Running for everyone: How to get started as a jogging beginner: Tips for overweight people and beginners

Start where you left off, namely with an activity you enjoy or already master. Small goals and steps are the best motivation to keep going, and you should be realistic about your resources, especially your time. It's never too late to start exercising; your body appreciates being used at any age. Just give it time to adjust to your new athletic lifestyle. Just get started and have fun—that's how it should be!

Even our ancestors were stamina-loving and covered many kilometers in pursuit of their prey. But even though running is in our genes, many of us find it difficult to start training and stick with it. It's no wonder, since we spend most of our days sitting! Yet running is one of the most natural forms of exercise we know, and at the same time, incredibly easy. Unlike other sports, you can start practically right outside your front door, without much equipment.

The golden rule for a successful start to running is: take it slow! And for important reasons. If you don't overexert yourself when starting out, you'll stay motivated and prevent pain and injury. With this strategy, you can already experience initial success after just a short time. So free yourself from the pressure of running a long session right away. Especially at the beginning, it's worth pursuing small milestones. That's why I recommend interval training. This means alternating between slow jogging and walking. Alternating between 3 minutes of exertion and 4 minutes of recovery is ideal for beginners.

My motto for finding your own pace? "Run without panting!" This means you should only go as fast as you can to avoid running out of breath. If you can still carry on a conversation while jogging or walking, you've found your right running pace. Ultimately, the training session should be challenging, but not exhausting. As a small aid to dosage, I always like to cite the principle of subjective under-challenge. This means: If after training you feel like you could start running again tomorrow, you've done everything right.