Jog without limits

Before you take to jogging, make sure you have a functional hip, knee, and ankle/foot which would cover your body’s basic locomotion, writes Swetha Subbiah

As far as one’s physical fitness is concerned, I would like to agree with the statement — doing something is better than doing nothing, however, I would like to caveat it by saying, that the “something” is not the same for all individuals. For those who are generally active and mobile/injury free, this statement serves them well if they need that little extra push on days where motivation might be running low. This statement, however, can be problematic when used to get a person who lives a primarily sedentary lifestyle (where the individual is probably not moving well and is riddled with aches/pains due to his/her lifestyle), to get moving and active.

For such individuals, the first order of business should be to address those aches/pains and to improve their overall strength, mobility and movement quality in order to prevent further injury. Rather than working on those aspects of their fitness first, more often than not, these individuals go from sitting at a desk or lying on a couch for most of their day to pounding the pavements (jogging/running) overnight in order to kick-start their fitness journey. The danger here is that, for such individuals, their body is seldom ready or prepared to cope with these activities.

A majority of individuals who start exercising tend to pick jogging as their first choice because their primary focus is weight loss. Moreover, jogging is a convenient activity to choose as it can be done anytime, anywhere and does not require equipment or guidance from a professional. The harsh reality however is that this activity, for a lot of individuals, often comes at the expense of their orthopaedic health, especially as one tends to get older. Thus, it is important to shift one’s mindset from weight loss to training — strengthening, mobilising and stabilising, in order to optimise our joint health and longevity. The outcomes of this approach are far greater in the long run (no pun intended!) to one’s overall fitness. The reason jogging isn’t always a good option for the novice general population is simply because generally speaking, these individuals do not have the prerequisites to perform this activity safely and without risking injury.

The prerequisites of jogging

You need a functional hip, knee, and ankle/foot which would cover your body’s “basic locomotion”. Besides this, one would also require adequate core strength and stability, strong postural musculature and above-average single-leg strength and stability. These are the most important prerequisites to check prior to jogging. If there are any red flags such as pain or restrictions in movement, refrain from continuing with your current exercise routine. Ideally, you should first consult a fitness professional who can assess your present physical condition and then give you the green light to go ahead or prescribe an exercise programme to help prepare your body for movement. Think of your body as a car or motorbike and this inspection as your “road-worthiness,” if you don’t pass you shouldn’t be on the road. Fix it before you break it!

(The author has over a decade of experience in the fitness industry. She is certified in various areas of fitness such as Posture Analysis, Suspension Training, Kettlebell, Advanced Personal Training, and Pre-Post Natal Training from one of the top institutes in the UK. In 2018, she became one of the few Sports Performance Coaches in the country.)