SPORTS
Ray's Regime
‘It is a sad fact of modern sedentary living that most middle-aged men and women
have done little or no exercise since they were teenagers. Therefore it takes
time for the body to adapt to exercising (jogging) again after years of relative
inactivity. ‘Working on a treadmill in a gym, this is my procedure and advice to the over-forties: Start off by walking on the treadmill at a pace you can handle with outgetting out of breath. This is a session lasting fifteen (15) minutes: walk for five (5) minutes, and then jog lightly for one(1) minute. Walk again for a further three (3) minutes before jogging for one minute. Then walk for the last five (5) minutes.
Complete this session three times a week for two weeks. ‘After the two weeks, you should be able to walk for five (5) minutes and then jog for three (3) minutes; walk for three (3) minutes and then jog for four (4) m
inutes. Adopt this schedule three
times a week for a further two weeks. Two weeks later: Walk for five (5) minutes; jog for five (5) minutes and then walk for five (5) minutes. Complete this session three times a week for two weeks.Two weeks after that: Walk for three (3) minutes; then jog for nine (9) minutes and walk for three (3) minutes. Complete this session three times a week for three weeks. Three weeks later: Walk for five (5) minutes; jog for ten (10) or even fifteen (15) minutes and finish up by walking for three (3) minutes. ‘When you are fully adjusted to the treadmill, begin to jog at ‘Speed 6’ for 15 minutes for two weeks before progressing to ‘Speed 7’ for four weeks and after that to ‘Speed 8’. You can then increase the pace of your jogs into runs lasting from 15 to 25 minutes at a time. Remember to always run easily within yourself and enjoy each session. Always run at a speed you can handle. If you are straining to keep the pace that you have dialled in; slow to a walk for one minute to catch your breath before starting again – jog first for at least a minute before breaking into a run at a pace that you know that you can handle. ‘When you have done at least 15 weeks
of treadmill running, and feel that you are fit enough, you can test yourself by running a ‘time-trial’ for five minutes. Set the controls to calculate just how much ground you can cover in those five minutes of fairly hard running. Make sure that you are thoroughly warmedup and your heart rate is steady before you start the time-trial. If you can cover 1500 metres in that time, you are really doing well; 1400 metres is good; 1200 metres is acceptable. The world record for running 1500 metres on a track is 3 minutes 26 seconds for men and 3 minutes 50 seconds forwomen. But these records were set by world class athletes in their twenties who were expertly tuned to a very high standard of fitness. ‘ALWAYS hydrate before starting to exercise – drink at least two litres of water each day; one before exercise and then one afterwards. Add a third litre of water with your evening meal after exercise. This meal should be a salad or lean meat such as fish or chicken. Eating tuna chunks with a little rice or vegetables to supplement the meat is always a good choice. Avoid sugarbased foods and do not eat snacks such as biscuits and chocolate bars betweenmeals. Alcohol should always be drunk in moderation, or avoided altogether. ‘More advice on diet and fitness next month.’
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