Why start running?
Keeping fit & active is essential to living a healthy lifestyle. There is such a wide variety of exercises & activities you could get involved in, so why choose to run? Apart from the more popular reasons such as running to lose weight, to improve fitness, to relieve stress, or simply to compete, you’ll find that there are so many benefits beyond these mentioned!
Make running interesting
If you’re finding that your current running routine lacks excitement, then here are some tips on how you can make running more interesting:
- Set goals
Setting goals for yourself will serve as motivation & as inspiration to surpass those goals. This could be reaching a particular distance or training yourself for a particular race!
- Run with friends
Gather a group of friends & run together, this could be a great way for you & your friends to connect & catch up.
- Run with business colleagues
Why not connect with your colleagues over a run or even conduct your meetings over a run? ‘Sweatworking’ is rising in popularity & is simply the act of networking while working up a sweat!
- Take your dogs with you
Your dog will not only serve as great company & great motivation, but they need the exercise too, so this is the perfect way to keep both you & your pups fit & healthy.
- Run along a scenic route
If you are fortunate enough to be able to run along a safe scenic route then this could be a great way for you to appreciate your surroundings & explore. Running along a scenic route
- Listen to your favourite playlist
Different genres of music can help set your pace while running & can give you that much needed boost.
- Reward yourself
By rewarding yourself, you are training yourself to work toward that reward which is great motivation.
Benefits on your health:
Running can significantly improve physical and mental health.
- Reduce stress
- Improve heart health
- Strengthens the bones and joints
- Help alleviate symptoms of depression
- Aids weight loss
- Fights off common cold
- Get a good dose of Vitamin D
Benefits overall:
- Run anywhere and anytime
Whether it’s at the gym on the treadmill, the beach or around your residential area, you can benefit from running.
- Make new friends
Not the best at socializing? By joining different running groups, you could meet so many new people and even create lifelong friendships.
- Save some cash
Ditch the gym and all the fitness gadgets for the most beneficial workout that just so happens to be free!
- Increase stamina
Running helps increase a person’s stamina to endure more challenging physical situations.
- Get a mood boost
Similar to drugs, running stimulates the same pleasure & reward receptors, putting you on a ‘high’. Not only does it leave you on a high, it also leaves you feeling happier and more focused.
- Get an energy boost
By running you increase energy and decrease fatigue.
- Strengthen your core
A strengthened core can improve your posture as well as your performance.
- Sleep better – See previous blog ‘Sleep your way into good health!’
Running encourages higher quality sleep.
Getting started: Tips
- Invest in good running shoes
Without the right shoes, running can be strenuous & you could end up injuring yourself.
- Do warm ups
Warming up prepares your body and mind for the physical activity you’re about to do.
- Maintain the right posture
The right posture helps runners move more efficiently & avoid injury.
- Maintain a steady pace
Sudden and frequent pace change can lead to injury and fatigue.
- Breathing right
Breathe through your mouth as well as nose.
- Run on sand
Running on sand or the beach can improve your muscle tone as your body needs to work harder to deal with the unstable and soft surface.
‘Run’ out of excuses! Start today!