How To Lose Weight By Running?

Written by: Ashlin J Thekken

The impetus behind running for most people is to lose weight and maintain a well-toned body. Running is by far the most vigorous exercise out there and thus becomes an effective means to burn off calories for weight loss. You can lose close to 100 calories per mile while running.

So if you are asking, will running make you lose weight? The answer would a big resounding yes, but you must follow certain techniques for it to be really effective.

Techniques For Running To Lose Weight

Here are few essential techniques to be employed to lose weight by running. The failure to follow these simple pointers is usually the cause of low or no results from a weight loss perspective. So here’s how to start running to lose weight.

1. Burn enough calories

Remember that you will only lose weight while running if you burn more calories than you consume. To lose one pound it is estimated that you will need to burn close to 3600 calories and on an average you tend to lose 100 calories per mile on a nominal pace of 4 to 5 mile per hour. In order to maintain a toned body it is estimated that you should burn off 30% of your calorie intake through physical exercise or other life functions.

2. Stay consistent with your running

Run regularly if you want lose weight and maintain it that way. You will end up losing a few pounds through a week of rigorous running but it is just as easy to gain back the lost weight if you slack for the next week. If you find it difficult to run each day, try running at 3 to 4 times a week.

3. Don’t let your body settle to a routine

As your body starts adapting to your running routine, it will shed weight much more slowly. If you want to increase the rate of weight lose you must up the ante and challenge your body further. Try the following tips.

1. Increase the number of miles you run per day
2. Increase the speed of your running
3. Double your speed for short bursts every now and then

This way your body can never settle into a comfortable regime and thus will feel constantly challenged.

Nutritional Requirements For Runners Who Want To Lose Weight

Follow these tips on how to eat right in order attain weight loss through running.

1. Small portions of high calorie food – Eat small potions of high calorie foods and incorporate un-saturated fats in your diet. You chief source of carbohydrates should be whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables.

2. Avoid over-compensating the calories – Don’t over-compensate by eating up foods, and drinking beverages, that provide much more calories than lost through running. This way you will not be able to lose weight fast enough. There are runners who have gained weight because of this mistake in their nutrition intake.

3. Maintain a calorie log – Keep a log of foods that you eat and get an approximation on the number of calories you consume per day vs the calories that are burnt out through the running

Make Running A Priority

If you are thinking of losing weight by running, and maintaining a toned body forever, then consistency is the key. Discipline brings success to any activity, it is the same with weight loss through running. Don’t let excuses get in your way at any time. Use the following tips to stay on the running regime on daily basis.

1. Make it a habit to run in the morning as compared to any other time of the day. There are no excuses for not hitting the road for 30 minutes first thing in the morning whereas you can come up with several excuses to avoid your workouts in the evening.

2. Get ample sleep so you won’t get groggy the next day, if you don’t sleep well you are more likely to skip the morning run.

3. Sleep with your tracks on or set them near your bed so you can dress up as soon as you get up. Many runners tend to sleep with their jogging clothes on so they can just put on their shoes and hit the road in the morning.

4. It is more fun to jog with a few friends than to do it alone. Moreover you can form a motivational group, waking up any slacker who feels the need to over-sleep.

If you follow these simple tips and keep the above mentioned techniques in mind, you will be well on your way to lose weight by running. Weight loss is never permanent, so don’t end up

Is Jogging The Best Way To Burn Calories?

Written by: Ashlin J Thekken

When you are at your ideal weight you ensure that your body is not carrying around an unnecessary “load”, which ensures less stress on your bone structure and also prevents undue pressure on vital organs. Most of the aches and pains that manifest are due to high amounts of stress on the bone structure owing to excess weight that’s held in your body.

A lot of organ based diseases, especially heart diseases, are owing to high fat deposition around them (excess weight is always stored as “fat”). And of course, a body at ideal weight looks more attractive than a body which is over-weight. These are good enough reasons for you to be committed to ensuring that you are at your ideal weight at every stage in your life.

