Start going running for your New Year's resolution

After the holidays, all the dinners and events can take their toll. This Christmas season, we have had to leave exercise and a healthy diet behind in favor of all sorts of sweets and treats. This is all good, but now it's time to stop and get back to our routines.

If one of your new year's resolutions has been to start exercising, here are some ideas to get started. We suggest starting with running, a sport you can do outdoors anytime, without having to join the gym.

1. Prepare your goals and organize your workouts.

It is important to set your goals according to your abilities and needs. Of course, when you start a sport, you have a goal. Whatever yours is, you must set yourself a goal or purpose to reach.

Set some feasible objectives that are not more than your body can take. But they should be demanding enough to challenge you to try your best.

2. Before you start, get all the materials you need.

While going for a run requires minimal material, there are some basic things. You should equip yourself with comfortable clothes and running shoes that will let you cover all the miles you have left to go.

In addition, there are a few accessories that will make it much easier for you. These include wireless headphones, which will let you listen to podcasts or your favorite music on every outing. This will help you get motivated and make the minutes go by faster.

A fanny pack or sports backpack will be indispensable; you can use it to carry your personal belongings safely. Cellphone, wallet, and keys - the basics. There are so many possibilities... on your arm with an armband, at the waist with a fanny pack, or even on your back with a reflective backpack which, in addition to allowing you to carry your things, will provide you with a reflective light to be seen by cars and be safer.

3. Start with short runs and intervals at every outing.

While you will be very motivated at first, never try to do more than your body can handle. Starting from scratch is a long process that requires a lot of perseverance.

You should plan your outing with short running intervals and intersperse them with rest walks. When you have these intervals under control, you can increase the time for each of them and decrease the minutes when you're rest walking. If you keep at it, you will reach a point where you won't have to stop to walk and make it the whole way running.

4. Find a partner to meet your goals with you.

Being consistent is one of the foundations of this exercise. Sometimes, though, it can feel uphill for us. Some days, you will be motivated, and others, not so much. That's why you should find someone you can share your challenge with.

By not going it alone, you will feel more ‘obliged’ by not missing any training. In addition, the minutes will go by much faster.

5. Keep a record of activity.

Take a wristwatch with you to monitor your exercise. This will be a great help with your routines since it stores all your information; later, it will be easier to measure your goals. In addition to the calories burned, the distance traveled, or the speed at which you run, it will also be able to measure how much sleep you get so you can know if you are getting good rest, or get mobile notifications so you don't have to take it with you. It will be much easier this way!

6. Keep a running diary to help you evaluate your goals.

Pick your favorite notebook and create your own running diary. This will make it easier for you to keep track of your goals, including those small milestones you're meeting with each of your workouts.

But for it to be effective, it must have all the necessary information from each of your sessions. Monitor the total duration of the session, kilometers traveled, the intervals you've done, and the time of each outing.

Also include some comments about how you felt, the effort you made that day, your physical conditions for the session, or the route you took.

Now that you have all these tips, you just have to get down to business! The most difficult step is the first one, but once you break that barrier, everything will get rolling. So get running!