How To Become A Runner
by Jackie Burgmann, creator of "Hot at Home" - The Transformation Solution for People Who Hate The Gym

If you're already a runner, then you probably already know all this. But, if you're interested in learning to run, then read on because while many people consider running to be 'torture', there are actually certain techniques that will help make it enjoyable and get you 'up to speed' comfortably and easily.

As a self-professed fitness junkie, I do many things to stay fit, but first and foremost I'm a runner. I've been a runner for the majority of my adult life but I can still remember what it felt like to be just starting out. And it wasn't easy.

But I employed a few tactics to make it easier and more enjoyable and work my way up from 'non-runner' to 'seasoned runner'.

Running actually helped me quit smoking. The day I quit smoking was the day I started running.

I didn't make it far, and I didn't try to go fast. These are the two biggest tips I can give anyone who is interested in becoming a runner:

Start small, and start slow. Very slow.

I find that the biggest obstacles a beginner runner encounters is treating their run like it's a race right off the bat and trying to go a distance their body just isn't ready for ... yet.

Rather than trying to get somewhere fast, the best thing to do is simply to get somewhere comfortably, but at a constant pace. If you have to start out at a brisk walk, then so be it.

When I started out I was able to stay at a running pace for only 1 city block (and it was a very slow jog, not a full-out sprint).

The next day I was able to make it two city blocks. And so on.

Every day I was out there trying to see how far I could make it before I was forced to slow to a walk just from being winded.

After 4 days I'd made it around the whole block, back to my starting point. It felt like a major victory considering I couldn't even run across a street to catch a light without hacking up a lung before this.

The big trick when just starting out, is not to try to go too far, too fast. Work towards slowly building up the distance you can do before succumbing to exhaustion.

Don't race, just find your comfortable pace and control your breathing (three steps for one breath in, three steps for one breath out worked best for me when I was a beginner) and see how far you can go at this pace. Then with every run, strive to go a little further than you did last time.

Once you've built up your endurance levels to the distance you've set as your goal, then it's the time to start testing your speed.

But until then, just get where you're going comfortably, and have fun. Enjoy the ride! I often think of my endurance runs as "going for a ride on my legs". I turn off my brain and tune out to everything except just enjoying the scenery and the ride!

It can be a very 'Zen-like' state. It's true what they say about 'Runner's High'.

These days, I regularly run 8 km (5 miles) when I'm doing my endurance runs and am able to go much farther when my busy schedule allows for more extended routes.

Another interesting thing I have discovered is that if I run long enough, eventually my body will feel like it has turned to rubber and I can just go and go and go seemingly without any effort at all (another 'perk' of Runner's High).

The bonuses to becoming a runner are numerous, but include better cardiovascular health, a great fat-burning workout, toned legs and butt, plus (at least for me personally) a better state of mind and sense of calm afterward.

Good luck with your first run. Remember: don't go too far, and don't go too fast. Get where you want to go at a comfortable gait and enjoy the ride.

And while you're out there, don't forget that the journey to becoming an experienced and seasoned runner should be FUN.

Did you dig these tips about running? There's lots more where that came from.

If you're looking for MORE great tips about how to get started with a HOT new workout program you can do in and around your own home and BURN FAT FAST, then definitely check out "Hot at Home".

"Hot at Home" contains every workout, mindset tactic and nutrition strategy that I used to kick it up a notch and go from fat and frustrated to lean, toned and FINALLY seeing my abs, all without ever stepping foot into a gym. And it can work for YOU, too!

Find out more details by clicking here: "Hot at Home"