Burning excess calories, that you obtained from your diet, is the best way to stay at your ideal weight other than bringing a moderation in your diet to ensure you don’t consume more than what your body finds sufficient. Jogging is one of the best aerobic exercises to burn off the excess calories, shave off the past fat deposition in your body and stay fit by improving the overall body stamina and vitality.

Jogging by definition means “slow running” or low paced running. So basically it’s about running at brisk pace without sprinting hard. However, a lot of additional benefits can be had when you integrate some sprinting into your jogging routine – I will discuss some pointers, on how to do this, later in this article. For now I would just like to make it clear that in the context of this post I am referring to jogging as “running” and am not holding a strict definition of pigeon holing it into a “slow paced” running.

Is Jogging The Best Aerobic Workout For Burning Calories?

In my perspective, when you compare jogging/running with other common work outs like walking, cycling, dancing (yeah, it can be considered a work out), resistance training (like weight lifting) or swimming, it seems to burn off more calories per minute, or per mile, as the case may be – I am sure there is researched evidence which backs this claim for most cases.

Scientifically, it’s suggested that we burn 1 calorie per liter of oxygen inhaled, so when you involve yourself in a strenuous activity which involves harder/deeper breathing you burn more calories. Jogging, integrated with some short sprints, involves a lot more breathing than the other work outs that I mentioned and thus burns more calories. Though, “weight training” is definitely a close match because of the amount of calories that are expended in enduring the resistance of the work out.

It’s suggested that jogging can burn close to 100 calories per mile. An average human being would take close to 10-12 minutes to jog a mile, so that’s like 10 calories burnt per minute, which is definitely a good number. It’s also suggested that if you weigh more than 150 pounds you end up burning 8-10% more calories than a person who is less than 150 pounds in weight – the logic being that the more strain the body needs to endure the more calories that are burnt in the process.

Are There Any Disadvantages To Jogging?

All physical activities are bound to strain your body, and when done in excess, or through an improper form, can lead to injuries – jogging is no different. If you are a beginner at jogging, you need to be extra careful the first couple of weeks, allowing the body to start adapting to the strain of this activity. Your muscles need to adapt, your bone structure needs to adapt and your stamina levels need to adapt. If you overdo this work out, before your body is ready, you are likely to acquire an unnecessary injury which may take time to heal.

It’s also suggested that jogging, being a “high impact” work out, puts a lot of strain on your knees, ankles and hip joints – which can lead to damage in the long run. But, knowing the intelligence of a human body, it’s my perspective, that if you continue jogging with the right form, in slow progression, without over straining yourself, your body will adapt itself to this routine without any injury to its body structure. In fact, your body will develop a stronger bone structure around the areas that are facing the highest impact, if you allow it the time to do so. That’s why it’s so important to start off slow and build the intensity gradually.

Jogging Tips For Beginners

Written by: Ashlin J Thekken

If you’ve recently made up your mind with regards to taking up jogging as your work out of choice for burning calories, it’s important that you prepare yourself with the right knowledge about this workout to ensure maximum output, convenience and less mistakes. Here are some pointers which you might find helpful in getting you geared up for this work out.

Warm Ups And Stretching Are The Key To Avoiding Injuries

It may not be a good idea to do any stretching exercises before you start jogging because your muscles will be cold and it can cause an injury when you pull at them, but what’s required is that you do a warm up activity at least for 5 minutes before you actually start jogging. Once you are done with jogging its pertinent that you spend at least 5 minutes stretching your body to ensure that you don’t cramp up..

The best warm up activity prior to jogging is brisk walking. Spend 5 minutes walking through the terrain at a brisk pace breathing deeply to get your lungs ready for the work out and getting your muscles warmed up for the activity.

The Right Form To Follow

There are a few contentions on what’s the right way to land your foot while jogging. In my personal experience, and through the observation of many long time joggers, I believe that it’s best to take shorter strides allowing your feet to land on the ‘middle’ portion of the sole moving to transferring weight onto the heel and finally the toe region. Some people, while jogging, take longer strides and land directly on the heel region, which can create more ‘impact’ because of lesser area of contact leading to a higher chance of injury and this movement also causes a braking effect in your stride causing more wear and tear not only to your shoe but to the muscles in your feet region.

