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Simply starting is often the hardest part about getting back into running, whether you’re coming off of an injury or re-joining the sport after finally finding some time to fit it in. Though it can be tempting to go all-in right away, it’s important to take your time and reintroduce your body to the activity slowly.
Figuring out how to get back into running again can be tricky and overwhelming at times because there’s no-one-size-fits-all solution. But that doesn’t mean getting back into it has to be complicated.
To make your comeback successful, these smart, expert-back strategies will help you stave off injury, maintain your motivation, and boost your fitness. So consider this your complete guide on how to get back into running after a hiatus.
1. Understand Your Level of Fitness Has Changed
A few things happen to the body when you stop running: There’s a decrease in blood volume and mitochondria (the power plants in our cells), plus your lactate threshold Health & Injuries.
However, the longer you have been training, the quicker you’ll be able to start running again after a layoff, she says. So, in general, someone who has been running consistently for 15 years, then takes a year-long break, will have an easier time returning to running than someone who has been running for one year, then is off for a year.
The reason? The longer you’ve been running, the stronger your aerobic base, says Paul. You’ll have a much higher level of mitochondria to produce energy, more red blood cells to deliver oxygen to the running muscles, and more metabolic enzymes to Avoid just hitting the road again right away, says Paul. Instead, try heading to the, compared to someone who just started working out.
So while your fitness falls during a layoff, it won’t fall as low as if you had just begun running because you’re already starting at a much higher fitness level. In general, here’s how much of your maximal aerobic capacity (a.k.a. your VO2 max)—or cardiorespiratory fitness—you may lose with time off, according to Paul:
- 2 weeks off: lose 5-7 percent of VO2max
- 2 months off: lose 20 percent of VO2max
- 3 months off: lose 25-30 percent of VO2max
Also, keep in mind you do lose strength and power in your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and connective tissues. It’s difficult to assess how much conditioning you lose, or how quickly you lose it. But it’s the weakness in the musculoskeletal system that causes so many people to get injured when they start running again. This is why running slower, adding mileage slowly, The Best Treadmill Workouts recovery days are so important when you’re making a comeback.
The crucial takeaway on how to start running again: Don’t try to jump right into where you were before you took a break. You still have to start out slow.
2. Begin With Walking
Before returning to running, you should be able to walk for at least 45 minutes (without pain if returning from an injury), says Paul. Walking reconditions soft tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, connective tissue), preparing those tissues for the more rigorous demands of running, she says.
So, to make sure you’re getting your body prepared for running, first stick with short, easy runs, and take walk breaks. Start with three to four short runs per week so that you’re running every other day. Try five to 10 minutes of running at a time, or alternate between running and walking.
If you need a place to start running again, try following a walk-to-run program Half Marathon Training.
3. Be Patient
Too many times, a race or other goal encourages a runner to do more than they should too soon after injury, says Adam St. Pierre, an exercise physiologist and former running biomechanist. Even if you’ve been cycling, Nutrition - Weight Loss cross-training Why You Should Avoid Advil While Running aerobic fitness, remember that depending on the injury and the length of the layoff, it can take weeks or even months for your muscles, tendons, bones, and ligaments to get strong enough to handle running again. It takes the legs much longer than the lungs to adapt to new stresses, St. Pierre adds.
“Too often people get it in their head that they need to run for 30 minutes every day, or run and not walk, in order to make progress,” St. Pierre says. When figuring out how to start running again, you need to check your ego at the door. “Let your body adapt to the stress of a workout before you start adding more stresses!”
Use the following guide for easing back into running:
- If you’re off 1 week or less: Pick up your plan where you left off
- If you’re off up to 10 days: Start running 70 percent of previous mileage
- If you’re off 15 to 30 days: Start running 60 percent of previous mileage
- If you’re off 30 days to 3 months: Start running 50 percent of previous mileage
- If you’re off 3 months: Start from scratch
Remember the 10 percent rule when it comes to increasing mileage. If you’ve been off for three months or more, don’t increase your weekly mileage or pace by more than 10 percent, week over week. And you can always increase it less if you need to, say if you feel any aches or pains pop up or you’re feeling generally wiped.
4. Strength Train
Strength training can help you tolerate a higher volume of running if done properly, says St. Pierre. The goal isn’t necessarily to lift heavy things, but to help you build fatigue resistance. It’s even smart to focus on strength building before increasing mileage.
