Today, running is one of the most popular ways to combat excess weight. It really helps burn excess fat, tightens the skin and promotes health at the same time. But in reality, not everyone gets the results they want. And the point here is not that running is ineffective, but that a person does not know how to run correctly to lose weight. Let's try to understand it.
The benefits of running to lose weight and more
Running to burn fat is a simple and effective way to get rid of excess weight. It is not for nothing that this sport has gained enormous popularity throughout the world. It has a numberbenefits, including the following:
- Running is accessible, requires no financial investment or special equipment, so anyone can do it.
- This is a safe sport, and if you follow the basic rules, it will only bring benefits.
- Regular exercise really helps you lose weight, as it provides a powerful cardio workout. On average, an hour of running burns 500-700 kcal.
- Running offers a person comprehensive benefits and this concerns not only the figure, but also health. It helps fight stress, strengthens the nervous system, trains the heart and blood vessels, improving their functioning.
- Jogging normalizes the functioning of the digestive system and speeds up the metabolism.
- Running perfectly strengthens your muscles and keeps them toned.
- This type of activity stimulates the removal of harmful waste, toxins and excess fluid from the body.
Although running will help everyone lose weight, this must be taken into accountcontraindications, and they are the following:
- serious disorders in the functioning of the heart and blood vessels (heart defects, heart failure, blood pressure problems);
- phlebeurysm;
- bronchial asthma;
- endocrine system disorders;
- severe vision problems;
- inflammatory processes in the body;
- infectious diseases;
- problems of the musculoskeletal system.
Very overweight people should consult a specialist before starting jogging, as they may cause harm to themselves. In their case, brisk walking or jogging may be more appropriate.
To lose weight while running, it is recommended to study different options and choose the best one. It is also very important to know how to run correctly to burn fat, study all the rules and recommendations.
Why running is good for weight loss
So, does running help you lose weight? Let's find out.
Excess weight problems are usually typical of people who lead a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, a good half of the population now owns personal vehicles. Thanks to cars, we stop not only running, but also walking. As a result, the body accumulates fat and muscles atrophy due to uselessness.
To avoid obesity and unpleasant consequences for your appearance and health, you need to pull yourself together and go for a run. This is the simplest type of physical activity available to everyone. And at first let it just be a brisk walk. As soon as your body adapts, start running.
Let's take a closer look at how running burns fat?
Running makes the heart pump faster, which is why it is classified as a cardio activity. With an accelerated heart rate, more blood passes through the heart per unit of time than in a calm state. The lungs also begin to work harder and the blood is actively enriched with oxygen. Oxygen saturation occurs in all cells of the body, from the tips of the toes to the brain. Metabolic processes begin to proceed faster.
Running requires energy. To ensure its constant influx, the body uses its internal reserves. First, the glycogen stored in the liver is consumed, then the fat deposits in our body are used. Therefore, running and excess weight are incompatible concepts. If you actively move and burn more calories than you consume from food, the excess weight will disappear. Running and losing weight are interconnected.
- For jogging (7-9 kilometers per hour), fat burning begins after 20-30 minutes of continuous running.
- With interval training, the fat breakdown process begins much earlier; you don't need to run for an hour to start fat catabolism. But interval running is a pretty heavy load, and this type of cardio isn't right for everyone.
When talking about whether running helps you lose weight, it is important to clarify the type and duration. If we intend classic jogging at a light pace, the duration of the training should be at least thirty minutes.
How to run to burn fat: basic rules
We already know that the answer to the question of whether running helps you lose weight will be positive. However, there are a number of nuances that must be taken into account for jogging to really produce results. Let's take a closer look at them.
Duration of the ride
Keep in mind that the length of your run will depend on the intensity of your training. It is also necessary to take into account the level of physical fitness and choose the load that will be optimal. It is advisable to start with runs that are not too long and gradually increase their duration, as well as the distance travelled.
Running is recommendedat least 40 minutes, because only after this time has passed does the body begin to consume not calories, but the hated fats directly. Many experts recommend interval running: it increases endurance and is great for losing weight.
Prepare and finish the workout
A proper fat burning run shouldn't start and end just like that. You need to follow some rules.Before training, consider the following:
- It is recommended to eat at least two hours before training to burn fat;
- It is useful to take a contrast shower first, which will help tone the muscles and blood vessels, so it will be easier for the body to bear the load;
- Before the main part of the class, do a short warm-up - it will help prevent injuries and muscle pain, as the body will be ready for stress.
