I’m not. I’m not technically running. I’m slow jogging, which is a very different thing.
But first… WHY? I’ve been uber clear about how much I hate running. It just doesn’t feel good in my body. But a couple of years ago, I think it was that long, I heard about this concept of slow jogging and I watched a video and thought it made sense. Still… wasn’t interested.
Then along comes tennis and one of my biggest issues is my legs aren’t fast enough. (My cardio also sucked the first couple of times but that improved quickly.)
I knew I needed something to support not just my tennis but the things I envision for my dance work in the coming years.
So the other day, I was on my desk treadmill and some good music was playing and I wanted to go faster but I was barefoot. I turned up my speed and found myself very naturally… slow jogging.
I looked up more videos, and yep, my body, in bare feet at just the right speed, had naturally done the technique correctly.
You keep everything low like walking, back straight up, land on the balls of your feet, and don’t try to kick the ground away.
You should be able to talk or sing quite easily or you’re going too fast.
There are a ton of benefits but just a few to start:
This is super kind to your joints. Unlike with full out jogging/running, you’re very unlikely to injure yourself.
It still gives you all the aerobic advantages while also…
Preparing you to go faster (if that’s a goal).
And for women in peri/menopause, this is great for our freaking hormones and metabolism.
Right now I’m starting small and easy, only going for about ten minutes at a time on my treadmill in bare feet.
Over time, I’ll add longer bits, but this is perfection. I FEEL FANTASTIC after but don’t feel gross or out of breath. It’s the perfect balance of ease and challenge!
Here’s a video about all of this, but even just watching the beginning (wait until the woman in pink joins him), you’ll see the technique pretty clearly.
Another way to get going is to do one minute of this, then one minute of walking, and so on. (Slow jogging intervals.)