Keep your body upright, without tensing up, while running and look straight ahead instead of bending down. Don’t stoop your shoulders, or your upper & lower back, as it causes more strain on your neck. Keep your arms relaxed, without clenching your fists, and allow for a smooth movement that goes in tune with your strides.

Breathing Style For Jogging

The right way to breathe is mostly what feels comfortable to you at your pace. Some say that it’s best to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, but it’s very difficult to keep this going at a higher pace or higher mileage – your body soon needs a high intake of air and your nose is not capable to delivering such a high dosage, so at higher paces it’s best to breathe in with your nose and mouth in combination to allow for a maximum intake of oxygen.

Alternating Between Jogging And Brisk Walking

As a beginner, since your body is yet to adapt to the rigor of running, it’s best that you alternate 2 minutes jogging with 5 minutes of walking. You can steadily increase the number of minutes you jog and reduce the number of minutes you walk, so that in a couple of weeks you are doing 5 minutes of jogging and 1 minute of walking. By the fourth week your body should feel adapted to jogging so you can do a steady 20 minute jog without any break for walking (of course it’s important that you always start your jog with 5 minutes of walking for warm up, no matter how veteran you become at your running skills).

Increasing Your Mileage, And Intensity

The first two or three weeks are for your body to adapt to the practice of jogging. During this time, just focus on getting your form right and getting your body acquainted. You can do a mile, or a mile and half, initially, for the first two weeks, while you get used to this work out. From the third or fourth week onwards you can start incrementing a mile every week or half a mile increment every 3 days (I believe the latter is a better option). If you do this, in a couple of months you should be able to run for 40 minutes without a break, taking in 5 miles with ease.

Another aspect is to increase your intensity in the form of short sprints. A sprint, of high intensity, for one minute, would burn 50-60% more calories than a jog at a brisk pace for the same time. So by the fourth week, make sure you incorporate at least three or four segments of high intensity sprints, for one minute, in between your jogging span. You can increase the pace of your sprint as your body adapt to it, in a couple of weeks.

What Should You Wear For Jogging?

A good pair of ‘light weight’ running shoes is a must, so that you don’t injure your feet during this high impact workout. A low quality running shoe can give you a shoe bite and also create an internal injury owing to improper cushioning. If you are willing to invest more, you can get custom-made running shoes designed for your specifics, based on the structure of your feet and your impact style (some people are heavy on the back portion while some on the side portion of their feet). The bottom line is to wear shoes that give you a comfortable run. If you sense any pain in your feet owing to your shoes, get them changed as soon as possible.

Women should invest in a good quality sports bra, as a mandatory requirement, to avoid injury to their back, while also ensuring a comfortable run. It also helps to wear some sports vest or trousers made explicitly to improve your running experience with synthetic fabric that wicks the sweat off your skin. In case you don’t feel like expending money on these accessories, just wear clothes that feel comfortable to you – like t-shirt and shorts or jogging tracks. Wear a white upper garment, or reflective vest, if you are out running while it’s still dark, to be visible to moving vehicles.

What Is The Best Time To Jog?

Not all of us have the liberty to pick and choose our work out times, and usually mornings seems like the safer bet because there are no guarantees what surprise appointments pop up for the evening. However, early morning is not the best time to exert your body because the muscles are cold and all the bodily functions are at their lowest efficiency, add to it the fact that your body has not eaten in the past 10 hours or so and hence has lower energy levels. If you are jogging early in the morning, it’s highly important that you spend at-least 15 minutes warming up your muscles (preferably by doing some slow walking and a few squats) and doing some basic stretches. An advantage of jogging in the morning is that your body’s metabolism gets hiked up for the day, ensuring that you burn calories more efficiently from your meals.