Between workouts you need to watch your diet. Of course, it is not advisable to eat sweets, fatty foods and other foods that are harmful to your figure. Limit salt intake, as it tends to retain fluid in the body and this increases body volume. It is also important to drink enough water and you can do this during training too.
After a run, the following tips will be useful:
- Stop gradually, not abruptly. Switch from running to walking and slow down gradually. This will help restore your breathing and heart rate and force your body to burn even more calories.
- After your run, take a warm shower, which will help calm your muscles and nervous system.
- Avoid hypothermia. While running, the body heats up and a light breeze or draft can negatively affect your health.
Selection of training intensity
An important point about how to run to burn fat is the intensity of the run, which determines the speed of weight loss and the final results. It is important to remember that it is important not only to lose weight, but also not to harm your health.
The more intense the training, the faster the energy consumption will be. Running calmly and relaxed is good for your health, but it is more suitable for keeping fit than for losing weight. And excessively intense training can lead to exhaustion of the body, and as a result, it can begin to lose not only fat, but also muscle, and the cardiovascular system can suffer from excessive stress.
Here becauseloads must be increased gradually and steadily.If you're new to running, start with minimal ones and increase them over time. You can determine the intensity of your workout yourself by monitoring your heart rate. Usually, a good fat burning effect gives a pulse of more than 130 beats per minute. However, if this figure exceeds 150, the load may be too intense. At the correct intensity, your heart rate should return to usual levels no more than half an hour after finishing your run.
Clothes and shoes
Proper equipment also plays a significant role in running performance. Running shoes and suits for weight loss should be as comfortable as possible and not restrict movement.
Clothing should be chosen from natural and breathable materials.Candiesuse a special dress to lose weight, providing focus on certain problem areas. For example, you can buy pants and shorts that speed up the weight loss process.
You should choose shoes that are comfortable, lightweight and fit perfectly. It will help reduce stress on your joints and minimize the risk of injury.
It is often recommended for use by those who wish to reduce abdominal volumerunning and weight loss belt or cling film. In principle, this is useful, but do not expect that a miracle will happen and you will lose weight in three workouts. These items help speed up the process of removing excess fluid, which also has a beneficial effect on the weight loss process. There are also belts with a massage effect.
Regularity of training
How often and for how long should you run to burn fat? Regularity is the most important key to success. The best option is to run 3-5 times a week. To speed up your results, you can alternate running with other types of activity, such as strength training or swimming. Men are advised to combine running for weight loss with weight training.
Don't expect quick results. Explicitchanges for the better will be noticeable after 6-8 weeksregular workouts.
By knowing how to run correctly to lose weight, you can improve your appearance without harming your health. Furthermore, it is advisable to adhere to the following recommendations:
- While running, make sure to do socheck your physical condition.Pain and dizziness are not acceptable. Breathing should remain uniform.
- You can run both on a treadmill and in open areas.The first option is good because it is available in any weather. The second allows you to enjoy the beauty of nature and breathe fresh air, but due to weather conditions it will not always be available. It is recommended to run not on asphalt, but on the ground - this has a beneficial effect on the level of resistance and will allow you to correctly distribute the load.
- Make sure your running technique is correct.
- Posturewhile I runit should be level.Breathe evenly. Pace changes should be gradual.
If you want to burn fat in a specific area by running,The following technical recommendations can be followed:
- To lose weight in the legs, it is recommended to use a technique with high hip raises, include running with an additional step in the training and alternate running with jumping (with or without skipping rope).
- To lose weight in the abdomen, further exploit the stress on the abdominal muscles and always monitor their tone.
If you follow all the rules and there are no contraindications, you can start running safely and you will soon notice obvious changes for the better. Also remember proper nutrition and other types of exercises - in combination you will get an effective program that will help you achieve an ideal figure. As a bonus, running will help you improve your health and forget about stress and depression.
How to increase strength, endurance and burn fat with running
People often underestimate race or view it one-sidedly. For example, if you want to lose weight, go running. If you want to train your heart, run too. Some people see it as an opportunity to set a personal record and prove to themselves that you can run 10km without stopping. For some, running is a way to relax the brain after an intellectually or nervously stressful day at work. The opposite also happens: an excellent exercise in the morning to gain strength, energy and complete the planned work plan in record time.
A universal but insidious discipline
On the one hand, everything is like that. On the other hand, operating power is in many cases overestimated or not taken into account at all.
Therefore, running increases the effectiveness of strength training: it increases working weights and training intensity. It is an important help in eliminating excess fat. This is if everything is done correctly, which we will talk about below. There are also opposite cases.
