How to lose weight quickly by running. Does running help you lose weight? Alternate between different types of workouts
Very popular lately healthy image life, so men and women try to maintain their weight at a normal level. Diets, exercise equipment, and intense physical activity often do not produce as effective a result as we would like. For example, after using any weight loss system, you can get rid of fat, but there is a risk that weak, untrained muscles will sag; visually this will look unsportsmanlike and unaesthetic. Meanwhile, regular running can be an effective way to tone muscle mass and lose weight.
What are the benefits of running?
First of all, the load is distributed evenly across all muscle groups without exception, metabolism is activated and fat is broken down. Regular jogging helps the body become more graceful, more prominent and slimmer without tiring exercise. gym. The blood is saturated with oxygen, blood vessels and heart muscle are strengthened, and bone tissue becomes stronger.
Most often, running is used by girls to lose weight; young people use it as a means of drying out muscles.
Sometimes “athletes”, devoting 20 minutes a day to running, wonder why, despite their efforts, the result is not felt, and overweight continue to remain in their places. It's not that simple; to lose weight, you need to follow a certain method.
Why can't I lose weight?
If you approach the matter mechanically, as if it were some not very pleasant duty, nothing will work out; this is the reason why most people very quickly become disillusioned with running and quit the activity. A person should experience positive emotions from morning or evening jogging and combine business with pleasure.
When running lightly at a relatively low speed, the muscles draw energy from glycogen produced by the liver. It lasts for more than half an hour of intensive training.
If the run was short in time, the body will very quickly use up glycogen, and during the first meal it will not be slow to replenish the missing reserves. Thus, the liver simply will not have time to get to fat, which is a source of energy, and the desired loss of excess weight will not occur.
How to lose weight from jogging
Weight will begin to go away when the body switches to fat as a source of energy and concentrates its attention on the area of fat deposits. A signal that positive dynamics have begun will be fatigue and intermittent breathing.
In order for fat to begin to go away, you need to run for at least 40 minutes, and preferably 60. Only then will your metabolism begin to stabilize and fats to break down. It is better to increase the speed and running time gradually so that the muscles get used to the load. You should not spend more than an hour jogging on the very first day, because the body, unprepared for such loads, will begin to take energy not from fat deposits, but from proteins, thus, it will not be the desired weight that will be lost, but the necessary one. muscle mass.
For those people who do not have a lot of time, as well as smokers and those with cardiovascular diseases, it is perfect interval running. This is a very serious load for the circulatory system and lungs, but the result will exceed all expectations.
What is interval running? This intensive training, including alternating maximum loads and rest.
For example, the first hundred meters is covered with quick steps, while muscles and ligaments warm up; the second is jogging, at which time breathing normalizes; third – running at maximum pace; fourth – the pace decreases. At the fourth hundred meters, breathing returns to normal, and there is a short rest. Then everything starts all over again.
During interval running training, enormous physiological changes occur in the human body. During sprinting, calories are consumed due to the breakdown of glycogen, and when walking, the liver reaches fats to replenish the missing supply of this substance. This is how the weight loss process begins.
Running quickly over short distances (sprinting) brings blood flow to the muscles. Due to this, fats are oxidized and release energy, which is stored in the body in the form of carbohydrates.
The training is very effective, after 20 minutes a person feels tired. In addition, fats are burned even after 6 hours after exercise, muscle mass is not lost.
Running technique
Even with normal walking there is a load on the spine, let alone running, when this load doubles. To minimize the possibility of injury, you should follow a certain running technique:
- Avoid sharply throwing your body up and landing your foot heavily on the running surface. You cannot swing your body to the sides. Such fluctuations occur due to the unprofessional placement of the feet; they should be on the same line; the entire “blow” is taken by the big toe.
- The biggest mistake beginner runners make: when moving forward, a person extends his lower leg earlier, therefore, the entire power of the impact falls on the straight leg. This is fraught with injury. What an experienced athlete does: straightens his leg smoothly and brings it forward.
- It is extremely important to monitor your posture. The body should be motionless, this will prevent spinal injuries. The arms should be bent in elbow joints, you should not clench your fingers into fists. The head should not be tilted back, as this will cause the stomach to protrude. You should also not lower yourself forward, as this makes breathing difficult.
It is equally important to choose the step length. It should not be too narrow or wide.
You should know it
- It is better to start running in the warm season, for example, in the spring, since in winter the risk of getting a cold increases significantly.
- Morning jogging is beneficial for people suffering from nervous and of cardio-vascular system. You need to go for a run about an hour before breakfast.
- Running during the day helps strengthen muscles, and in the evening it is most effective for losing weight and burning excess fat.
- It is advisable to alternate running with a jump rope; by the way, you can take it for a run, and if you take a player with your favorite music with you, then an ordinary process will turn into a pleasant walk.
