Is Jogging Really Effective For Weight Loss?

Weight loss will be followed by fatigue and constant tiredness.

However, a large number of people run through the desire to lose weight. Some are enough for a month, others run a marathon and others run their whole lives, sometimes wanting to lose weight. This is great because wellness running also improves metabolism and cardiovascular function.

I was interested:

• How effective is running for weight loss?
• Which running workouts burn the most calories?
• What normal processes are behind this?
• What does the research say about this?

And since I have been running for several years and I have noticed some changes in my weight and appearance, I will share my experience.

Running as a way to lose weight is surrounded by many myths. The fact is that not everyone loses weight by running. Or lose weight, but not just by running. The issue of weight loss is more complicated than it seems at first glance.

Needless to say, the benefits of running?

In addition to the obvious benefits (which include large muscle groups, improved cardiovascular function, metabolism. There is a separate article on the benefits of running), it is worth mentioning at least one study. More than 55 thousand people participated in it for 15 years.

What conclusion did the authors of the study come to?

• the risk of death from any cause in people who run regularly is reduced by 30%
• the risk of death from cardiovascular disease is reduced by 45%
• life expectancy increases by an average of 3 years

And the fact that running does not require additional equipment, expensive equipment and high cost makes it one of the most popular sports in the world. If you can afford even a cheap pair of running shoes, do it.

Weight loss factors

No matter what sport you play, there are factors that directly affect how fast and intensely you lose weight.

Between them:

• Age. . . The older the person, the less work is recommended and, therefore, the result will be less important. In addition, the muscles shrink and become weaker with age.
• Body composition. . . If you have more muscle mass than fat, you will burn more calories while running.
• Training intensity. . . Literally everything matters: activity, frequency, rhythm, distance, etc.
• Floor.Men burn calories faster than women. The University of Copenhagen, along with eight other institutes, conducted a study in which 2, 500 people with diabetes and obesity followed a strict calorie-controlled diet for eight weeks. By staying in exactly the same conditions, men have lost more extra pounds than women.
• General daily activity. . . Even a 10 minute charge is effective if you are sedentary.
• The weight. . . The more weight, the more calories will be burned in the beginning.

The main and unshakable formula for losing weight is to spend more calories than you consume.

How much can you reset to one run?

Firstly, it is worth clarifying: is it running on a treadmill or, for example, on a road or a stadium?

It may seem that there are no differences, but it is not. Functionally, the load changes little, but the mechanics are completely different. When running on asphalt, it is necessary to push hard from the surface, while the track, due to the constantly moving belt, pulls your foot back and spends less physical effort.

In addition, the treadmill significantly shortens the step and impedes movement.

Why not trust the lost calories displayed on the machine screen? It takes into account the speed and duration of training, as well as the average data about the runner, which often have nothing to do with reality. In addition, the machine tends to overestimate the numbers in order to motivate them to continue exercising.

For an hour on a treadmill, working at a rate of 10-12 km / h, you can lose 550-750 calories. It all depends on the inclination, the running rhythm, the heart rate, the body temperature, etc.

1 kg of fat = about 7. 500-8250 calories

There are many measurements to consider when running outdoors. For example, a report from Harvard University showed that a 30-minute workout for people with different intensities and different weights gives different results:

• A man who weighs 70 kg. can burn 370 calories in half an hour while running at a rate of 6: 12 / km. And a man who weighs 56 kg. at the same time and at the same rate, it loses 300 calories.
• A man who weighs 70 kg. can burn 539 calories in half an hour running at a rate of 4: 20 / km. And a man weighing 56 kg. at the same time and at the same rate, it loses 435 calories.

When you run slowly, calories are consumed mainly by fat. At a rapid rate, muscle and liver glycogen stores become a source of calories. By the way, after training they still "burn" (EPOC -effect, about that - below).

