Beginners: use this tip to increase your distance

Learning to run isn’t easy. Running takes plenty of motivation, courage and determination to push your boundaries. The goal for every new runner is to get more comfortable running, but when you’re starting, you are more prone to injury by overtraining or increasing your distance too quickly.

If you are stuck on trying to increase your distance in your learn to run program, we have just the tip that can help you reach your goal. Instead of forcing yourself to do more, try to do less by limiting your rest/walk time.

Beginners will commonly use the 5 and 1’s or 10 and 1’s method, which involves five minutes (or 10 minutes) of running and one minute of walking. If you are struggling to get past running for a certain distance or time, try cutting down your walk rest to 30 seconds. Your heart rate (on average) decreases by 20-30 beats per minute (bpm) within one minute of stopping your run. Introducing a 30-second walk rest instead of one minute will bring your heart rate down while gradually increasing your endurance as you are limiting yourself to less rest.

This 30-second rest tip is perfect for beginners who are looking for an easy trick to increase their distance without doing more of it. Using the 30-second walk rest tip will eventually get you more comfortable running a particular distance without stopping, which is the goal of every new runner.