Running can be considered the most ancient physical training, the skills of which are available to almost all people from early childhood. Accelerated walking not only reduces the time it takes to cover the path and helps to avoid dangers. Running can significantly improve your health and improve your physical fitness. The main advantage of such fitness: simplicity and accessibility.
Anyone can run
And it is true. However, it is important to know the right running intensity that is right for you and will be beneficial for your health.
But everyone understands intensity differently, and choosing the right amount of training is not easy. Before you start running, you need to undergo two key medical examinations that will allow you to understand the capabilities and reserves of your specific body. And then, based on these data, build the intensity of running training.
When determining the intensity of running, it is important to look at the capabilities of the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular and respiratory systems of the body. All this can be determined using biomechanical and functional diagnostics.
The benefits and effects of running on the body
While running, our body gets used to consuming less oxygen. And this is very useful for us. A large amount of oxygen for the body is poison. The body burns out quickly. When a person runs a lot, the amount of oxygen consumed is reduced, and thus we extend our life.
If we regularly run, our capillary network gradually, over the course of two to four years, begins to grow, blood supply improves, and then the functioning of all muscles and internal organs.
When jogging, qualitative changes occur in the musculoskeletal system. Cartilage and bone tissue become more prepared for stress, and muscles become more adapted to physical activity. All this prolongs the good condition of the whole body, which will subsequently make it possible to feel healthy and vigorous after 70, 80 and even 90 years.
An important and, probably, one of the main points in the list of beneficial properties of running for amateurs is anti-stress therapy. When jogging at the right intensity, excess adrenaline and cortisol are burned in the body.
On the subject: How running helps fight stress and depression
This is important in order not to overload the cardiovascular system. For city dwellers, low-intensity running is the path to a healthy, comfortable and long life.
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There are also benefits from running in relation to metabolic processes in the body. They increase and are activated, which leads to positive adaptive changes in the body, including the burning of excess fat deposits.
If we talk about blood pressure, a number of studies have been conducted that have proven that low-intensity running training normalizes blood pressure and is indicated for both hypertensive and hypotensive patients.
But it is important to understand that intense (interval, tempo) training and participation in competitions lead to an increase in blood pressure, an increase in the tone of blood vessels, respectively, that is, before you start running in high pulse zones, you need to equalize the pressure so as not to create a threat to your heart rate. -vascular system at the time of peak loads.
Sprint training
Treadmill workout
- Warm up easy run: 1 lap
- Body part: Quadriceps Equipment: Exercise
Treadmill workout
- 6-10 races of 100 meters
- Body part: Quadriceps Equipment: Exercise
Quadriceps stretch with squats
- 1 minute
- Body part: Quadriceps Equipment: Body weight
Quadriceps stretch while kneeling
- 1 minute
- Body part: Quadriceps Equipment: Body weight
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After each 100-meter race, return to the starting line at a slow pace or, if you're running in a stadium, complete a lap. Your rest between races will be this walk back to the start line. If you still feel tired when you reach the line, rest for another minute or two before starting the race again.
After each workout, it's important to cool down a bit (to prevent cramps), which will reduce the amount of lactic acid in your legs. After completing such a workout, you will feel your body in a new way. Your legs will become more and more elastic, and your abdominal muscles will feel toned.
Every time you run, you lift your legs into the air. When you sprint, you also work your abdominal muscles. A world-class sprinter runs 100 meters in about 44-47 steps, and the average person is likely to cover this distance in about 57-60 steps. So think about it: you just worked your abdominal muscles 57-60 times in one 100-meter race! What if you do 6 of these runs? This sounds incredible since most people don't do that many squats in one set or even in an entire workout!
If you can incorporate sprinting into your weekly training, you will be able to:
- lose weight faster;
- work out the abs;
- increase metabolic rate;
- strengthen your legs and buttocks.
We hope that now you have appreciated all the benefits of running for your figure and will include sprinting in your training program.
Diagnostics is everything
Why is it important to conduct a diagnosis before starting running? Because we must identify our weakest point. According to the law of the weakest link in the chain, the maximum strength of the chain is equal to the maximum strength of the weakest link. The same can be said about the capabilities of our body. Our running intensity, which will be harmless to health, should be at the level of our weakest link in the body.
The weak link can be both in the musculoskeletal system and in the cardiovascular system. And, based on the diagnostic data, we build the running intensity. By the way, with the help of a properly selected running load, you can not only maintain your health, but also strengthen your weak links.