- It is better to choose clothes for running from natural textures; it is better to exclude synthetic fabrics. A tracksuit should be comfortable, and, of course, stylish and attractive. Running in a bright, cute T-shirt and fashionable trousers is much more pleasant than in old, stretched out sweatpants.
- Preference should be given not to sneakers, but to sneakers, because it is possible that you will have to run on asphalt.
- For the summer, it is better for girls to purchase special shorts, since in them the body loses weight much more, thereby removing excess fluid from the body. Shorts help fight cellulite.
- For men and women, the running program is practically the same, but for older and young people it can differ significantly. When drawing up a program, you should take into account not only the age, but also the state of health of the person and his work schedule. Elderly people should avoid interval running.
Who shouldn't run
Running has contraindications:
- Overweight. It's about excessive heavy weight, as there is a load on the lower limbs.
- High blood pressure.
- Serious heart problems.
- Varicose veins
- Chronic bronchitis and asthma.
- Presence of infectious diseases.
- Vision problems.
- Chronic diseases of internal organs.
- Spinal diseases.
Is it possible to lose weight by running? The answer, of course, will be yes. Not only to lose weight, but also to build up muscles without exercise equipment, make them fit and athletic. The main thing is to run systematically and not be lazy. Over time, you will learn to benefit from monotonous tedious activities and lose weight with pleasure. But you shouldn’t hope that running is a panacea. Only in combination with a balanced diet will it be effective.
Video: how to run to lose weight
If you want to start running to lose weight, you need to follow certain rules.
While running, the body spends a large number of energy. At the same time, metabolism is normalized, calories are burned, metabolism is accelerated, and the functioning of the digestive system is improved. In addition, all the muscles of the body are strengthened, the circulatory system is saturated with oxygen, cholesterol levels in the blood are reduced, and the functioning of the cardiovascular system is improved.
It's no secret that running is one of the simplest and most accessible methods of losing weight. At the same time, I often hear from those who want to lose weight that they run regularly, but do not lose weight. The thing is that running for weight loss has many nuances that need to be taken into account in order to get the desired effect.
So, let's figure out how and how much to run to lose weight.
7 rules of running for weight loss
1. Run for more than 40 minutes
For the first 40 minutes of running, the body runs on carbohydrates (glycogen is a complex carbohydrate that is stored in liver and muscle cells). And only then does the transition to the fat burning stage occur. That is, to lose weight, you need to run for at least 50 minutes at an average pace. Perhaps this is the first thing you need to know on this topic. Therefore, if you are a beginner, you are unlikely to be able to complete 40 minutes right away. For beginners, all experts recommend alternating slow running and brisk walking.
For a trained runner, the ideal method of losing weight would be a long cross-country run lasting at least an hour, at a monotonous speed, with a heart rate no higher than 150 beats per minute, which corresponds to running at low intensity.
2. Eat right
I often hear the phrase: “You runners, even if you eat a whole cake, then everything will burn during training.” Unfortunately, it is not. To reduce the unfortunate fat mass, you need to expend more energy than you consumed. This means that any amount of physical activity works for the benefit of fat burning only in combination with proper nutrition.
3. Be sure to eat after your workout.
Another misconception is that if you fast after a workout, you can burn more calories. If you want to use running to lose weight, don't starve yourself. The word "diet" does not always mean fasting, sports diet- This correct set products, their combination and quantity, as well as avoiding junk food: fast food, soda, chips, mayonnaise, flour, sugar, overcooked food, snacks on the go, etc. Include a variety of cereals, fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet . Drink more clean water, at least 2 liters per day.
4. Exercise regularly
A light jog once a week will be pleasant, but in terms of weight loss it will be useless. In order to get rid of extra pounds, run at least three times a week. Ideally, go for a run every day. Winter, rain, wind - this is not a reason to cancel training. Now on the sports goods market there is a huge amount of equipment that allows you to train in any weather.
5. Alternate between different types of training
Long cross interval training high intensity (for a trained runner), trail running, strength exercises from basic general physical fitness complex– There are many ways to diversify your workouts. For example, .
6. Enjoy your workouts
Only by enjoying what you do can you quickly achieve results. If every run is a psychological and physical torment for you, then the body will very soon begin to resist this stress, as a result, injuries, depression and invincible laziness are possible. Favorite music on headphones and bright, fashionable clothing usually help to cope with this. From personal observations, I can note that many girls sometimes go out to train precisely because they want to show off their new beautiful running equipment. Why don't you find motivation?
7. Be patient
Having decided to start running to lose weight, you must clearly understand that without harm to your health, the process of getting rid of extra pounds takes at least three months. For everyone, this period is individual and depends on many factors: the amount of extra pounds, metabolic rate, number of workouts per week, absorption of nutrients in the body, metabolic disorders, desire (or unwillingness) to adhere to a diet.
