1997 Health, Fitness & Training Programs

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© Cool Sports 1997
Updated August 22

Avon Running Training

A Walking and Running program for all abilities *

by Kathrine Switzer - Program Director - Avon Running

Welcome to the world of Avon Running. Our objective with this program is to create opportunities in walking and running for every woman, regardless of her age or ability, in walking and running. Whether you want to begin a program for fitness or to lose weight, reduce stress or develop as a competitive athlete, the series of Avon races and walks will give you a goal.

To help prepare you I've written a book entitled "Running and Walking for Women Over 40 - The Road to Sanity and Vanity *", but this book is easily applicable to you at any age.

So to get started I offer you the following "How to Run" and "How to Walk" guidelines which are taken directly from my book.

* Running and Walking for Women Over 40, The Road to Sanity and Vanity (St. Martin's Press), By Kathrine Switzer, Available April 1998

A Walking Program: A Step-by Step Approach to a New Way of Living and Looking Great

A Running Program: Making Strides for Sanity and Vanity

Starting Here, Starting Now: The Beginning for Runners & Walkers

EVERYONE must walk before she can run.

Kathrine Switzer

Whether you're out for your very first run or your returning to the road after several years away, or if you intend eventually to be a walker, you should begin by putting on a watch, going outside and walking purposefully for a few minutes. For some of you, this might be five minutes, for others, fifteen. Don't push, don't hurt, and don't get breathless. Have fun! Walking and running should always be fun, even when you increase your physical challenges later in your program.

For the next three weeks, continue going out for a walk. Try to go every other day, with a minimum of three times a week. Each time you walk, add a minute to your walk, and try to go just a bit faster.

TIP: If you miss a workout, don't feel guilty. Just try to start again as soon as possible. If you miss a lot of days, you may need to start again very gradually, but don't fret. The important thing is doing it!

Intermediates move ahead; real beginners need more time.

By the second or third week, some intermediate beginners may start to feel a bit restless with this gradual phase. If you want to become a more serious fitness walker, move ahead to the walking section of this book. Beginning walkers will want to remain at this phase for as long as it takes to feel comfortable. A good guideline is to increase your distance or time in the activity by ten percent a week.

Those who want to run will notice that at times their walks break into slow runs, or jogs. This is a good time to experiment with very easy running. As you walk, pick out a mailbox or telephone pole 50 to 60 yards away and very gently break into a slow run and jog to it. Walk again to catch your breath and start repeating this process in all your walks, adding more and longer running phases to it. You're now ready for your first real running program.

Real beginners may take weeks, or even several months before they can reach this stage, depending on their original physical condition. This is usually the crossroads where a true beginner determines whether she will stay a walker or wants to move on to become a runner.

Running: Form and Fundamentals.

How do you run? The answer seems obvious: You put one foot in front of the other. Right? Yet it is one of the most frequently asked questions because running is not quite that easy. There are a few rules to follow.

First, you have to move from walking to running. How do you get started? Try this method. Go outside and start walking. Walk a bit faster. Then pick up the pace some more and sort of shuffle along; you'll see you're moving as quickly as you were in the fast walk, but it's actually easier. Shuffle just a bit faster, landing on your heels and rolling forward. Now you're jogging, but it should feel just as easy as fast walking.

Running form: Run with your shoulders back and your arms and hands relaxed. Bend your elbows at your waist with the palms of your hands facing each other - as if you were getting ready to put your hand in your pant's pockets. Keep your hands loosely cupped.

Keep your head erect and your eyes focused about ten to fifteen yards in front of you. Don't look straight down at your feet. Your chin should be parallel to the ground.

TIP: Don't feel depressed if your progress seems slow at this early stage. This is all new to your body, even if you were very active sometime in the past. It is far more important to build a strong healthy base, even if it takes longer, than to try to progress too quickly and be discouraged or even injured.

A Walking Program: A Step-by Step Approach to a New Way of Living and Looking Great

Walking is one of the most natural things we do. It's such a basic part of life that for a long time no one thought about it as a fitness activity. That's not the case anymore. As more and more people see the importance of exercise but are short on time, training or even the ability to participate in more vigorous sports, they've decided to look elsewhere for a workout. Fitness walking - walking with a purposeful stride, arms pumping, heart rate elevated - which first gained a following in the 1970s, is booming again as a result. It provides women with a wonderful exercise alternative. You can burn fat, develop muscle tone, reduce bone mass loss, and improve your grace and carriage.

Walking is going on everywhere: on the streets where you live, in community fun walks and races, through walking club activities, and at shopping malls. You can walk anywhere, at almost any time. Most important, virtually everyone can walk - no matter what your current level of fitness or activity is.

If significant weight loss is a major goal for your exercise program, walking may be an excellent way to start. Each time your foot strikes the ground while walking, it's with the force of one and a half times your actual body weight; that increases to three and a half to eight times when running. Running provides too much pounding for someone who is overweight.

Just as there are progressive levels in running, there are different stages in walking.

Walking form: Walk holding your body in a natural upright posture with your back straight, shoulders down, and neck relaxed. Look straight ahead focusing three or four yards in front of you, not down on your feet.

Your heel should hit the ground first, then follow through your stride, pushing off with your toes. Hold your arms with your elbows bent at a 90° angle and pump them back and forth in an opposite rhythm to your feet - when you stride forward with your left foot, your right arm comes forward and vice versa.

Keep your stride at a natural length. If you want to walk faster, don't lengthen your stride. Take smaller, quicker steps instead. Also, don't lean forward as you walk. Good posture not only enhances your carriage, but also helps prevent injury.

A Program to Make You a Thirty-Minute Walker.

Once you're able to comfortably walk for fifteen-minutes, it's time to look at the next stage: working toward being a thirty-minute walker. This means you will be able to do a thirty-minute fitness walk three or four times a week. It's the stage at which many of your overall fitness goals will begin to be realized.

Start each walking session with a gentle warm-up walk for three or four minutes to loosen your muscles. After you finish your workout, cool-down with a few more minutes of slow walking and then some gentle stretches.

Becoming a 30-minute walker