Compared to other sports, the indicators are on average the following:

Activity	Calories are burned in 30 minutes
Swimming (free) at an active pace	370
Running at a speed of 8 km / h (6: 12 / km)	300
beach volleyball	297
Cycling at a speed of 20 km / h	295
Roller skating	260
Type of exercise	240
Basketball	220
Playing badminton	167

How many days a week do you need to run to lose weight?

If you are just starting out on the treadmill, then you should not aim to run every day or run for an hour at all.

Your training plan should be gradual. Start by alternating brisk walking and jogging. A normal running pace is one at which you can talk. It will be difficult at first, so you can take a step if necessary.

Start with the fact that training should be at least 3 in 7 days. There should be enough time for the body to have time to shed the excess and recover.

Once you're done, you can do different types of workouts to pump your body more flexibly and burn calories more efficiently. However, remember that basic training will keep your body healthy and minimize the chances of injury.

High-intensity running training

A meta-study found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) burns an average of 30% more fat than other types of exercise.

Thus, HIIT training is a more effective way to reduce body fat. High-intensity running training includes break running and fartlek.

Intense exercise creates excessive oxygen consumption after exercise, the so-called oxygen debt effect.EPOC (Excessive Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption). . . This promotes the oxidation of fats in a shorter period of time and causes the so-called "post-combustion effect". In addition, the body produces more adrenaline and growth hormone (according to one study, up to 450%) within 24 hours of the end of HIIT.

In addition to weight loss, this type of cardio has many other benefits:

• improved durability
• blood sugar control
• muscle strengthening
• strengthening the immune system
• stress relief and stress etc.

However, with all the advantages, interval training has a number of contraindications, as there is an active load on the cardiovascular system.(CCC). Before starting this type of run, you should make sure that you do not have any contraindications from CCC.

What time of day is best to train to lose weight?

According to recent studies, people who exercise in the morning perform better than those who exercise at night. During the experiment, the scientists divided 48 women into two groups: the former engaged in aerobic exercise in the morning for six weeks, the latter preferred to exercise in the evening. During the set period, they recorded each meal. As a result, they concluded that exercising in the morning helped to reduce the amount of high-calorie food intake during the day, which allowed them to lose more weight.

Other studies have shown that exercising on an empty stomach before breakfast burns more fat than exercising after eating.However, if you are running on an empty stomach, it is worth following a shorter and easier route as your body may not be ready for it.

There is a great deal of controversy over which time is most effective. It is believed that our physical performance increases when the body reaches the maximum temperature for the day. For most people, this is between 4: 00 pm and 5: 00 pm, although some experts extend this time until 7: 00 pm.

A possible monthly training program for beginners

Before you can show results, especially if you have been sedentary in the past, you need to prepare your body and speed up your metabolism.

Please note thatonly a personal trainer can choose the optimal training regime for you, as when choosing a plan, your goals and body condition will be taken into account.

The design is designed to immerse you in your workouts as smoothly as possible. This is achieved by alternating walking and running:

Week 1	Monday - Walk for 20 minutes Tuesday - rest or do cardio for 20 minutes (swimming, cycling) Wednesday - walk at a brisk pace for 20 minutes Thursday - rest Friday - alternating fast step (4 minutes) and running (1 minute) 4 times Saturday - rest Sunday - Walk briskly for 20 minutes
2 weeks	Monday - alternating 5 times fast step (4 minutes) and running (1 minute) Tuesday - rest Wednesday - alternating fast step (3 minutes) and intense jogging (1 minute) 6 times Thursday - rest Friday - repeat 7 times alternating fast step (3 minutes) and running (1 minute) Saturday - 20 minutes brisk walk or bike ride up to 30 minutes Sunday - rest
3 weeks	Monday - repeat 7 times alternating fast step (3 minutes) and running (1 minute) Tuesday - rest Wednesday - alternating 9 times fast step (1 minute) and jogging (2 minutes) Thursday - rest or bike for 30 minutes Friday - repeat 7 times alternating fast step (3 minutes) and running (1 minute) Saturday - active walk for 25 minutes Sunday - rest
4 weeks	Monday - alternating 6 times fast steps for 1 minute and jogging for 4 minutes Tuesday - rest or swimming / cycling (30 minutes) Wednesday - Toggle 5 minutes fast pace, jog for 20 minutes and finish with 5 more minutes of fast pace Thursday - rest Friday - continuous running for 25 minutes Saturday - cycling or brisk walking for 30 minutes Sunday - rest