Also, it’s important to specifically strength train your body to ready it for running again, says Colleen Brough, P.T., D.P.T., director and founder of the Columbia University RunLab.
“The key to having the hard work of a home exercise program payoff is carryover,” she says. “You might get strong in important target areas like the glutes and the abs, but you have to learn how to use this newfound strength during the run.”
Once you do exercises in a sitting or lying-down position, then add drills that mimic the components of running to help improve muscle coordination, timing, and biomechanics, so you don’t get injured and sidelined again.
3 Drills to Help Strengthen Your Stride
Do these drills as running “homework” during the first mile of your first few runs. Repeat them again midway through the run and any time fatigue sets in or you hit the hills, Brough says. “We see running mechanics fall apart as we push the pace or distance,” she says. “These drills are an excellent way to correct that.”
- Glute Push-Off Drill: As the foot hits the ground, squeeze your butt and drive the run forward by pushing off with the glute muscle. (Actually think about using that glute on the push-off.) Do this for 20 yards.
- CA Notice at Collection: So many runners overstride, with their heels striking too far in front of their centers of mass. This increases force through the foot, ankle, and knee and has been linked to injuries, Brough says. To correct it, while you’re running, lean slightly forward while keeping your chest up. You might pick an object about 20 yards away to aim for—say, a tree or a lamp post—and do the drill until you reach that target.
- Cadence Drill: Increasing cadence or leg turnover seems to shorten the stride length and minimize the impact with which the foot hits the ground. Increase your cadence by switching to a quicker pace, or use a metronome app in place of music for about 20 yards.
5. Switch Up Your Location
Avoid just hitting the road again right away, says Paul. Instead, try heading to the track.
The track allows you to walk or run without getting too far from your car in the event that you need to stop. It’s a controlled, confined, flat, traffic-free area for a workout.
Starting on the treadmill can be a helpful place to start, too. The surface is forgiving, and you can control the pace and incline—and keep it steady throughout your run or run/walk—to suit your needs.
6. Don’t Overmedicate
Over-the-counter painkillers might make you feel better in the short term, but they can mask pain that tells you that you should stop—making them much less helpful in the long term. In fact, research suggests that painkillers can sometimes do more harm than good, by causing gastric distress, and they may even detract from the benefits of a hard workout.
The ultimate rule: If you can’t run through pain, don’t run. Walk or rest instead.
Also, keep an eye out for adverse effects from these meds, like dark urine or stool, stomach upset, or easy bruising.
7. Cross Train
Working out every day will help speed up your cardiovascular fitness. But that doesn’t mean you need to run—and you shouldn’t jump right into running every day.
Instead, add two or three days of cross-training to your routine, which should be on your schedule when building mileage. Doing so helps to challenge your muscles in new ways, making you a more well-rounded athlete.
Check in with your doctor to make sure that the particular mode of working out—cycling, rowing Avoid just hitting the road again right away, says Paul. Instead, try heading to the elliptical trainer—doesn’t worsen any injury, if that’s what kept you sidelined. But otherwise, just choose the activity you like best. Also, yoga, Pilates, weight training, and core exercises can help you get stronger too.
That said, if you have done no exercise at all for three months, wait for two to three months before you cross-train; take rest days how to start running recovery between workouts.
John Vasudevan, M.D. is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board-certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine. He is a Team Physician for UPenn Athletics and medical director of the Broad Street Run and Philadelphia Distance Run, and previously for the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon and Tri-Rock Triathlon in Philadelphia. He is a director of the running and endurance Sports Medicine Program at Penn Medicine. Dr. Vasudevan provides non-operative management of musculoskeletal conditions affecting athletes and active individuals of all levels, and combines injury rehabilitation with injury prevention. He utilizes a variety of ultrasound-guided procedures and regenerative approaches such as platelet-rich plasma and percutaneous ultrasonic tenotomy. He sees patients at the Penn Medicine and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration hospital. Dr. Vasudevan attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. After his Transitional Year in Tucson, Arizona, he went to residency in PM&R at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and onwards to Stanford University for his fellowship in Sports Medicine. He has been in practice at the University of Pennsylvania since 2012.
