If you’re a runner, you know how essential your run is to your overall health. You feel better mentally, emotionally and physically.
What if you’re on the fence? You may have heard things like “running is bad for your knees” or some other information that has made you hesitant about starting.
Once you are up and running meaning, once you can run continuously for at least 20-30 minutes, you will begin to see some of the amazing benefits of including a run in your exercise routine.
We’ll cover 5 of those benefits here:
- It's great for cardiovascular health
- Provides energy and metabolism boost
- Lowers your blood sugar levels
- Improves knee health
- Better sleep (better recovery)
Read on to learn more about the benefits of running for your body.
1. It's great for cardiovascular health
It might seem like common knowledge but running is awesome for your cardiovascular health.
This means that it keeps your heart pumping long and strong. Your heart is a muscle, too and every time you run you are also training your heart to pump strongly and become more efficient.
Ever wonder why athletes have such low resting heart rates? It’s because their hearts are so strong that they don’t need to work as hard to pump blood where it needs to go.
Even just 10 minutes of running a day can help you work towards better heart health.
2. Provides energy and metabolism boost
When you’re running and pumping your heart rate up there, you are also boosting your metabolism to burn more calories as your body works harder.
Running can also boost your resting metabolism because running helps to build muscles all over your body (legs, core, even arms as you pump them while running). By adding muscle mass to your body you actually increase your resting metabolism because muscles burn more calories than fat.
Running also stimulates the production of “happy hormones” like serotonin and dopamine! Meaning you’ll be in a much better mood if you just go for a run ;) but don’t over-do it!
3. It lowers your blood sugar levels
When you are running or jogging your muscles carbohydrates (converted to glucose) as fuel! By running consistently you can train your body to become more efficient at processing carbohydrates, making you less insulin-resistant and lowering your blood sugar levels.
This isn’t a free pass to eat whatever you want! Runners often enjoy a treat here and there but typically keep a pretty healthy diet in order to run and recover properly.
4. Improves knee (and joint) health
Contrary to popular belief, running actually improves your knee and joint health! Because running on a regular basis helps to build up a system of muscles that support your running habit, your knees will become even more stable as the muscles surrounding them become stronger.
Running is also a great leg, core, butt, and upper body workout ─ great for the whole body!
5. You get better sleep and better recovery.
Finally, expending that extra energy or using your run to blow off some steam and do some thinking is a great way to achieve a clear mind. You’ll also be tired as you steadily increase your training and/or try new running workouts.
And we all know that when you’re sleeping is when your body does most of its recovery. So by sleeping better, you’ll recover better and will be able to run for even longer.
There are more benefits to getting out there and going for a run. We’d love to see those in our community more active. If you have any concerns or questions about running, please do not hesitate to talk to our staff before you get started.
See you out there.
