Avoid holding your breath during morning runs. Holding your breath places significant strain on the heart. Never go for a morning run when you have a fever. A fever weakens the immune system and depletes the body's energy reserves. Since running is also an energy-consuming activity, the combined energy expenditure disrupts the body's energy balance, potentially worsening the condition and triggering other illnesses.
Prepare properly before running. In winter's cold temperatures, avoid wearing too little clothing for morning runs, especially ensuring warmth around the upper abdomen to prevent chills causing digestive discomfort. Drink a glass of plain water before heading out. Hydration not only replenishes fluids and relieves overnight dryness but also lowers blood viscosity, promoting blood circulation and metabolic processes.
Some people rush into running immediately upon stepping outside, but this is inadvisable. It's better to first rub your hands and face, gently massage your earlobes, and put on gloves to prevent frostbite. Next, rotate each ankle and flex your knees. Finally, take a deep breath to center your mind. Now you're ready to start running.
After a proper start, lean your upper body slightly forward, keep your eyes level, and let your arms swing naturally with your running rhythm. Point your toes straight ahead without forming a "V" shape. Push off powerfully but land softly, maintaining relaxed movements. There are two common foot strike techniques for long-distance running: landing on the forefoot or the outer edge of the foot.
This method is faster and more effective but requires greater effort. It suits professional athletes aiming to improve performance. The other involves landing on the entire foot and transitioning to pushing off with the forefoot. This approach keeps the back of the leg muscles more relaxed, making running less strenuous but slower. It's suitable for most people and beginners, ideal for regular fitness training.
Breathing is crucial in long-distance running. As an aerobic exercise, it involves the body's major organ systems, particularly the respiratory system. During running, the body's oxygen demand continuously increases, so maintaining a steady breathing rhythm is essential. Generally, aim for one breath every two or three strides, ensuring the rhythm remains consistent without significant fluctuations.
For inhalation, use nasal breathing or a combination of nasal and oral breathing. Pressing the tongue against the upper palate helps prevent large amounts of cold air from directly entering the chest and causing irritation.
During long-distance running, oxygen supply lags behind muscular demands, leading to an "uncomfortable" sensation—heavy legs, chest tightness, labored breathing, and reluctance to continue. At this point, moderately reduce your pace, adjust your breathing rhythm, and maintain the resolve to keep running.Soon, the difficulty will be overcome. Post-run activities and relaxation Many people habitually rest immediately after finishing a run, but this is not ideal. After running, the entire body has been activated. At this point, further basic conditioning exercises can yield excellent fitness results. You can perform a set of calisthenics, or engage in leg stretches, leg kicks, straddle jumps, vertical jumps to touch height, single-leg hops, and high-knee runs to develop lower-body strength and enhance endurance.
After completing the entire routine, avoid resting immediately. Instead, perform on-the-spot jumping kicks while keeping your body relaxed, arms swinging naturally, and legs swinging freely in all directions. Then, bend forward with knees raised, fists clenched or hands shaped like blades, and gently tap your thighs and calves to fully relax the muscles.Pay attention to hydration before morning exercise. It's best to drink a cup of cool boiled water (about 250 ml), ideally around 15°C. This helps cool you down and quench thirst in summer, while preventing cold water from irritating your mouth and stomach in winter. Drink slowly, avoiding a bloated feeling. You can start your morning workout about 10 minutes after drinking.Why drink water before morning exercise? After a night's sleep, the body loses significant fluids through breathing, urination, and skin evaporation. This leads to reduced blood volume, increased blood viscosity, and impaired microcirculation. Engaging in exercise under these conditions greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular events, especially for those with hypertension or heart disease. Drinking water beforehand counteracts these adverse factors.