11 POWERFUL REASONS TO SUPPORT RUNNING
Running is a top contender for the best fitness activity; aside from its many practical advantages, such as price and convenience, it’s also a terrific method to maintain both your physical and mental health.
“Running is one of the simplest cardiovascular exercises you can do, with benefits for almost every part of your body,” asserts Meghan Kennihan, NASM-CPT, a run coach for the USA Triathlon and the Road Runners Club of America.
11 INCREDIBLE BENEFITS OF RUNNING
From head to toe, mood to muscles, here’s why so many people extol the virtues of running.
1. It’s convenient
Unlike hitting the gym or playing a round of tennis, running is something you can do anytime, anywhere.
“You can literally go right outside your door and start,” says Amanda Shannon Verrengia, ACE-certified personal trainer and USA Track and Field and RRCA coach.
Just lace up your running shoes and you’re ready to pound the pavement — or the treadmill, the track, the park, or the trail behind your house. The options are endless.
And you don’t have to carve out precious alone time to run, either. As Verrengia notes, you can bring your dog with you, or head out with a friend or significant other.
2. It’s cheap
In the age of pricey gym memberships and boutique workout studios that charge upwards of $30 a class, running can actually help you save cash. It’s free to do, and requires minimal gear.
“All you need is a good pair of running shoes [and some workout clothes],” says Kennihan.
3. It can improve cardiovascular health
The body is amazingly adaptable, and when faced with repeated bouts of challenging aerobic (oxygen requiring) exercise, it upgrades the functioning of its entire cardiorespiratory system to better handle that exercise.
“You’re lungs, heart, and vascular system will all become more effective and efficient at delivering oxygen throughout your body, especially to working muscles,” says Trevor Thieme, C.S.C.S., BODi’s executive director of fitness and nutrition content. “And the more efficient they become, the healthier you’ll be overall.”
4. It’s easy to learn
That doesn’t mean running is easy — it just means you don’t have to possess any special skills to do it.
As Kennihan notes, chances are good you already learned to run when you were a toddler, so now you just need to familiarize yourself with proper form.
5. It can help you lose weight
Running can be a major boon to your weight-loss goals. “The precise number of calories you burn while running depends on such things as height, weight, age, gender, fitness level, exercise intensity, and running experience,” says Thieme.
“But moving your body at a challenging pace will almost certainly have a positive effect on your body composition — especially when you’re just starting out,” he adds.
Thieme notes that as you become fitter, you’ll likely have to increase the intensity of your workouts to continue to shed fat. “If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll eventually stop adapting to it,” says Thieme.
“Switch things up with intervals, tempo training, and other higher intensity workouts to keep torching calories and dropping pounds.”
6. It provides a natural “high”
Runner’s high — the feeling of euphoria you get during or following a run — is real.
“Running boosts the brain’s serotonin levels, dopamine levels, and endorphins,” says Kennihan.
That quick injection of joy and energy is awesome in and of itself, but the added benefit is that helps keep you motivated to tackle your next workout.
7. It works your legs and core
If you’ve ever watched a marathon or track and field event, you know the positive effect running can have on the lower body. But few people realize just how beneficial it can be for the core.
“Running automatically engages your core muscles and forces you to stabilize your hips,” says Kennihan.
A strong core can help with balance, stability, and stamina in everyday activities, she adds, like walking, playing sports, carrying groceries, and even maintaining good posture as you work at your desk.
8. It can strengthen your bones
“Running is a weight-bearing exercise that stresses the bones just enough to help build more density,” Kennihan says.
A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that running not only has a greater effect on bone density than non-weight-bearing activities like cycling, but that it also has a greater effect on bone density than other weight-bearing activities like resistance training.
That doesn’t mean you should ditch strength training in your quest for more robust bones — the difference between strength training and running was statistically significant but functionally negligible in that respect.
Plus, when combined with running, the two activities offer a killer one-two punch to help build stronger bones, Kennihan adds.
9. It can improve your athleticism
Running is an essential component of many sports, from football to cricket. It’s no surprise, then, that regular running workouts, which help improve your stamina, speed, and cardiovascular endurance, can make you a stronger, more adaptable athlete.
10. It can improve your mental well-being
Running isn’t just good for your body — it can work wonders for your mental and emotional health, too.
A study from the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found that regular exercisers experienced an increase in vigor and a decrease in fatigue after 25 minutes on a treadmill, while non-exercisers showed no improvement in these areas after the same activity.
Research also suggests that regular aerobic activity like running can help keep your mind sharp as you age.
One study showed that endurance running in particular may help maintain cognitive function in elderly adults.
11. It offers constant variety.
From an outsider’s perspective, running might look boring, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“You can do so many different workouts with running,” says Kennihan. Speed work, fartleks, tempo runs, trail runs, treadmill workouts, and hill runs are just a few, she says.
And not only can you vary the pace and distance, you can also switch up the terrain and location to keep things interesting — you can run along the beach, challenge yourself to a mountain trail, or cruise around your neighborhood cul-de-sacs.
You can even use your runs as an excuse to explore a new area, like a park or waterfront trail.
