10 hints for beginners

1. Check-up
If you are about to take up physical exercise after a longer abstinence, make sure to get yourself examined either by your family doctor or by a sports medicine specialist, possibly at an examination centre specialising in sports medicine, before you start training.

2. Set yourself targets
Exercising without enjoying it is bound to be abandoned before long and does not have the aspired positive psychological effect. Actively try to get a sense of achievement by fixing short-term, but also long-term targets. Short-term objectives raise your spirits straight away. To achieve long-term objectives, you need more patience, but will be rewarded by a lasting feeling of wellbeing.

3. Get the right gear
XCO® is a type of training requiring very little equipment. However, the right gear is the key to success. Get in-depth consultation when choosing your running shoes. Ask other walkers or joggers for a specialised shop whose staff provide competent advice, and take your time for your purchase.

4. Get support
Once you have opted for XCO® WALKING & RUNNING, you should definitely seek qualified briefing and personal mentoring. Your XCO® INSTRUCTOR offers a large variety of courses for different target and performance levels. Speaking of which, XCO® TRAINING in a suitable group is a great help to overcome initial difficulties and to keep at it.

5. Start with patience and common sense
When in doubt, train rather too little than risk overtaxing yourself. Like this, you benefit from a sense of achievement during the first – often decisive – weeks that will help you to stick to your chosen fitness track with determination and success. This applies also if your cardiovascular systems appears to be adjusting to the challenge faster than expected.

6. Find the right measure
A minimum of exertion is necessary to achieve measurable success with your XCO® TRAINING. Exercising too briefly or too seldom will have no effect. A reasonable measure is at least 30 minutes two or three times per week so that your body can get used to the new gentle challenge. If you have already practised some sport before, you may also train more often or longer. Talk to your XCO® INSTRUCTOR to find the right measure for you.

7. Monitor your heart rate
The success of endurance training is essentially dependent on the “right” amount of strain. The load should be neither too low nor too high. If it is too low, the body will not adjust, while too high a strain can easily be overtaxing, especially for beginners. As a general rule, you should control your training with the help of a heart rate monitor which ensures that you can get the optimum load for your individual needs.

8. Drink at regular intervals
If your legs start to feel heavy during XCO® TRAINING, this does not necessarily imply that you are out of condition. Sometimes it means that you have taken in too little fluid or drunk it too late. While exercising and sweating, you must watch out for an adequate fluid intake. It is therefore recommended that you drink sufficiently before you start, and to replenish your fluid stores time and again during breaks.

9. Stay flexible
XCO® TRAINING also includes an extensive stretching programme. Ideally, you should warm up properly before exercising and stretch thoroughly afterwards once more. Stretching softens your muscles and protects them from hardening, aching and injuries. Another benefit is that stretching exercises give you an even better sense of your own body.

10. The right mix
Even if XCO® TRAINING is the ideal sport in your books: Do make regular forays into other sports. The so-called cross training adds to the fun in everyday exercising, protects you from one-sided strain and prevents muscular unbalance. By sometimes trying out different sports you can improve your strength, endurance and co-ordination in the long run.