If you have the independence to choose your workout timings, the best time to jog would be towards between 5-7 pm. During this time your body temperature is at its highest, your muscles are warm, your body has higher energy levels (from your breakfast and lunch) and your lungs are functioning at a higher efficiency. You naturally feel more alert and aware, so it’s easy to motivate yourself at this time than early in the morning when your brain is sluggish. Since your muscles are far more supple at this time of the day, you can exert yourself towards higher intensities without running the risk of injury (as you would early in the morning).

Should I Eat Or Drink Before I Jog?

If you are jogging in the morning, just have a few ounces of water 30-45 minutes before the jog. Most people don’t feel hungry when they wake up, but if you do feel hungry you can have a light snack of fruits or fruit juice, an hour before jogging. It’s quite uncomfortable to jog with food digesting in your stomach, but since fruits usually just take 15 – 20 minutes to move out of the stomach they are the best food option prior to a jog.

It’s best to avoid drinking a lot of water just before the jog because it can lead to cramping. Always drink up 30 minutes prior to jogging. Also make sure you relieve your bladder, and bowels, just before you head out for the jog, there is nothing more uncomfortable than running on a filled bladder or an uncomfortable bowel.

Once you start running for more than 20 minutes, it’s best to have some water on the go. Carry a 500 ml plastic water bottle with you, and drink up a few ounces of water after the 20 minute interval. If you are running for 45 minutes or more you might have to consider drinking some sports drinks like Gatorade to compensate for the loss of minerals through sweat. Replenish your body with plenty of water after the jog (if it’s more than 45 minutes be sure to have a sports drink). Instead of gulping down a lot of water in one go (which might make you feel nauseated), make sure you drink at a slower pace over a period of 5 minutes.

Take A Break One Day A Week

It’s suggested that you take a day off from your jogging routine once a week, basically jogging for 6 days a week. Initially you may even want to take two or three days off to allow your body to adapt to the rigor. It’s very important to allow the body to recuperate from the strain, and build strength in its bones and muscles, and a day or two off every week helps do that effectively. Just like in weight training, there is a tendency to over burn your body if you don’t take any days off.

Some Safety Tips For Jogging

Make sure you carry your cell phone with you while jogging with ICE (in case of emergency) numbers stored in it. Take an ID card with you (like your driving license). Also carry some money in case you need to take a cab back due to some injury or exhaustion, or if you need to buy a sports drink or medication. You can get a “jogger’s belt” so that you can secure these objects in it without you having to carry it in your pockets.

A few more tips on safety while jogging are as below:

• Avoid running on tracks that are uninhabited, especially when it’s dark.
• It’s best not to respond to hecklers, and ignore them, but if they try to get close to you make sure you give them a strict warning, in a strident tone, to back off. There is a law against bullying, and eve teasing, and hence hecklers can be reported to the cops.
• Always wear bright (or white) upper garments or even reflective tracks when you are running with low visibility.
• Carry a bottle of water with you (at least a 500 ml one).
• Make sure your family/friends are aware of the time you go out for jogging, and the route that you frequent.
• Avoid wearing head phones while jogging on roads or crowded streets because you might miss hearing a warning from behind, or even miss out on a honk from a car. It’s best to be on full alert while running on roads, instead of being lost in music (of-course it’s totally okay to listen to music while running on a treadmill or running on an open beach).
• Trust your instincts while running, avoid a route if something inside you feels uncomfortable about it and don’t over-strain yourself before your body is ready for it.
• Stay in a positive mood and enjoy the run instead of looking at it as a “chore” to be completed. The more positive you are in your mind the more comfortable your running experience will be as a whole.

In Conclusion

The initial 2 or 3 weeks is usually the toughest for jogging beginners because this is the duration in which the body is getting adapted and the mind is getting acquainted with the routine. You might feel like giving up, or feel uncomfortable during this period, but just keep at it while also taking care not to over strain yourself. Within the first month your body will feel like a running machine and from there on its fitness will keep building more fitness, it becomes a positive cycle.

Hopefully you got some useful insights from this post; I would appreciate comments from you on your experience with jogging and how it has helped in your fitness journey.

