One of the easiest ways to start an aerobic exercise program is by walking or jogging. If you are 45 years old and have not exercised for a while, you may find that jogging workouts impact your muscles, joints and tendons in negative ways. Prepare for your jogging regimen with proper footwear and warmup moves, and make sure you do a workout that elevates your heart rate but keeps you safe from injury.
Footwear
Shop around for the best footwear. Maybe teenagers can hit the track in high-top sneakers, but you want running shoes that support your feet and cushion them from the shock of repeated impact. Bend the shoe in your hands to see if it partially resists being folded. Check for cushioning around the ball and heel of the shoe. Select a fit that does not pinch your toes or shift too much around your heels. You will jog more comfortably in a slightly looser shoe, rather than tighter, because your feet swell during an aerobic workout.
Warming Up
People in their 40s should devote extra time to warming up before jogging at a vigorous pace. However, do not stretch cold muscles, joints and tendons. Warm up by walking briskly for about five minutes. Spend another five minutes marching in place or walking while raising your knees high. Pump your arms and breathe deeply to elevate your heart rate and increase the amount of oxygen your circulatory system delivers to your muscles. Once you feel warmer or break a sweat, do stretches such as rotating your ankles, rotating your knees, bending at the waist and raising your arms overhead.
Jogging Pace
Select a jogging pace that you find challenging but that you can sustain for at least 20 or 30 minutes. If you start your workout sprinting, you kill your endurance, shortening your workout. Your goal is to raise your heart rate for an extended period so that you maximize a jog's cardiovascular and strengthening benefits.
However, you do not need to maintain the same pace throughout your running workout. Beginners may enjoy race-walking combined with jogging. More advanced joggers may pepper their jogging workout with sprints lasting 30 seconds or longer. Short sprints followed by a one-minute recovery period at a slower pace raise your heart rate higher than workouts at a steady pace.
Strengthening Work
People in the 40s should combine their jogging workout with strengthening, resistance and flexibility activities. As you age, you lose muscle tone and bone density, but exercise can reverse this process. Make your jog a strengthening workout by incorporating three or four hills in your route. If you run on a treadmill, place it at a steep grade for part of your workout, or a lower grade for a longer time period. Build upper-body strength by wearing light wrist weights and pumping your arms as you jog.
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