If it is not possible to contact a professional sports doctor and use special equipment for diagnosis, it will be enough to visit a therapist before starting classes and undergo a medical examination, which includes detailed blood tests and a visit to a cardiologist.
Contraindications
For some people, the harms of running outweigh the benefits. Let's discuss contraindications for jogging:
- High BMI (more than 30) means a lot of stress on the joints;
- Diabetes mellitus on insulin therapy;
- Injuries, operations in the next month;
- Previous stroke, myocardial infarction;
- Any disease in the acute period;
- Arterial hypertension that is not corrected with medication.
If you have underlying chronic diseases, be sure to consult your doctor before running.
Three criteria for healthy running
Evgeny Kadlubinsky also recommends taking into account three main criteria by which you can determine your body’s readiness for running.
You can talk while running
If you can speak calmly while running without shortness of breath, then most likely you have chosen a safe pace for yourself. You are running in heart rate zone 1 or 2. And these are safe areas for long-term work.
You can breathe through your nose while running
If you are running and your breathing is even, you can breathe through your nose - this is another signal that your pace is safe for your health.
You ran the distance and nothing hurts you
This also means that you have received the optimal running load. If these three criteria are met and you feel good, then your running pace is relatively correct.
If you have already successfully run for a long time, this does not mean that you do not need to control your body. It is very dangerous to overtrain here, and then running will not benefit your health.
How to avoid overtraining?
How does overtraining happen? A person, unnoticed by himself, rejoicing that running is easy, begins to increase the load each time.
How to understand that something has already gone wrong? The nervous system sends a signal first. What's happening:
- Sleep disturbance: difficulty falling asleep, interrupted sleep. This condition is also accompanied by mild excitability.
- Loss of appetite: I don’t feel like eating. Or vice versa – a constant desire to eat something.
- Resting heart rate is above 75 beats per minute.
- Aching local pain in the joints (knee or foot) after a short run.
- Abnormal blood pressure – above or below normal.
If you find these symptoms in yourself, then rest for 3-4 days. All symptoms have passed and you can return to running. The symptoms have not disappeared - you need to go to a specialist.
If you are concerned about your heart rate after a run, then it is better to contact a sports cardiologist, because they have different criteria for assessing the state of the cardiovascular system of runners than a regular doctor. Often alarming indicators of heart function for a person who does not lead an active lifestyle are the norm for an athlete and are not dangerous to health.
For those athletes who can visit a professional sports clinic and see specialists, it is recommended that once a year they do a comprehensive diagnosis of the functioning of the entire body, especially the cardiovascular system. There are such centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Celebration or struggle?
If you have found out that running is not contraindicated for you, and now you want running to be beneficial, you need to decide on the strategy for your runs: running as a holiday or running as a struggle.
Depending on your attitude and training simulation, your body will produce different hormones that will affect your health differently.
A sports culture is now actively being formed in Russia. Everyone wants to run harder and faster, attend every race in the area and endlessly update their personal best.
If you constantly go out to train in such an intense mode, running ceases to be beneficial to health. Instead of the desired endorphin, we will tire our body more and more, producing cortisol (stress hormone). And then sport, instead of a holiday, will become sheer stress and struggle for us. This model of the training process is traumatic and demotivating.
When choosing one running strategy or another, it is important to remember proper recovery. Never try on the training of experienced athletes!
Professional athletes train, rest, eat and then train again. And amateurs train, wanting to run a half marathon in 1 hour 30 minutes or a “ten” marathon in 35 minutes, while still going to work and doing household chores, which means they cannot receive full recovery a priori. Thus, they drive their body into terrible conditions of chronic fatigue.
A positive running model is about proper recovery.
For running to be beneficial, stress must be measured. High-quality recovery is mandatory: sleep at least 8 hours.
For women
So, running, benefits and harm for women are on the agenda - and let’s start, as mentioned above, with the pros:
- Regular jogging greatly improves the psychological and physical health of women;
- Exercises allow you to maintain good physical shape - paired with proper nutrition, they will not allow you to gain weight, and will even help you lose weight;
- The individual benefit of running for a woman’s body lies in its effect on the reproductive system due to improved blood circulation and increased oxygen supply to cells;
- Due to the flow of oxygen, the condition of the skin and hair improves;
- Your mood improves, stress goes away, a joyful sparkle appears in your eyes;
- Brain function improves and the immune system improves.