A flexible training program for beginners. There are hundreds of similar designs on the internet

As you progress into the second month of your training program, gradually increase your jogging time, keeping walking intervals to a minimum. When a 30 minute run is normal for you, you can add 4 days to a full load.

It is important to monitor your heart rate.

The fat-burning heart rate zone is considered to be 50-70% of the maximum heart rate. It is calculated according to the age of the person.Very mediocrethis is about 115-130 beats for the age of 30 or 110-125 beats for the age of 40. You can measure accurate heart rate zones using special functional diagnostics. This will help you train more effectively.

When you run in the fat burning zone, your body learns to burn fat as efficiently as possible. However, you should not expect that running in this zone will result in greater weight loss: due to the low intensity, fewer calories are burned than when running in a high intensity zone.

What helps maintain the result?

To track your progress and get an idea of your heart rate during your workout, you can not do without assistive devices:

• Fitness bracelets.In conjunction with your phone, they help you keep track of your steps, mileage and track your speed and time. On most fitness bracelets, the heart rate monitor only works accurately in quiet and low-stress areas. I can not say that this applies to all fitness bracelets, some do a good job with this project.
• Sports watch.Since most sports watches have a built-in GPS sensor, you do not even need to run with your phone. Sports brand watches (and the Apple Watch) tend to have a relatively accurate heart rate monitor, but they are not as expensive as chest straps. The accuracy of the heart rate monitor depends on the model and technology used to apply it, so it is best to review the reviews of a particular gadget in advance.
• Heart rate monitors in the chest.The most accurate heart rate measurements.

Why do I run but not lose weight?

There can be many reasons:

1. Wrong motive.Very often you can hear from people running to work with a burger they have eaten or cutting circles on the field to win a chocolate at night. This weight loss option is utopian; food should not be a goal or a reward. Learn to relate the calories consumed and consumed and eat well. If you run for an hour a day, but eat 500 more calories a day, you should not count on losing weight.
2. Weight control.A safe and reasonable weight loss rate is up to 1 kg per week. If you run regularly and do strength training at the same time, then keep in mind that at the same time as losing weight, muscles are building. In this case, it is more advisable not to look at the scales arrows, but to measure your body regularly (waist, hips, leg circumference, arms, etc. ). This method of tracking progress would be more revealing.
3. Getting used to the loads. . . For the first few weeks, you could see the effect, but then it became less intense. Why; Because the body was initially stressed and actively used proteins and carbohydrates to replenish energy reserves and building materials for muscle recovery. Over time, the body adjusted to the stress and stopped perceiving it as irritating. In this case, switching between different types of training is enough: run on uneven ground, find other routes, combine the pace, add strength loads, etc.
4. Hard diet.It seems that the less you eat, the more you lose weight. In fact, things are a little different. Severe malnutrition puts the body under stress, begins to accumulate if possible, and retains water to repair damaged muscle fibers and deliver glycogen to working muscles. As a result, it often leads to emotional damage and overeating.

5 myths about running

Stretch before running

Surely, each of us has heard that before you run you need to stretch and warm up your muscles. You will be surprised, but scientists do not have a consensus on this score. Rather, they agree that the benefit can only be from the dynamic stretching (falls, bends, swinging legs and arms, etc. ).

What is wrong with the static shape of the stretch?

• A 2013 study found that it can reduce productivity, not increase it.
• Another study by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons found that stretching before running did not prevent injuries.

