Myth 10: running is bad if you're overweight

Opinion. It is better for overweight people to completely abandon jogging so as not to destroy the joints, since excess weight increases the load on them.

Understanding. We already wrote above that being overweight actually increases the risk of injury. Danish scientists believe that overweight beginners, that is, with a body mass index of more than 30, run more than 3 km in the first week of training, are at increased risk of injury.

However, this does not mean that fat people should not run. For overweight runners, the recommendation is to gradually increase the load and start walking better to reduce the risk of injury.

The length of the distance and speed should be increased no faster than 5-10% per week.

True. Fat people can run, but with caution. You will need to increase the intensity and duration of your runs more slowly than people who have a BMI below 30. And of course, it is worth consulting your doctor before starting to run.

Myth 11: sneakers must be special and expensive.

Opinion. You can't run in ordinary sneakers, you can ruin your joints. The more expensive the sneaker is, the better. In addition, it is necessary to compensate for pronation - the collapse of the foot inward - and supination - the collapse of the foot outward. If the position of the feet is even slightly different from the reference, special shoes are needed.

Understanding. The BBC analyzed a number of studies. For example, in 2010, US Army specialists conducted a study on recruits and found that the quality of the shoes did not in any way affect the number of injuries. The author of the Danish study cited in the article recommends focusing on training schedule, duration and intensity first to reduce injury.

Now let's see if we need to compensate for the pronation and supination of the feet. The same review points out that over-pronation slightly increases the risk of injury, but more often repetitive running is more likely to be the cause than the foot. There are studies that have shown that shoes prescribed to control excessive pronation of the foot increased the risk of injury.

In another, larger study, researchers took 927 amateur runners with different stance types, fitted them with the same neutral stance trainers, and monitored them for a year. Among all groups, the number of injuries was approximately the same. Moreover, in people with hypo- and hyperpronation, this percentage was even lower than in runners with a neutral stance. The exception was runners who were too abnormal.

Scientists have concluded that in 99% of cases, the position of the foot, its pronation and supination, does not affect injuries in any way, and special shoes or orthopedic insoles are needed only if there is a significant deviation from the neutral position of the feet.

Finally, about the choice of sneakers. One interesting study that reviewed 391 pairs of sneakers from 24 brands found that expensive athletic shoes are no better than affordable ones. There is also research disproving the benefits of running in high-cushioning shoes.

At the same time, running barefoot is also not the best option: it is more traumatic than running shoes. Other studies suggest this as well.

True. The takeaway from most studies is that shoes reduce the likelihood of injury if they are comfortable for you. So you can buy any shoe and not worry: cheap comfortable sneakers will be less traumatic than expensive jogging shoes that are uncomfortable to you. You only need to compensate for excessive pronation and supination with special shoes, small deviations from the norm are not a cause for concern. But running barefoot is not the best solution.

In the book "Charged to 100%" Renat Shagabutdinov and Eduard Bezuglov advise to strengthen the muscles and ligaments of the lower leg and foot in case of flat feet and other problems with the feet. The authors consider orthopedic insoles and special footwear to be emergency means.

Run for fun and be attentive to your body's signals!