Running is a healthful activity and has many benefits. How much running is healthy is a common question, particularly, for beginners to running. It depends upon your physical maintenance goals and your body structure. So how much running is healthy?
Running, even 5 to 10 minutes daily and slow pace (6 miles per hour (mph), is associated with significantly decreased risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease, according to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
For those having less fat, less running time is preferred while those having too much fat will have to struggle more.
Moreover, running has many health benefits and these can vary for different people. Lots of diseases can be treated without any medical checkups through regular running and jogging. Overtraining may also have some side effects.
Keep reading to explore all the amazing advantages of running as well as some side effects of overrunning.
See also: Does Running Make Look Older? (Here’s what I found!).
Table of Contents
How Much Should I Run Regularly?
Whether you are a healthy individual or a couch potato, adopt a regular running habit; even 5 to 10 minutes daily at a slow pace will provide you with significant health benefits.
Different studies reveal that if one gives 5 to 10 minutes to daily running, it is a good habit as it lowers the chances of many diseases. This short running time can prevent heart disease, diabetes, and overweight issues. All this is true for normal running which means a maximum of 10 minutes a day and 5 days a week.
Even though you can reap the benefits of running with a minimal amount of daily running, another study issued in the American Journal of Epidemiology recommends running 2.5 hours weekly or 30 minutes, five days a week, to enjoy maximum longevity advantages gained from running.
Additional benefits of running may include happiness and improved sleep. Researchers in one study followed a group of healthy adolescents who ran for about 30 minutes at a moderate-intensity pace every morning for three weeks.
The researchers discovered that the group of runners improved their ability to concentrate and enhance their mood and sleep better than a control group of non-runners during the day tested.
There are several benefits to running regularly. According to several studies, moderate running proves effective while overtraining leads to possible side effects.
Overrunning can lead to lots of health issues and physical injuries. So, don’t give yourself a tough time in the form of hard running. This may prove defective instead of proving effective.
See also: Will Long Distance Running Help You Build Muscle?
How to Run Effectively?
Running accompanied by a proper diet can lead to a remarkable change in your body structure. Here are different aspects that will help you run effectively.
1- Proper Running Equipment
If you are a beginner I recommend you invest in good running shoes. Running with good running shoes will make your experience enjoyable and will motivate you to continue to run.
In addition, you may need a pair of good socks, comfortable clothes and if you run at night time don’t forget to wear reflective clothes. This will help you run comfortably.
If you can afford it, go for more than one pair of shoes and socks to alternate them if one gets muddy or wet with sweat. There are good sweat-resistant shoes available at a very reasonable price, go for any of them.
2- Learn Proper Running Forms
Adopting proper running form is crucial in helping you reap all the benefits of runnings. Conversely, improper running forms lead to injuries and other issues.
With proper running, you can run longer distances at maximum intensity with less pain and discomfort.
Tips For Proper Running Forms:
- While running, adopt good posture, engage your core, and look ahead.
- Avoid leaning your head down and lowering your shoulders.
- Open your chest wide, and keep it lifted as you pull your shoulders down and back.
- Keep your hands relaxed by swinging your arm up and down.
- To prevent injuring your lower body, use a midfoot strike, and avoid pounding the ground with your heel.
2- Adopt A Proper Diet
Your diet during running depends on your physical goals. Running is such a beneficial exercise that can help you lose or gain weight.
If you want to gain weight, running will make you an eating machine. This is because you run by burning your body’s calories. When your energy is consumed, it leads to hunger. So, you tend to eat more which may help you gain a healthy weight.
On the other hand, if you’re an overweight guy and want to lose some, running will help you do this. However, in this type of situation, you should adopt a diet that doesn’t lead to weight gain. This may help you burn body fat. When you burn body fat, you gradually lose weight.
See also: Will Running Too Slow Harm You?