And another recent study found that static stretching can affect muscle performance for up to 24 hours.

Static stretching refers to exercises such as a fold or a butterfly, when it is necessary to freeze in one position for 15-60 seconds at the time of maximum muscle elongation.

But warming up your joints will definitely not hurt you.

The more workouts the better

There is a common mistake among novice runners - the desire to increase the pace and volume of loads as quickly as possible. In the first days, excitement and motivation prevail and it seems that running 2-3 kilometers is too little and it is a shame. Better just 10 and up the hill. As a result, the body is exposed to stress, has no time to recover and athletic performance declines before it occurs.

This results in prolonged cessation of training, general loss of strength and exhaustion. Occasionally there may be muscle swelling or weakness, which in most cases is a symptom of overtraining. As a result, it leads to "emotional" overeating, and sometimes injuries, which completely discourage the urge to run again.

Be patient and think long term, do not drain your body. Even with the most intense workouts, you will not lose weight in 2 weeks. The process must be approached systematically and the load must be divided into stages.

Runners do not need strength training

There are many studies examining the effects of strength training on running performance. One of them is dedicated to sprinting. It states that power, power and speed are inherently related to each other, since they are all the result of the same operating systems.

Strength training significantly improves endurance and running performance. For example, the gluteus maximus is believed to be the most important contributor to maximum speed while running. Needless to say, it must be pumped without failure? Running alone can not do that.

In addition, the stronger the muscles, the more elastic and resilient the body will be as you run.

Dress warmly to lose more

A big misconception for beginner runners who want to lose those extra pounds. Some girls even wrap themselves in foil clothes to achieve the maximum result in their opinion.

Why is this method ineffective? Because sweating has nothing to do with weight loss. With the help of sweat, the body cools down, removes fluids and toxins. Extra clothes interfere with cooling, which can lead to overheating and even loss of consciousness.

Running with weights will definitely help you lose weight

This is not the best method for beginners. Running on its own is a powerful burden on the body, if before it there was a sedentary lifestyle. And being overweight is already a weighting factor.

Typically, this method is used by experienced athletes to develop speed capabilities. Heavy long distances can increase the risk of injury to an inexperienced runner.

Running and increased appetite

As your body learns to adapt to the new shape and exercise, you burn fewer calories. Also, when weight is lost, the body needs less energy to function. Thus, the basic metabolism (the energy that the body burns at rest) actually begins to decrease.

It is believed that running at a moderate pace increases appetite, especially for beginner runners. The body wants to return to its previous mass and produces more intense hormones that make you hungry. But several studies have found that running at high intensity has the opposite effect - it suppresses ghrelin (hunger hormone) levels and reduces appetite.

By myself, I can say that I have never won as much as when I was preparing for a marathon. My maximum monthly run was just over 200 miles and I ate so much that I could not believe I was fit. There was no goal for weight loss, but the appetite was strong.

Can you lose weight just by running?

It is possible, but for this several conditions must be met: proper nutrition, alternation of loads, their gradual increase. If you want to lose weight by doing regular but short workouts (for example, 20 minutes a day) at the same pace, then this is unlikely to bring you closer to the desired goal. Much depends on the initial parameters.

You can achieve the result by running either for a long time or intensively. Ideally, for weight loss, you should alternate between workouts with slow and long runs. This will prevent the body from adapting to the stress level. Why is it important? Because you can deal with a phenomenon that physiologists call the plateau state, when the physical condition and the weight stabilize and it becomes very difficult to move them off the ground. We need to "surprise" the body and try unusual loads that become irritating to it. New approaches also help avoid the exhaustion that can result from such a routine.

You can achieve what you want faster by combining aerobic and anaerobic loads (cardio and strength). But do not forget the side (and in fact - the main) result of the run. Along with losing extra calories, you will have tremendous benefits to the body as a whole.