So until then, happy jogging!

Jogging boosts lifespan up to six years, study shows

(Credit: istockphoto)

(CBS News) Are you a jogger? A new study suggests you might want to take it up as an activity.

The study found people who undertake regular jogging tack on an average of 6.2 years on a lifespan for a man, and 5.6 years for a woman.

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For the study - presented this week at theEuroPRevent2012 conference in Dublin, Ireland - Danish researchers reviewed data from the long-running Copenhagen City Heart Study that has tracked about 20,000 men and women between the ages of 20 to 93 since 1976.

The researchers identified 1,116 male joggers and 762 female joggers and compared them to non-joggers out of the remaining study pool. All participants were asked how often they jogged each week, and to rate their pace as either slow, average or fast.

The study found 10,158 deaths among the non-joggers enrolled in the City Heart Study and 122 deaths among the joggers. Further analysis showed male and female joggers were 44 percent less likely to die from any cause compared to their counterparts, in addition to the increases in life span the study found. And it didn't take a whole lot of jogging, the researchers said: Participants obtained the optimum benefits from jogging between one-hour and two-and-a-half hours a week, over two to three sessions, especially when performed at a slow or average pace

"We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity," study author Dr. Peter Schnohr, chief cardiologist of the Copenhagen City Heart Study, said in a written statement." The good news is that you don't actually need to do that much to reap the benefits."

The researchers say their study might clear up any debate on whether jogging could be too strenuous for middle-aged people. Schnor said jogging is tied to improved oxygen intake, raises HDL (good cholesterol), lowers triglycerides and blood pressure, improves heart function, immune function and bone density, prevents obesity, and makes people feel better psychologically.

What pace should joggers aim for?

Schnohr advised, "You should aim to feel a little breathless, but not very breathless."

THE DAILY JOGGERS

Jogging is a type of exercise that involved running at a slow pace, usually for an extended period of time. It is considered one of the most effective forms of aerobic exercise and is invaluable for maintaining overall health. However, jogging does come with a certain amount of risks, like many different types of cardiovascular workouts. Therefore, each individual should know their own limits.

Jogging is meant to increase endurance and, in many cases, is used as a way to build endurance in preparation for other types of sporting activities. Jogging is widely practiced in by nearly all types of professional athletes and is practiced to a lesser extent by many others. In some cases, athletes may prefer to jog as a competition in and of itself.

There are three main types of jogging competitions, mainly differentiated by the jogging surface. There are track competitions, cross country competitions and road competitions. The most famous of all jogging competitions is most likely the marathon, an extreme test of endurance where joggers run more than 26 miles (25 kilometers). Races on tracks and cross country can be over varying length, usually depending on age or skill level. Cross country is usually run over an uneven surface, such as grass or hard-packed dirt.

The key to jogging is not to max out the jogger's heart rate, but find the right amount of exercise that will result in a healthy heart rate. Often, this is 60 percent to 90 percent of the maximum, depending on the results desired. Maintaining a heart rate closer to 60 percent will achieve weight loss. Pushing the heart rate closer to 90 percent will build more muscle.

The maximum heart rate is normally calculated based on age. There are a number of Internet resources easily accessible that can help every individual find their maximum heart rate and target heart rates. Once they begin jogging, there are monitors that can keep track of heart rates or individuals can do it themselves by checking their own pulse.

Maintaining a heart rate more than 90 percent is not recommended. This is called pushing the heart into the red zone. Once this happens, the heart cannot pump oxygen into the blood fast enough to satisfy the body's requirements, which will eventually lead to a shut down of systems. While this is usually not a serious health concern, it can quickly cause a cessation of exercise activities, at least until the heart rate subsides. In the most serious cases, this can lead to cardiac arrest, which can be life threatening.

Those who plan on starting a jogging routine should, as with all exercises, first consult a doctor. Don't start too fast or push too hard. Those who go from very little physical activity to an extreme amount are more likely to fall victim to injury. Therefore, any exercise program should begin gradually, with activity increasing along with endurance