Detailed Explanation of Correct Jogging Posture and Home Aerobic Exercise Methods

The correct way to jog

The correct way to jog is described below.

(1) Warm-up

Proper warm-up exercises are about getting your body warmed up, signaling to yourself that it's time to exercise.

Before running, you can use tools such as foam rollers to press and roll all the muscles in your body for 10 minutes to warm up.

● The order of pressing and relaxing the thighs with a foam roller: front - outside - back - inside.

● The order of pressing and relaxing the calf with a foam roller: Achilles tendon - back - outside.

● Use a wooden stick to loosen the arch of your foot.

● Use a foam roller to press and relax your hips, sides, back, and neck.

● After pressing, stretch appropriately in the following order: front of thigh - back of thigh - inner thigh - outer thigh - arch of foot - gluteus maximus - iliopsoas muscle - shoulder joint.

(2) Correct running posture

● Keep your head and shoulder joints stable. Do not shake your head while running to prevent neck injuries.

Lower your shoulders, slightly squeeze your shoulder blades back, straighten your chest, and keep your upper body upright.

● Do not swing your arms from side to side beyond the midline of your body. During the swing, your arms should be in a relaxed state. Except for keeping your upper arm and forearm at about 90 degrees, you should not exert force on other joints.

● When viewed from the side, the neck and abdomen should be in a straight line, and the head should not be stretched forward.

When running, avoid swaying your body from side to side and ensure that your hip joints bear the weight evenly. Otherwise, it can easily cause asymmetrical friction, leading to joint pain.

● The core strength area (our waist and abdomen) should be in an upright position. You can feel the state of your waist and abdomen when you straighten your chest and squeeze your shoulder blades back.

Engaging your core while running helps maintain body stability and reduces impact on your legs.

● During running, the legs swing back and forth. There is no need to lift them excessively, and you should not let your legs deviate to the left or right, as this will cause the most damage to the knee joint. We should use the correct running posture to prevent injury.

● When landing, your feet should be positioned about 30 centimeters directly in front of your body, close to the midline of your body.

Landing on your heel first distributes the force across the entire foot, reducing the impact on the knee joint. You can also strengthen your arches through regular exercise.

● Do not blindly engage in long-term, high-intensity running training. Make sure your running posture is correct, otherwise you will be more prone to injury, let alone achieve the effect of weight loss.

In addition, it is important to pay attention to stretching exercises and muscle relaxation before and after running, which will help you achieve twice the results with half the effort.

4. How to do aerobic exercise at home

Here are some ways to do aerobic exercise at home.

Stepper: A stepper is a small piece of fitness equipment, and many families choose to buy it because of its compact size.

Don't let its small size fool you; when used correctly for aerobic exercise, it can help the body burn over 300 calories per hour.

At home, we can also use wooden boxes, expired magazines, or old books to stack up to create an object of a certain height, mimicking the movement pattern of a stepper machine, and perform aerobic exercises by stepping up and down.

Spinning bikes: Spinning bikes are a type of exercise that mimics normal cycling. They are usually more effective for exercise when used in a gym.

There are two reasons: First, the exercise bikes in gyms can usually be adjusted to different pedaling forces to simulate different scenarios; second, you can train with other people in the gym, which can motivate each other and help you complete your training better.

Keeping a stationary bike at home is also a great option. It takes up little space, and you can watch movies or binge-watch shows while you're training.

If your exercise bike allows you to adjust the training intensity according to your own situation, such as simulating mountain road riding, it can help you burn more than 400 calories per hour!

Jumping rope: Many people have been exposed to jumping rope since childhood, so the techniques will not be elaborated here.

Don't underestimate this exercise; it burns more calories than a stationary bike, and even without jumping rope, simulating the jumping rope motion can achieve the same fat-burning effect.

Climbing stairs: A stepper is a fitness machine designed to mimic the motion of climbing stairs, which shows that climbing stairs is also a very good exercise for weight loss.

If you have the time and resources, try to change your habit of taking the elevator to work and home to taking the stairs instead. If you stick to this habit in the long run, the weight loss effect will become apparent.

Since there are limited aerobic exercises that can be done at home, if you have time on the weekend, why not put on a pair of sneakers, go outside and take a brisk walk for 40 minutes, paying attention to your heart rate range? This is also an excellent form of aerobic exercise that can relax your mind.

However, if the air quality or weather is poor, it is recommended to consider the above methods of doing aerobic exercise at home.

Some readers may ask: "Does doing aerobics at home also count as aerobic exercise?" By referring to the explanation of the concept of aerobic exercise in the previous article, you will easily find the answer.

5. How to do cardio in the gym

Here are some methods for doing aerobic exercise in the gym.

Treadmill: When it comes to equipment that can help with weight loss, many people think of treadmills first.

Due to weather, geographical environment and other reasons, we often cannot exercise outdoors at all times, so treadmills were invented.

Treadmills are a must-have in gyms, as they can effectively help us burn calories.

Treadmills are equipped with shock-absorbing plates, which can help release pressure on the knee joints. Therefore, running on a treadmill is less impactful than running on the road. People with knee and lumbar spine injuries can try using a treadmill.

Older adults are not suited to fast running, but can do slow walking training on a treadmill.

I often see people walking backwards on treadmills. This behavior needs to be properly guided by a coach to avoid unnecessary injuries.

When using a treadmill, you can start with a slow speed, grab the handles with both hands, and feel the speed of the treadmill. After you get used to this feeling, you can gradually increase the speed to do brisk walking, jogging, and running.

It is not recommended for beginners to set a very high speed right away, as this can easily lead to falls and injuries.

The running postures mentioned earlier are also applicable on a treadmill.