Tag: running

Benefits of Running- How Often Should You Run?

Running in general is a pretty active sport, as it involves litreally moving most, if not every part of your body simultaneously for an extended period of time.

What parts of your body are engaged during a run?

The main muscles that are working the most when you run are your quadship flexorshamstringsglutes and calf muscles

Running aslo helps shape your abs!, as it’s a pretty killer core exercise- try squeezing in a run the next time when you train your abs.

Your brain, I’m not kidding, as regular cardiovascular exercise can spark growth of new blood vessels to nourish the brain, which in turn will help you increase your memory and your ability to learn too!

Benefits of Running

1.Running helps you increase your aerobic stamina– as running improves your cardiovascular fitness by increasing your capacity to use oxygen. It does this by increasing your heart’s capacity to send blood (and hence oxygen) to the muscles.

2.Burn some serious calories! as you’re probably aware, running isn’t a walk in the park. It requries huge amount of energy and stamina as compared to working out in the gym.

Here’s a graph comaparing runnig and walking,

Running on an empty stomach has an added benefit! someting called an ‘after-burn effect’. It helps burn more calories as the stored energy is being used in an empty stomach run!( don’t run too much as chances of you collapasing are higher).



4.Running Improves life expectancy– recent study said “runners had a 27% lower risk of dying during the study period from any cause compared with non-runners. Specifically, running was associated with a 30% lower risk of death from heart disease and a 23% lower risk of death from cancer”.

So you’re litreally runing away from death, and runners who also regularly took up other aerobic physical activities, such as cycling, swimming, walking, basketball, and racquet sports, had the greatest mortality benefit.

How Often Should You Run?

Generally, just two and a half hours total running per week was found to have the highest benefits in terms of improving overall longevity. This amounts to around 30 minutes of running per day, five days per week.

The basic rule is to increase weekly distance by no more than 10% each week. For beginners, it can be a good idea to follow the 2–3 runs of 30 minutes for the first month to be on the safe side, To prevent stressing your body.

If you feel like you need a rest day, take it. Don’t be fixated on reaching a goal number of miles in a week if you are feeling fatigued or sore.

Few Risks Associated to Running

It is equally important to know the risks of running,

  • Since running is considered a high impact sport. Long durations of running are linked with knee joint problems as you’re litreally hitting the ground with 2-3 times your body weight. So best not to run for too long, and take a few days off between very long runs.
  • Again running for long periods of time strains your heart, causing the walls of your heart to thicken, which might lead to irregular heart beats.
  • Let’s just say too much of anyting is bad, so best stick to limits which help bring a balance bewteen the both.(risks and benefits)

Make sure you have proper running gear before you being a run, like soft soul running shoes, thin and breathable shirts, helps remove sweat etc.. Most importantly, JUST ENJOY THE RUN!

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