Most people can lace up their shoes and start a running program without worrying about bringing on a heart attack, aggravating a bad back or provoking some other medical catastrophe. A small percentage, however, should consult a doctor before starting on any fitness regimen, whether or not it includes running.

Perhaps the best way to decide if you need medical supervision is to take a physical readiness test. The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology has developed a good one. Called the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire or PAR-Q, for short (there is a PAR-Q at the end of this booklet). If you get through the questionnaire without answering yes to any of the questions – and it’s in your best interest to answer them honestly – then you can probably start an exercise program without fear of hurting yourself.

If, however, you answer yes to one or more questions, you should talk to your doctor before proceeding.

If you want to get a more accurate assessment of your physical condition, ask your doctor to do a Physical Activity Readiness Medical Examination (the PARmed-X, for short) with you. This special checklist includes useful advice on what types of exercises can safely be done by persons with certain underlying physical conditions. There’s even a special screening tool for pregnant women considering an exercise program. Pregnancy rarely makes exercise inadvisable, but it’s wise to check with a qualified professional.

The Three Rules of Exercise
Once you’re cleared to start an exercise program, it’s time to memorize the three rules of exercise – moderation, consistency and rest. They’re simple rules, and if you live by them you will find that moving from a sedentary life to an active one can be quite enjoyable rather than a trip through training hell. You will also go a long way towards avoiding injuries, which can undo months, even years, of work.

Three Basic Rules of Training:

Rule 1: Be Moderate
Start slowly. Even if you already have a good level of cardiovascular fitness from other sports, you should follow this advice. Being able to cycle in the Tour de France or swim the English Channel doesn’t make you a runner. Even experienced runners (and walkers) need to take care not to overstress themselves. That’s because there are special musculoskeletal stresses peculiar to running.

The cardiovascular system is considerably more robust than the musculosketal system. Given a reasonable amount of stress, it will respond eagerly, quickly strengthening and giving you the ability to transport more oxygen to hungry muscles. Unfortunately, your bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles are not quite as adaptable. According to Dr. Tim Noakes, a medical research director at the University of Cape Town and author of Lore of Running, “If you’re reasonably athletic, after six months or so of training you could technically run in a marathon, but your bones wouldn’t be up to it yet.” He says the majority of people who haven’t been very active are susceptible to bone-stress fractures in the first three to six months if they continually push their training. In other words, while your heart and lungs may be urging you to go, your bones, ligaments, tendons and muscles may want you to ease up.

A large number of well-intentioned people derail their fitness programs by being immoderate. Many of them make a New Year’s resolution to get in shape and crowd the fitness centers during the first couple of weeks of January, but drop out by the time spring rolls around. Those who aren’t injured have grown discouraged by the punishing pace to which they’ve subjected themselves.

Rule 2: Be Consistent
If moderation is the first rule of training, consistency is the second. Those who break Rule 1 invariably break Rule 2. Here’s the pattern: you decide to get in shape, so you head for the gym or go for as long a run as you can endure, and for the next week you feel as though you’ve been run over by a truck. By the time you’ve recovered enough to take another stab at it, you push yourself to the wall again to make up for lost time. This kind of training isn’t training at all. It’s doing you more harm than good, and because it makes you feel worse rather than better, it isn’t long before common sense kicks in and undermines your commitment. Eventually you quit.

The virtues of consistency cannot be overstated. When you work out consistently, your body has more time to adapt to the stress of training. What’s more, if you are consistent, you won’t have to make up for lost time. A day or two of extra-hard work will not make up for those missed training sessions. Instead, you are more likely to overstress your body and find yourself back at square one – or, worse, facing an illness or injury.

As well, the longer you spend developing a solid fitness base, the more secure it is, which means you can take a break every now and then without blowing your whole game plan.

If you think carefully about Rules 1 and 2, it’s easy to see why fit people make training part of their lives. The idea that training never ends may seem daunting in the beginning, especially if you find your first efforts difficult. But once your body and mind begin to benefit from exercise, you will find yourself craving it. Instead of forcing yourself to do it, you’ll be worrying about when you are going to get the chance. Fit people typically reach stages in their day or week when there are champing at the bit to tie on their shoes and go.

Rule 3: Give Your Body Ttime To Rrest
Rest gives your body time and energy to adapt to the changes you bring to it by training. Once your body has adapted, you’ll be stronger and more efficient. Build time for rest and recovery into your training plan and be sure to space your workouts of their entire week, not pile them up in a few days.

Think of rest the same way you think of your training sessions – as a conscious physical activity essential to your program. Rest is not the avoidance of work; it is a proper period of recovery from an activity that wears your body down.

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