The pros and cons of running for women are not at all equal in number - there are many more of the former. Now, as promised, we will tell you in what cases jogging can harm your health:
- If you do not exercise regularly and have not become familiar with the correct running technique;
- If you go for a run while sick, even a mild ARVI is grounds for postponing the workout;
- Running in winter is contraindicated at temperatures below minus 15-20 degrees and winds stronger than 10 m/s;
- In winter, special attention is paid to choosing the right sports equipment, which will not allow the runner to sweat and get sick;
- If you have not bought good running sneakers (winter ones for the snowy season), the risk of injury increases;
- If you are breathing incorrectly. Correct breathing technique: you need to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth;
- Unless you do a pre-warm-up to warm up your muscles before sprinting.
Running and losing weight
Run to lose weight, or lose weight and then run?
Dr. Kadlubinsky is for an integrated approach and against specific diets. The number of calories consumed should be less than those that a person will spend. In other words: eat less and move more. Also, the key to successful weight loss while maintaining caloric intake is good sleep.
Healthy sleep is from 21-22 pm to 6 am.
If a person is overweight, then Nordic walking and slow jogging will help you lose weight. During this time, you will lose weight, strengthen your musculoskeletal system, and then you can move on to more intense running training.
What are the benefits of morning jogging?
Having decided to go jogging in the morning, first make sure there are no contraindications so as not to harm the body. Individual recommendations will allow you to achieve maximum effect.
Running is useful because it gives a person:
- the ability to lose excess weight and improve overall body tone;
- a surge of endorphins that helps normalize sleep;
- increasing endurance and strengthening the heart muscle due to regular training;
- strengthening the immune system by increasing the content of hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood;
- improvement of skin condition;
- stabilization of pressure and respiratory organs, shortness of breath stops;
- increase in overall performance;
- activation of brain activity due to an intense rush of oxygen-enriched blood.
It is better to conduct classes in parks, squares, along the embankment, in places with clean air, away from heavy traffic, to minimize the entry of exhaust gases into the lungs.
Running Equipment
Today there is a lot of different equipment whose advertising promises us safe and comfortable running. But should you rely only on fashionable sneakers? Evgeniy Kadlubinsky is sure that sneakers alone will not do. The main work should be done by the runner himself: strengthen the muscles, the musculoskeletal system, and control the running technique.
But when it comes to body thermoregulation, equipment is important here, and it can be used successfully. Today, there are professional clothing that will help your body feel comfortable while running.
But in any case, you shouldn’t rely only on equipment, but approach the issue of clothing for training carefully.
Running and age
The doctor is convinced that jogging should not be done in early childhood. It is good for a child to run, but only while playing. You can start serious running loads from about 14-15 years old, at the child’s request. In this case, it is worth carefully monitoring the body’s reaction. After all, our task is to bring benefits from running, and not harm.
As for older athletes, you can and should run throughout your life. If you want to run for a long time, you need to invest in your health: learn to invest in training that will help you strengthen your body, prevent various diseases, increasing the body’s resource and thereby extending your running age.
If you want to run until you are 100 years old, learn how to recover correctly, as we discussed above, and choose the right intensity.
And remember, we will get much more problems for our body without exercising, and not vice versa!
For men
How is running beneficial for men? Why is it so important for the stronger half of humanity to go jogging regularly?
- The benefits of such stress on male reproductive health have been proven;
- During exercise, the production of testosterone is stimulated - the main male hormone, which affects the quality of sperm;
- Testosterone also strengthens bones and joints and is involved in the process of muscle growth.
- Jogging greatly improves self-esteem: the sport helps improve appearance, and a positive impression is formed about the runner in society. It is important for men to feel like winners, conquerors, and running perfectly trains will and character.
- During a run, the blood is better saturated with oxygen, blood circulation in the genitals improves, so experienced runners rarely complain about potency or other problems of a sexual nature;
- Also, we note the benefits for the respiratory system, which is very important for men who quit smoking.
- Morning jogging gives you energy for the whole day, and evening jogging is a great release after hard work.
If you don’t know when it’s better to run, in the morning or in the evening, be guided by your biorhythms - it’s more convenient for larks to walk on a treadmill, meeting the first rays of the sun, while owls prefer to see them off in the evenings. Jogging is equally beneficial both in the morning and in the evening, the most important thing is to do it regularly!
When analyzing the benefits of running, the benefits and harms for men, we did not mention the last point, because running itself cannot harm the body. However, if you do it without following the rules, damage is inevitable. In the next block, we will look at how running is useful for women, and then we will tell you in what cases it can harm a person of any gender.
