After months of doom and gloom, this month, it really feels like the country has finally come together. Community is flourishing. That’s largely down to the World Cup and the way that England has brought the country together. Even a last-minute, heart-wrenching defeat can’t rob us of that sense of togetherness.

If you’re a new football fan, can I tempt you to look forward to the start of the Women’s Super League (WSL) in September? Seats are much cheaper than they are for men’s games, and the vibes – at least at Arsenal – are immaculate. If you’re not in London, Aston Villa is the country’s oldest women’s club, Liverpool always bring the party, and Man City are the current reigning champions… sigh.

Anyway, community is at the very heart of everything we do at Well by Stylist – and to prove it, I’ve been going through the archives to find some of my favourite features about accessible fitness. Looking for women-only hiking groups to start exploring with? We’ve got you covered. Want to know what kind of local gossip awaits you at your local sauna? Read this. Whether you’re struggling with grief and need community support or you’ve discovered the joy in Parkrun volunteering, we want to celebrate all the ways that movement can bring us together – whether we’re competing for our country, our club or ourselves. 

Looking for a simple health intervention to add to your weekly wellness routine? The latest social media fad involves jumping on the spot for a few minutes. Sounds simple, right? Maybe too simple. Well, Stylist’s wellness editor Miranda Larbi has been giving it a go to find out first-hand what benefits it might offer for mood and energy.

Question:

I really want to start running with other people, but I struggle to talk and run at the same time. Is there anything I can do to make it easier?

Answer:

The easiest way to make running and talking at the same time feel more comfortable is simply to slow your pace – and there are actually huge training benefits in doing so. Running at a conversational pace builds your aerobic base, which is your endurance engine that gets you to run faster at the same effort level over time. Even the fastest athletes I coach (sub-2hr 50min marathoners) are instructed never to go quicker than 5 mins/km (8 mins/mile) on easy runs.

If you can comfortably hold a conversation while running, you’re usually working at the right pace to develop your aerobic fitness while also building musculoskeletal strength. If you’re running on your own, let breath act as a guide. A good litmus test is whether you can breathe in through your nose for an easy run, which generally means you’re in the right zone (though some can find nose breathing difficult due to naturally small airways).

Many runners worry they’re losing fitness by slowing down, but this isn’t generally true. Running your easy runs too hard puts unnecessary stress on the body, making recovery more difficult, which in turn means not getting the right adaptations from your training. I recommend keeping one or two runs each week as your higher-intensity sessions (breathing through the mouth if you need it) and let the rest be genuinely easy. With consistency over time, you’ll find that your conversational running pace should naturally become quicker. And not only will you become a better runner, but you’ll benefit from the social interaction of chatting with fellow runners at the same time.