They say that if a pill were ever created that offered the same benefits of exercise, it would be the greatest discovery in the history of medicine. One of the most popular forms is running, in which more than 50 million Americans participate every year.
Wait, only 50 million? That’s only like a seventh of the population!
Well, maybe more of us just need to learn the health benefits of running for motivation. Here’s what you need to know!
Mental Health Benefits of Running
While running is often associated with cardiovascular and physical health benefits, we wanted to start off a little differently and talk about the important mental health benefits. Exercise of all styles will offer certain mental health benefits, but running is a uniquely great example.
First, there are the physical brain benefits that can improve our mental health. This includes balancing hormones, endorphins, and neurotransmitters. These all play key roles in staving off depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
Second, running offers mental clarity beyond most other exercises. When running for longer periods, even with music or podcasts playing in our ears or traffic noises, we’re often widely left with our thoughts. These thoughts tend to be more positive while we are productive, outside, and enjoying ourselves!
Finally, running also boosts our confidence, helps us lose weight, and helps us kickstart other healthy habits.
Joint Health
Joint health is a major factor in quality of life, especially as we age. Whether you’re 16 or 55, it’s never too early or late to start caring about your joint health.
While people claim that running is bad for your knees, this is utter nonsense. Running safely and progressively over the long run will strengthen your joints, muscles, and even bones.
Cardiovascular Endurance
Cardiovascular endurance is a gift on its own. It could help you give your pets or children more activity and stimulation throughout the day, improve your overall quality of life, and so much more.
However, in the long term, it’s even better. Those with better cardiovascular health are far less likely to develop heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the US.
Running Workout Tips
Finally, let’s go over some quick tips on running for your enjoyment, adherence, health, and safety. If you don’t enjoy it, you won’t adhere to it. If you aren’t doing it safely, you won’t be doing it for long, which means you won’t experience the same health benefits.
Increase the intensity and distance of your runs progressively. This means every week, your longest run should not be longer than 10% of last week’s longest run.
Also, it’s critical to do easy runs throughout your training. These should be as easy and comfortable as possible. You can easily track your training with an online coach to help you follow the healthiest regimen possible. There is another way to do running is on a treadmill. This will save your time and money. You can invest in the best folding treadmill as it will be very beneficial to workout and easy fit for the home. It will save storage space and is good for strengthening up your muscles, mainly your thighs, calves, and glutes.
Enjoy the Health Benefits of Running
Now that you know some of the key health benefits of running, enjoy them for yourself. There’s no time like the present to get started.
Strap on your running shoes today and stay up to date with our latest health tips!