For example, a person decided to lose weight - it does not matter whether it is a boy or a girl - and we run furiously. After all, she had heard out of the corner of her ear that running allows you to lose excess weight. The companion loses seven sweats, red as a lobster, his heart jumps out of his chest, his legs give out, there is not enough air, but he continues to move his legs which have become weak - he has to run these 3-4 km.
I ran for a month three times a week, I suffered a lot, I stepped on the scales, but to no avail. Even the reflection in the mirror hasn't changed much. This is the best case scenario. At worst, he began to look bad, his health was also not great, his knees hurt, he became emaciated (there is less muscle, fat has not gone anywhere), and the miserable 2- 3 kg lost on a quintal of total body weight is not at all pleasant.
The fact is that it is necessary to run correctly and build the training process wisely, not forgetting about nutrition and a number of other factors. Let's talk about everything in more detail.
Suitable for everyone
The running training system, which I will talk about below, is universal. It is suitable both for a completely untrained overweight person who has decided to put his body in order, and for an advanced athlete who has been training with weights for years, but ignores running for various reasons.
For example, your knees hurt, you have shortness of breath, your muscles "burn" (not burn). I can easily classify myself as the latter and have previously faced the problem of running more than once, but only now have I found truly effective methods of using it.
About ten years ago I conducted an experiment: I wanted to run 10 km at a time. I got results, but it was difficult and took more than three months. The hope of eating delicacies while losing fat through the long run did not materialize. And I ran 10 km with difficulty, which is called "I can't". Then I more or less got used to running (I hated it at all), but these are flowers compared to the results of a reasonable approach to training.
Where to start
No preparation or long preparations are necessary. We ate normally, an hour and a half later we put on old sneakers, went to the nearest stadium with rubber tracks, set the timer on the watch or smartphone toan hourand I ran at an easy pace. Only a few points are important:
- Don't run on asphalt.A stadium with a rubber surface is ok, a treadmill in the gym is ok, a dirt road with grass is ok. Asphalt is not good, but excessive load on joints and ligaments. High-quality sneakers, selected individually (how to do it is written here), will partially solve the problem of hard surfaces, but this is not a panacea and not everyone has this opportunity. But you can run on the surfaces described above in any, even the most nondescript Chinese sneakers (be prepared for calluses on such shoes).
- Work within your aerobic threshold.I described the theory in detail inThis article(section "Aerobic training"), I will not repeat myself, but I will summarize briefly. If you have a heart rate monitor (any type: optical, chest-mounted), work within a heart rate range of 120 to 150 beats/min. The main thing is not to suffocate - there must be enough oxygen. Without a heart rate monitor, use your breathing as a guide. As soon as you start to suffocate, it becomes difficult: take a brisk walk until breathing is restored, then run lightly again. And you work like that for an hour. Even if you walk most of the time.
- After 60 minutes, write down how much distance you have traveled during this time. Next time try running and walking more.Let it be 100 meters, 200, but more. If you do everything correctly, you won't have to strain yourself. The body itself adapts to any reasonable load with a reserve. In this case we focus on breathing and heart rate, we do not overload the body and it will respond by adapting with compensation. I rested for a day, went back to the stadium, ran/walked for an hour - looked at my smartphone (if it can count steps), activity tracker or laps counted and, see, you covered more distances, but at the same time time you didn't suffer or get out of breath while running. I speak from personal experience.
Working according to this system, in 2-3 months an untrained person will learn to run for an hour without interruptions and at a good pace, without getting out of breath or exhausted. General well-being will improve, endurance will increase and weight will decrease, provided that the citizen does not start to eat more, compensating for the increased energy consumption.
Butthe devil is in the details. Yes, this is a working system that I have personally tested. You can take it and use it right away without going into details.
If you want to achieve the most effective result, whether it is burning fat, improving strength results in the gym or all together, read the next part of this series of articles, in which I will talk about how to run without knee pain, why you should running strictly for 60 minutes and how to burn fat and maintain muscle.
This is real: I verified it personally. People often underestimate race or view it one-sidedly. For example, if you want to lose weight, go running. If you want to train your heart, run too. Some people see it as an opportunity to set a personal record and prove to themselves that you can run 10km without stopping. For some, running is a way to relax the brain after being mentally or nervously.
Running to lose weight: how to burn more calories?
Running is one of the most effective and fastest ways to train to lose weight. An increase in heart rate during running contributes to the consumption of large amounts of oxygen, increasing energy expenditure, which leads to fat burning. To achieve quick and desired results, it is important to take the right load during the run, train at the right time and in the right mode.
