Running is a healthful activity that offers tremendous physical and mental benefits. Running outside, particularly in contact with nature, has dozens of benefits. However, it is not always possible to go out running or jogging. In some situations, running at home can also be an option. But is running in place effective cardio?
Running in the place is effective cardio and improves the functioning of your lungs and other organs. Learning the proper form of running in place will prove a perfect alternative to running outside. Additionally, running in the place has many positive effects on mental and physical health.
Lots of benefits are associated with running in the place. This short guide will break out some of the most important.
Keep reading to learn how to perform it properly for optimal results and how incorporating running into your fitness routine can change your life. You might also enjoy reading: Is Running Too Fast Really Bad For You? (Here’s What I found out!)
Table of Contents
What Is Running In Place?
Running in place (also known as stationary jogging) is an aerobic exercise requiring you to constantly move and contract your muscles. Generally, people opt for running in place when they are stuck at work, when traveling or the weather does not permit, or anywhere else where they can’t get outside or reach a treadmill.
Even though it doesn’t offer precisely the same benefits as running a distance, it is still similar and an excellent cardio workout. More importantly, running in place can help you improve your posture, found a 2015 study issued by the Journal of Physical Therapy Science.
It provides incredible benefits to both your musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems. In addition, with running in place:
- You don’t need any equipment.
- You don’t need to drive or walk to the gym.
- You can run in place in any environment.
- You don’t have to get ready to go outdoors in the harsh weather.
See also: Expensive Vs. Cheap Treadmills: Which One Should You Choose?
What Is Included in Running In-Place?
Running in place is excellent cardio that helps a lot in maintaining the overall health of the heart and other organs. When you’re adopting this type of cardio, make sure that it’s accompanied by some particular warm-up exercises too.
So, which exercises should you add when running in place? Since you don’t need any equipment to run in place, here are a few workouts you can add to your in-place running routine.
- Kicks
- Butt Kicks
- Jumping jacks
- Sit-ups
- High Knees
When you accompany running with the above-mentioned exercises, it proves effective for your body.
See also: Does Running Tone Really Your Arms? (Yes! Find out how).
Is Running in Place Effective Cardio?
Running is not as effective as actually running. Even though running in place is an excellent warm-up technique and better than not exercising at all, it does not replace actual running for effectiveness.
The mechanics of running forward are much more effective at producing positive benefits in the body and different from the mechanics of running in place, including muscles worked, calories burned, and load-bearing benefits to your bones.
Instead of jogging in place, I recommend performing actual running and using running in place as a warm-up.
Is It Effective To Run In Place?
While running in place might appear silly to some people, if you really stick to it long enough and combine running in place with other types of activities, and eat healthy food, running in place can improve your fitness level, boosts your heart rate, and burns calories and fat, which will, in turn, help you lose weight.
Here are the benefits of running in place.
Running in Place Benefits
No matter if you are running inside or outside, it’s a healthful activity that has many benefits. Here are some advantages of such a workout.
1- Running In Place May Help Improve Your Coordination and Posture
Running in place while engaging your abdomen can help correct posture and improve balance, coordination, and even physical appearance, which will further reduce the risk of injury or falls, found a 2015 study issued by the Journal of Physical Therapy Science.
The researchers concluded that students or workers could conveniently use running in place as an exercise for postural improvement regardless of time and place.
Moreover, all your body parts will have proper coordination that will lower the risk of physical injury. So, you can build body posture without any extra risks.
2- Muscular Fitness
The foremost benefit of running in place is muscular fitness. When you do such an exercise, your muscles continuously contract and relax. This adds to the muscle’s strength and flexibility, which shapes your muscles well.
When running in place, you continuously challenge your arms, legs, and core, increasing your muscle fitness.
3- Low Stress on the Body
When you go out running or jogging, your body and mind may be under stress. Such stress may lead to the deformity of your body.
However, when you manage running in place, you can lower the possible stress on your body. This will help your body grow without any stress.
4- Upper Body Fitness
Some people may fail to carry on those exercises outside, which are effective for shaping the upper body. However, when you run in place, you can shape your upper body too, along with your lower one.
This is possible by accompanying some additional workouts along with running and jogging.
See also: Top 15 Pros And Cons Of Cross Country Running.
5- Low Impact On Knees
When you’re running in a congested area, your knees will have to do relatively less work. This will help improve your knee’s fitness and health.
This will make your legs and knees stronger and fit.
