How Running Benefits Your Health
Running is one of the best workout options if you are looking to improve your cardiovascular health and increase your fitness levels. Love it or hate it, many people find running to be one of the most effective types of exercise when it’s added to their training sessions here at Braxton Fitness. If you are wondering about the benefits of running for your health, keep reading as we share with you the science behind running and some of our top tips for getting into running in the future.
How Running Benefits Your Heart
Running offers many scientifically proven health benefits, and it’s believed to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels when you are consistent with your training. Running just 30 minutes a few times each week can help to reduce the bad cholesterol in your body, the low-density lipoprotein, and increase the good cholesterol, the high-density lipoprotein. High blood pressure can also become more normalized with regular workouts with various types of trainers. Running is known for being an excellent option for maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight and is one of the biggest motivations for individuals who are getting started with this type of workout.
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When you start running regularly, you’ll find your heart muscle is strengthened. It works in a similar way to any type of training you do here at Gilbert Fitness, as the more you run, the more the walls of your heart are strengthened. Over time, this will help to increase its overall efficiency every day. As your heart becomes stronger, you’ll find your resting pulse rate is lowered, and you have a higher intake of oxygen. This minimizes your heart’s workload, as it can handle a larger amount of blood with each beat, meaning it’s easier for it to perform its intended job. Running can also reduce your chance of getting heart disease by between 35 to 55%, as it prevents blood clots in your arteries and blood vessels.
Weight Loss and Improving Your Overall Health
In comparison to other personal training types, running is an excellent calorie burner, which is why it’s often recommended for weight loss. Of course, you’ll need to build up your fitness levels to begin with, but after a while, you’ll find you can go running for longer during each training session. If you’ve always thought that running puts too much pressure on your joints, you’ll actually find that the opposite is often true. It can help to strengthen your hips and knees, minimizing the chance of arthritis in these areas later on in life. One thing you may overlook about running is that it can actually improve your eye health as well. Your eyes are affected by your blood pressure and weight, and so running regularly may minimize your chance of cataracts in the future.
Mental Health Benefits from Running
One of the top reasons we see so many individuals turning to running in recent months here at Braxton Gilbert Fitness Mobile is for stress relief. Running forces you to be present in the moment and focus on your breath, and for many people, it’s a great alternative to meditation or yoga. The endorphins that are released during a workout can also improve your mood, which is something you may want to consider if you are struggling with depression or anxiety. For anyone who finds their life to be particularly stressful currently, a short run a few times a week might completely change your outlook on life and give you a chance to escape your house for a little while.
Top Tips for Getting Started with Running
Now that you know many of the great health benefits of running, you are probably wondering how you can get started. We encourage you to speak to our team at our gym in Mobile, AL, who can work with you to put these tips into practice and create a personal training plan which includes running.
- Take things slowly – While it can be tempting to head out for your first run and put in a few miles, if you haven’t run for a few years, you’ll need to take things slowly. Consider using an app that guides you through your workouts to begin with, to avoid overdoing it.
- Consider interval training – For first-time runners, walk-run intervals can be a great way to get started. You’ll find that the walk breaks give you a little time to recover and get your breath back before continuing with your next run.
- Stretch – When you first start running regularly, you’ll no doubt feel it the day after. Make sure you are warming up before and after each training session to stop yourself from getting injured. While it can be so tempting to sit down as soon as you are home from a run, avoid doing this as you’ll seize up straight away.
- Consider treadmill running – While many people enjoy running outdoors, you’ll still experience all of the same benefits when running at a gym in Mobile, AL, on a treadmill. You’ll find that this can be a good way to learn how to pace yourself, thanks to the controls on the treadmill, which can restrict the speed you are running at.
- Find the right running shoes – The key piece of gear you need to start running are the right type of shoes. There’s nothing worse than running with ill-fitting shoes that make your run uncomfortable. Ensure they offer you enough support around the ankles and under your feet and that you can’t feel the ground beneath you.
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By following these top tips listed above, you’ll soon reap all of the benefits of running that we described earlier. Running is an excellent form of cardio, and it’s something our team at our gym in Mobile often incorporate into training plans. Start slowly and then build up from there, and you’ll see why so many people love running in no time at all. Contact our team today for more assistance with getting started with running or any other form of cardio.