How to run correctly to lose weight
One of the important factors affecting running on weight loss is high oxygen consumption, the main fat burner. It is not for nothing that running is called aerobic exercise, since it is performed with the oxygen available.
An important condition for training aimed at weight loss is a well-ventilated room, or fresh street air, and proper breathing while running.
It's important!Correct breathing while running should be accompanied by a quick and sharp inhalation, and exhalation should be, on the contrary, gradual and smooth. You need to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Another important factor in losing weight is your heart rate zone.Heart rate plays a crucial role in weight loss.
- Lower heart rate threshold, at which fat burning is maintained, is 120 beats per minute.
- Upper threshold, which preserves the burning of fat, not muscle, and the heart muscle does not receive excessive stress, is 160 beats per minute.
These are the averages. But for everyone it is possible to calculate an individual heart rate zone, depending on age.
We subtract your age from your maximum heart rate of 220 beats per minute. Let's take 30 years as an example.
- 220 - 30 = 190 beats per minute: we get our maximum heart rate.
- We multiply our maximum by 0. 6 to calculate 60% of our maximum.
190 * 0, 6 = 114 beats per minute - the lower limit of the pulse. We calculate the upper limit of the heart rate, 80% of the maximum.
190*0, 8=152 beats per minute.
Therefore, in your thirties, your allowable heart rate zone is between 114 and 152 beats per minute.
How many calories do you burn while running?
In an hour of running, on average, you can lose up to 700-800 kcal. The indicators depend on the degree of load, age, weight and physical fitness.
How Much Should You Run to Lose Weight?
The duration of training also plays an important role.To achieve your goals, you should not run more than 60 minutes.Training for more than an hour will not only overload the body as a whole, which, on the contrary, will slow down weight loss, but also begin to burn muscle fibers.
But alsoLess than 20 minutes makes no sense to train.
To run effectively it is important to rest less without lowering your heart rate, but it is not necessary to run at the same pace. Interval jogging is also good for burning fat, as you spend more time running and a little less time walking.
You can run both outdoors and on a treadmill in the gym. Special simulators are adapted to set the angle of inclination - to simulate climbing uphill. This method is perfect for interval training; instead of resting while walking, go uphill. By increasing the load, you can burn more calories and also place more stress on your glutes and hamstrings.
When is the best time to run to lose weight?
For each person, depending on the rhythm of life, the best time for training will be different.
Research has shown that for most people, effective training takes place in the afternoon, especially in the evening.
One of the most popular ways to lose weight is to run on an empty stomach in the morning. After sleep, glycogen stores are depleted, so the body uses its own fats for energy. Such a workout should not be long, 30 minutes is enough, otherwise, in addition to fat, there is a risk of losing muscle mass.
There can be two half-hour workouts per day: in the morning and in the evening.
3-4 workouts per week are enough.Rest from aerobic exercise is no less important than rest from strength training. The body needs time to recover, without this the fat burning process will be impossible.
No matter what time of day you train, if your body is rested after the night and full of energy, a morning run will bring no less benefits than an evening run. It's important to feel your body here.
Running program to lose weight in the tables
The training program is designed for different levels of difficulty, both for running outdoors and on a treadmill. It may take 2 to 4 weeks of training to adjust to the program. If running gets easier, move up to an advanced level.
Outdoor running for beginners
time lapse
| Run | 2 minutes |
| Fast walk | 2 minutes |
The first workouts are designed for 30-40 minutes. Every week you need to increase the duration of the session and the duration of the run.
Outdoor running for the fit
time lapse
| Run | 5 minutes |
| Standing | 2 minutes |
Training should be40 to 60 minutes maximum.
Gym training on treadmill for beginners
time lapse
| Run | 2 minutes |
| Walking on a slope | 2 minutes |
Treadmill running for advanced users
time lapse
| Run | 5-10 minutes |
| Walking on a slope | 2-3 minutes |
Don't start running right away with cold muscles. After exercise it is advisable to stretch your muscles.
If necessary it is possible to increase the load by increasing the speed and decreasing the rest time. Therefore, you can switch from interval training to continuous jogging for an hour.
Conclusion
In fact, running is a quick and easy way to lose weight. An important condition for training is the correct ratio of breathing, pulse and load-rest. Remember, to lose weight it is important not only to run, calorie expenditure must exceed calorie intake. Accordingly, you need to monitor your diet, not overeat and limit the intake of simple carbohydrates.