Here is a great guest post from my friend Judy about running for fitness and weight loss. Be sure to stop by and check out her running blog after you read this.
Running Is A Great Way To Lose Weight And Gain Energy
Running is one of the best exercises that you can do. And, it is really one of the most simple to start. You don’t need to go to the expense of joining a gym. All you really need to get started is a good pair of shoes. You can run anywhere you want. It’s as easy as lacing up your shoes and heading out the door. But, you do need to make sure that you start out correctly if you are not doing any physical exercise now.
Losing Weight By Running
When it comes to exercise, there are few fitness programs which beat running for burning calories and helping people get into shape fast. On top of improving your cardiovascular health running burns an abundance of calories.
An average running time is about ten minutes per mile. Assuming you run six miles in an hour then you’ll burn 585 calories in an hour. Swimming, treading water, moderate effort for the same 130 pound person will burn 236 calories per hour. Walking, which is a good way to ease into running by walking and running for an hour, burns 207 calories per hour – this is at a moderate pace of 3 miles per hour.
It’s interesting to note that the more you weigh, the faster you’ll burn the calories. This is because it takes more energy to do the same amount of work. It’s also helpful to know that as you build muscle, you’ll also burn calories more quickly even when you’re not exercising because muscle demands more energy and it helps you metabolize your food faster.
If you’re just starting out with a running program, know that it’s important to start small. Begin combining walking and running for a specific distance or time. For example you might walk for five minutes and run for one or two minutes gradually increasing the amount of time you’re running and decreasing your walking time.
Gaining Energy By Running
Most days – do you feel like you just don’t have enough energy to do everything that you have to do? Do your friends sometimes neglect to ask you to do something with them because they don’t want to embarrass you since they know you don’t have enough energy to keep up? Or do you just do as little as you can get by with because you lack the drive?
Then, you are just letting life pass you by!
Running (believe it or not) will give you extra energy to do whatever you need to do throughout your day. I know that it doesn’t make sense – but energy breeds energy.
Most people these days think that an energy drink or some special pill is what they need to increase energy. But, the truth is – physical activity every morning will provide that spark of energy needed.
Studies have been conducted with people who did no exercise. More than 90% of the numerous studies showed the same results. Sedentary people who started and kept up with a regular exercise program (including running) had increased energy levels than to those who did nothing.
What You Can Do
As you can see – running is a great way to stay in shape and increase your energy levels. But, you just can’t go out and start running. You need to start correctly. This is important to keep you from getting injured and ending your program before you really even get started.
If you have not been doing any sort of exercise, you need to get your body used to moving again. Then, after you have eased into a walking program, then you can begin your running program.
I’ve put together a Walk To Run Program that will take you from the couch to a beginning a running program. I LOVE running – and it has done so much for me for many years. So, I want to help others to live the same lifestyle.
I hope that you’ll check out my program at https://walktorunprogram.com and take that first step to getting in shape and having more energy! I’d love to see you out on the roads!
Run Happy!
Judy
Judy Mick is a wife, avid runner, blogger, entrepreneur, positive thinker and lover of life! You can find her at www.thestreakingrunner.com.
Leave a Reply