"Cough, please": check yourself up before you start running
If you're thinking about starting running and you're a solo newbie, guided by your favorite app, a check up is advisable. And if you're already in your fourties, it's almost compulsory.
Particularly, if you intend to follow a training plan to lose weight, quit smoking or get fit, you should undergo a quick but accurate medical check up to avoid both minor complaints and serious injuries which can jeopardize your health.
Watch your weight
Overweight mates should - out of any doubt- start with regular walking to preserve tendons, muscles and joints from excessive fatigue and avoid inflammation, sprains or major aches in short and medium term. Regular walking and a tailor made diet are the keys to reach the ideal BMI (Body Mass Index). Achieving your target weight is the necessary condition to protect muscles and joint system from run's traumatic impact and to help enjoying a new worry-free life.
Calculate your BMI
The BMI Formula is quite simple: kg/m2 (weight/height2) or just look at http://bit.ly/1zCpYKk
Heart
Your heart is your #1 ally and so it should be treated and checked. All you need is an EGC test ( electrocardiogram) to evaluate the heart's electrical activity under stress. Should your doctor gives you the go-ahead, training could be based on two different guidelines: speed race or pulse. Basing your training on speed race, initial training should go around 5-6 km/h and last approximately 20 minutes. If you choose to focus your training on pulse, trust a heart rate monitor and for the first 20 days interchange running and walking three times a week, sticking to 60-70% of the maximum heart frequency.
Want to calculate your heart frequency? Follow the Tanaka formula: 208 – (0,7 x age). If you're 25 y.o, the result is 190,5 if you're 40 y.o, 180 (208 – 28), 50 y.o, 173 (208 – 35) and so on.
Joints
There are some specific test to verify hips, ankles and knees' average efficiency. Hips, in particular, can be supported with proper exercises on obstacles, while ankles can be reinforced walking on the sand or sandy-alike-grounds ( if you don't live in Miami beach!)
Teeth
It might seem weird, but overbite can lead to cervical, lumbar illness which can generate postural problems. Should it be the case, a good dentist will suggest a byte or an implant insertion. Dental caries or infections can affect some muscular and tendon zone, too. That's why a dental examination is twice recommended!