 minutes per week however you want.
You can add all 10 minutes to one session. You can add 5 minutes to two sessions. You can add the 10 minutes to the same session all three weeks. Whatever works better for your schedule, you can do.
Don’t see this protocol as unchangeable.
It’s worth bringing up again, you shouldn’t view this system as perfectly rigid.
It will work great for most people, but may not be perfectly appropriate for you. You may need something easier, or you may need something harder.
So, if you feel as though you need to alter it, then see the following for some ideas on how to do so.
How to make it easier:
Increase the duration of the walk intervals in phase 1
For instance, instead of 1-minute intervals you can use 2 minute intervals
Decrease the size of the progressions in phase 1
For instance, instead of increasing the run intervals from 5 to 10 minutes, increase them from 5 to 7.5 minutes.
How to make it harder:
Decrease the duration of the walk intervals in phase 1
For instance, instead of 1-minute intervals you can use 0:30 second intervals
Try to run a little faster in the last run intervals during phase 1
For instance, instead of running your last run interval as slow as you can, let yourself huff-and-puff a little bit
What to do next:
At this point, how your runs are structured is entirely up to what you want to get out of running.
You could begin trying to run these times at a faster pace, or you could begin trying to run a certain distance such as a 10k, half marathon, etc.
When training for goals such as these, how you structure the training is highly dependent on what the specific goal is & what your overall situation is.
Helping people with the specifics at this point is part of what I do in my 1:1 coaching. If interested, click here.
Nevertheless, I hope this system helps you get outdoors & hit the ground running (pun intended).
