Jogging

Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running.

Definition

The definition of jogging as compared with running is not standard. One definition describes jogging as running slower than 6 mph.^[1]

History

In 1593 William Shakespeare wrote in Taming of the Shrew, "you may be jogging whiles your boots are green".

The etymology of the word jog is unknown, but it may be related to shog or be a new invention in the sixteenth century. At that point, it usually meant to leave.^[2] The term "jog" was often used in English and North American literature to describe short quick movements, either intentional or unintentional. Richard Jefferies, an English naturalist, wrote of "joggers", describing them as quickly moving people who brushed others aside as they passed.^[3]

The terms to jog and jogging as referring to a form of exercise, originated in England in the mid-seventeenth century. This usage became common throughout the British Empire, and in his 1884 novel My Run Home the Australian author Rolf Boldrewood wrote "your bedroom curtains were still drawn as I passed on my morning jog".

In the United States jogging was called "roadwork" when athletes in training, such as boxers, customarily ran several miles each day as part of their conditioning. In New Zealand during the 1960s or 1970s the word "roadwork" was mostly supplanted by the word "jogging", promoted by coach Arthur Lydiard, who is credited with popularizing jogging. The idea of jogging as an organised activity was mooted in a sports page article in the New Zealand Herald in February 1962, which told of a group of former athletes and fitness enthusiasts who would meet once a week to run for "fitness and sociability". Since they would be jogging, the newspaper suggested that the club "may be called the Auckland Joggers Club"—which is thought to be the first use of the noun "jogger". University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, after jogging with Lydiard in New Zealand in 1962, published the book Jogging in 1966, popularizing jogging in the United States.

Exercise

Jogging may also be used as a warm up or cool down for runners, preceding or following a workout or race. It is often used by serious runners as a means of active recovery during interval training. The runner who may just have completed a fast 400 metre repetition at a sub-5-minute mile pace may drop to an 8-minute mile pace for a recovery lap.

References

^ BBC SPORT | Health & Fitness | Are you running properly?
^ [1] Think on My Words
^ [2] The Open Air

General bibliography

The Complete Book of Running (Hardcover) by James Fixx, Random House; 1st edition (September 12, 1977) ISBN 0-394-41159-5
Jim Fixx's Second Book of Running (Hardcover) by James Fixx, Random House; 1st edition (March 12, 1980) ISBN 0-394-50898-X
Jogging by William J. Bowerman and W.E. Harris, with James M. Shea; New York, Grosset & Dunlap [1967]LCCN 67016154

External links

[1] BBC SPORT | Health & Fitness | Are you running properly?

[2] [1] Think on My Words

[3] [2] The Open Air

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