6- Improves Heart and Lungs Health
No matter whether you’re running in place or outside, it’s effective for your heart. When you run inside, it will improve blood pressure, blood glucose level, blood cholesterol level, and so on.
All this will improve the health of your heart. Also, adequate air circulation will improve your lungs’ health too.
7- Running In Place Saves You Time
If you want a workout that can be completed in a short while, running in place is the best one for you.
It will need a maximum of 10 minutes. It means that you can keep your muscles in place through such a precise running activity.
Running in Place vs. Running: Which One Is Better?
Remember that your body doesn’t know the difference between running in place or running or even any other form of physical activity. A higher intensity of muscular effort or contractile force will put a higher demand on the cardiovascular system, which will stimulate more substantial adaptation or improvement in cardiovascular conditioning.
In other words, the more intense you run or exercise, the better you will improve and benefit from it. Running in place is far more different than regular running. When you run outside, your body follows a different mechanism than running in place. Here is a comparison of these two kinds of healthful workouts.
- Both these activities use different mechanisms. So, the muscles will have to work differently.
- While running inside, your toes will work more than your other legs. However, regular running needs the proper working of propelling muscles to help move forward.
- Running inside builds lower as well as upper body strength. While outside, running will build the lower body more than the upper one.
- Running in place will be a real challenge than regular running.
- If you want such an exercise that will need less time, running in place is best for you.
VERDICT: If you can manage normal running, go for that, as running in place can never be an effective alternative. However, if you don’t have enough space or the outside weather is not allowing you to run outside, go for an in-place run instead of taking a break at all.
Is Running In Place Effective For Weight Loss?
Combined with a healthy diet, regularly running in place at a high intensity can produce impressive fat-burning results. Intense running in place boosts your pulse and enhances blood sugar levels, enabling your body’s calorie and fat-burning capabilities to help you lose weight.
If you don’t have enough space to manage the normal running, running in place can be very effective. When you accompany running in place with some other activities that can be easily carried out inside, you can improve your body structure.
When you do such an exercise and take the recommended food, you can easily lose weight. So, never consider this workout useless.
How to Run In Place Effectively?
Follow the following tips to maximize weight loss and other running-in-place benefits:
- Before running in place, always warm up your body by doing a few warm-up exercises or beginning at a slower pace (for about five minutes)
- Stand straight with your chest open, spine neutral, and feet shoulder-width apart.
- Use your upper body strength to push your arms back and forth.
- At the same time, raise your right arm and left knee to the hip level without pushing your body forward; make sure you keep your thighs parallel to the ground.
- Try to lift your knees as maximum as you can.
- Slowly and gently land on your feet to change sides. Raise your knees and arms in a cyclical movement. When your left foot touches the floor, raise the opposite leg quickly while pushing your right arm back down and your left arm up.
- Try raising your foot to your hips for effective in-place running.
- You can increase your intensity by moving your feet more quickly.
- Begin with a 10-minute interval and gradually build up the time and intensity by extending each interval to 15 to 20 minutes.
- Finish with a cool-down by walking in place or doing a few stretches like yoga poses or stretching your thigh, hamstring, back, hips, and calf muscles.
You can run in place for interval training and break it up with different drills.
See also: Cardio Vs. Yoga: What Are The Benefits Of Each?
Sample Running in Place Workouts
| Run in place for about 5 minutes. |
| Increase your speed and run faster for about 2 minutes. |
| Perform 1 minute of strength exercise, including: – Push up – Chin Up – Pull Up – Did Workouts |
| Run in place for about 3 minutes. |
| And then rest for 1 to 2 minutes. |
How To Avoid Injuries When Running In Place?
Running in place may stress your body, particularly joints, and muscles, leading to injury if you perform it incorrectly for long periods.
- Discuss professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment with your doctor before starting any new exercise program, mainly if you are new to fitness.
- Gradually and slowly build up your routine and ensure you use the correct technique and form.
- Stop running in place if you have any injuries or feel you’ve pushed yourself too hard.
- It might be helpful to wear a heart rate monitor or fitness tracker to help you to avoid overtraining.
- If you are looking for suggestions on your technique, work with a personal trainer, chiropractor, or physical therapist.
- It will be better if you wear sneakers.
Final Verdict
If you can’t manage normal running due to any reason, running in place can help you meet your fitness goals. Moreover, instead of pausing in bad weather conditions, you can work out inside your home or even room.
However, it will prove effective only if you accompany such activity with some other proper workouts, including yoga, swimming, rowing, strength training, or any other physical activities you enjoy doing.
