Why does jogging improve your health? The organs which most influence longevity are your heart and lungs and they are the parts of your body which get fitter when you jog - and even more so when you start to run.

Other types of exercise can help you improve your general heath and so will a healthy diet.

Once you are capable of jogging for, say, 30 minutes it is time to intoduce some variety. For every 4 times you go out jog two of them at a comfortable pace for a comfortable distance. On one of the four days try to jog a little further by going slower which is not as easy as it sounds if you feel comfortable at a faster pace but try it. On the fourth outings try to work harder by jogging faster but over a shorter distance or every now and then go a bit faster until you can feel that you are starting to struggle a bit for breath but then slow down rather as if you are both the hare and the tortoise in turn.

Always jog in safe places such as parks. Try to avoid roads, especially if there is a lot of traffic. Bear in mind common sense safety - avoid dark places where you cannot see where you are putting your feet. Many parks have measured routes that you can use to see if you are getting faster or jogging further. Go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/parks for more details

Subscribe to Run England which is an on line running community set up by England Athletics. Go to www.runengland.org to register. It is free to join and you get general advice about jogging and running and an occassional money-off voucher from sports goods retailers.

The next most important step is to consider exercising with others. You may have friends who have also started jogging so join up with them. Alternatively check the Run England web site to see if there is a training group near you - and if not consider starting one!

Always warm up and stretch before you start. This will dramatically reduce the chances of an injury and ensure you get more benefit from your run. Some pre-run warm up exercises are available on the Spa Striders web site at www.spastriders.co.uk .

If you would like an in depth analysis of your running action or help with injuries contact Greg Howells at Tudor Physiotherapy www.tudorphysiotherapy.com/ or visit a specialist running shop with gait analysis equipment such as Coventry Runner www.coventryrunner.co.uk .