We get it: the couch is your best friend. There may even be an imprint of your behind on those cushions – that’s how much time you’ve been spending there lately. This inactivity is often accompanied by too many chocolate bars, packets of chips, glasses of wine, puffs of a cigarette, or whatever else happens to be your vice. But while you’ve got comfortable in this unhealthy lifestyle, you’re starting to see the effects on your body, especially as you get older. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.

If you’re a couch potato, you might be inspired by Fedhealth’s latest initiative to get moving and get healthy. As part of their sponsorship of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon on the 14th and 15th September, they’ve teamed up with two running coaches and a nutritionist to help six of their members – their Dream Chasers – achieve their fitness dream, including three self-confessed couch potatoes!

These three members with a fondness for the couch are all aiming to run their first 10km at the event – and luckily, they have Joburg-based running coach Brendan McBirnie to help them get there! If you’re wanting some motivation to start exercising yourself, perhaps Brendan’s top tips will help you get the motivation to leave the couch behind you and start chasing your dreams too. Here are his top tips for completing your first 10km run:

  1. Make a plan

Wishing for something doesn’t make it happen, taking small steps does. Brendan says you need a training plan that fits in with your lifestyle and is sustainable – otherwise, you’ll quit after the first week! Choose the days of the week that you will train and then stick to those.

  1. Consistency is king (or queen)

Starting is one thing but continuing is another. Be consistent and make small goals for yourself that you then tick off. Remember that lots of small goals achieved add up to something really big!

  1. Exercise your patience muscle

It’s not just your legs that are going to take strain as you get jogging, your mind will too! It may be frustrating once you begin, but you need to be patient and persistent. Your body has spent a lot of time on that couch, so it won’t just bounce back into complete fitness immediately. Allow yourself to adapt to the training load and start with more regular and manageable distances, rather than trying to achieve your race distance immediately. Your body really is an amazing thing and adapts well, if it’s given a chance.

  1. Have a chat

Be able to hold a conversation while you run. Our human nature is to push ourselves and run faster than we should, but endurance training improves the most if we take our easy runs slowly. If you’re unable to talk while you run, then you’re going too fast.

  1. Make use of intervals

To help your body get used to running, make use of jogging/walking intervals. Earlier in the programme, start with longer walking intervals (and shorter jogging intervals), and as you get fitter, reduce the walking component and increase the jogging component.

  1. Be a groupie

Training in a group not only makes training more fun but provides a great support base too. You’ll have people to share your failures and successes with, plus they’ll make you accountable.

So, there you have it, six tips from a running coach that will get you off the couch and out on the road. It’s all about taking that first step – and who knows, maybe this will lead to a healthier lifestyle all around?

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