3- Build Stamina
If you are a beginner at running, be easy on yourself and you should not give yourself a tough time from the beginning as it may lead to any serious injury.
First, build your stamina, you can take short breaks if needed. When you succeed in this challenge, gradually increase the running time according to your physical goals.
See also: How To Build Endurance Training For Beginners?
4- Make a Plan
How often you run per day and week depends on your physical fitness. If you want a strong, toned, and healthy body but yet you’re overweight, use the SMART running goals to reach your ideal physical fitness. To do this, you can start by looking for motivation, a group of like-minded people, or any other reasons that may help you run regularly to meet your physical goals.
Make sure that your mornings are not too busy. If you plan your work early in the morning, how can you go running? So, make sure that your morning is easy for you. You can also run during your run breaks but this will need a run club. So, find out such a source if you wanna shift running from morning to the lunch break.
After you’ve decided on the running time, make sure that you have planned for the whole week. Put easily running on normal weekdays and tough tasks on weekends. This will help you build a running flow easily. Take a rest in case of severe fatigue or serious injury.
See also: How to Successfully Set SMART Running Goals (And reach them!)
5- Choose a Safe Track
Some tracks are not well lit which may lead to collapsing. To avoid this, wear a bright-colored tracksuit and a reflective upper.
Moreover, try to choose a track that is not too busy if you’re going jogging early in the morning or late at night.
6- Warm Up Before Every Run
Instant racing can make you tired instantly. If you manage to warm up your muscles, this will help you prevent fatigue. So, make sure that you jog for a few minutes or stretch out before running.
Warming up before your runs is very important to avoid any injuries and also reap all the benefits of running.
See also: What Does Running Cross Country Do To Your Body And Mind?
Is It Bad To Run Every Day?
Running every day may prove bad for you as it may increase your risk of overuse injuries, which may lead to serious injury, including muscle tears, stress fractures, and shin splints.
Ideally, you should aim to run 3 to 5 days per week to ensure you are providing your body sufficient time to rest and repair.
If you are a beginner at running, vary your exercise routine to include various activities, including yoga, swimming, rowing, and strength training. Keep in mind that it is crucial to rest to reap the benefits of any training regimen.
Cross-training will increase your fitness, improve your conditioning and make you a more well-balanced runner. Combining flexibility and strength training into your running routine will help you reach your health and fitness goals.
Is Running 30 Minutes a Day Good Enough?
30 minutes a day of physical activity is enough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations. The CDC suggests 150 minutes of physical activity each week, equivalent to 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
If you have too much fat on your body and want to lose weight, running 30 minutes daily is good for you. It will help burn your body fat which will lead to a remarkable weight loss.
A group of researchers examined 12 studies involving 370,460 men and women with varying physical activity levels for over 15 years.
The study concluded that those following the 30-minutes-a-day guidelines had “modest reductions” in heart failure risk compared to participants who did not exercise at all.
However, participants who worked out twice and four times had a significant risk reduction of 20 percent and 35 percent.
The research concluded that physical activity and heart failure might be what they called “dose-dependent,” which means that higher physical activity levels appeared to be associated with a lower risk of heart failure.
In other words, the more you work out, the lower the risk of heart failure.
See also: What Does Running Too Fast Do To Your Body?
How Much Running Is Good For Weight Loss?
Running 30 minutes five days a week is enough to lose weight, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The WHO suggested that adults get between 150 and 300 minutes of workouts per week, which means that even running for 30 minutes five times a week could help you maintain a healthy body weight and improve maintain healthy body weight.
If you want to lose weight, try to participate in physical activity and adopt a healthy diet to improve the chances of weight loss, found studies.
See also: Does Running Help You Tone Your Arms?
Final Thoughts
Lots of health benefits are associated with running. However, you should be aware of the possible side effects of overrunning too.
If you tend to overtrain your body, it may lead to possible injuries or health loss. So, make sure you listen to your body and prioritize rest and recovery as much as diet and exercising.