How to run to lose weight
– During the first 40 minutes, the body burns glycogen. Thus, the first 40-45 minutes of running will become a “warm-up” for those who want to lose weight, and fat will begin to burn in the next 10-20 minutes. Run for an hour at a comfortable pace, neither too fast nor too slow.
– Don’t forget about recovery. You cannot make progress without rest, the muscles must recover. There must be at least one rest day per week. Don't do more than two high intensity training in Week. Dedicate at least 50% of your training to long cross-country runs (at least 60 minutes).
– Run on rough terrain for 50 to 90 minutes. Such running requires sufficient physical training. It combines a steady cross-country run at a lower heart rate with uphill intervals at an increased heart rate. This burns a large number of calories. This technique will give a more noticeable result; the weight lost can be 30-40% more than when running at the stadium. But not suitable for beginners.
– Watch your breathing, do not close your mouth while running, as you do while walking. Try to breathe through your mouth and nose at the same time: this way you can capture more oxygen with each breath, supplying it to muscles that will work longer without acidification. , we have already talked about in one of our articles.
- Monitor your pulse. Aerobic exercise stress will be effective only if the pulse is within the target zone. To calculate, subtract your age from 220. The pulse during training should be no more than 80-90% of this value. The pulse during a long cross-country race should never exceed 170 beats/min. If you see on yours sports watches If your heart rate has already risen above 160, reduce your speed.
– Choose the right shoes. It is especially important for overweight runners to use shoes with increased cushioning. This is extremely important for joint integrity. If you are obese, then don't even try to run like professional athletes from the forefoot. Land on your midfoot and choose a park or stadium track for your workouts.
Contraindications to running for weight loss
Before you start running to lose weight, take the time to visit a general practitioner to find out if you have any contraindications. Overweight people tend to have more contraindications than others. It is forbidden to run for people with heart disease, hypertension, bronchial asthma, peptic ulcer. It is necessary to temporarily stop exercising after abdominal surgery. It is not recommended to run a lot for people with degrees 2 or more. varicose veins veins
At one time I did not avoid this mistake. My training was like two peas in a pod: the usual 10 laps around the stadium every day.
When we do the same thing every day, the body adapts and begins to spend fewer calories on the usual exercise. From a survival point of view, this is very good, but for weight loss it is not at all cool. Each workout makes it a little easier to run the same distance. Even if you still sweat and feel tension in your legs, your metabolism slows down.
This is such a meanness: you spent so much willpower to pull yourself out for a run, but you burned one and a half times fewer calories than a week ago.
Study Concurrent training: a meta-analysis examining interference of aerobic and resistance exercises, conducted at the University of Tampa, showed: the same running training, for example, exercising on a treadmill for 45 minutes at the same pace, without intervals and maximum accelerations, helps to reduce weight only for the first time. People lose a few pounds in the first month of training, but then the weight plateaus. Why is this happening? Within a week, the body has adapted to the stress, and now it does not need to strain to such an extent to burn fat.
E'Lisa Campbell/Flickr.com
That's why power training are considered more effective for weight loss than running at an average pace. Lifting weights whips up your muscles, causing micro-tears in your muscles. The recovery process requires energy, which means you burn more calories not only during the workout, but also for a day or two after it.
In other words, strength training and cardio training have different mechanisms for burning calories.
With cardio, everything is simple: you can run for 30 minutes at an easy pace and burn 200 kcal, or not exercise, but eat 200 kcal less. The effect will be the same.
With strength training (or with sprints, but more on that in the next paragraph) everything is different. Calories are burned not only during exercise, but also after it.
2. You run longer, but not faster.
In any type of activity great importance has intensity. As a rule, new runners choose a pace that they can maintain for a long time.
This is great for endurance, but not great for weight loss. During the study Physical Activity and Weight Gain Prevention, the results of which were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed the fitness habits of more than 34,000 women. It was found that to maintain (not lose!) weight, they use an hour of moderate exercise per day - that's about 5 kilometers of walking.
Instead of training for a certain time, challenge yourself to reach the desired level of difficulty. Let's say the third difficulty level on a treadmill is a four on a scale of one to ten. What happens if you go to an eight or nine on this scale for very a short time? The answer is obvious: you will lose more weight.
In the process of research Run sprint interval training improves aerobic performance but not maximal cardiac output, conducted at the University of Western Ontario, compared short intense exercise with longer, but less heavy cardio loads. One group of subjects performed six 30-second sprints, the other did moderate-intensity cardio exercises for 30–60 minutes.
The results were astonishing: the sprinters burned twice as much fat despite training for much less time.
In terms of its effect on the body, sprinting can be compared to strength training. Your body needs to replenish ATP reserves, convert lactic acid into glucose, and after heavy exercise, restore hormone levels in the blood. All these processes force the body to work harder and burn more fat, which does not happen during quiet aerobic exercise.
3. You focus too much on calories.
The calorie counter is the real enemy of a losing weight person. It causes you to misjudge the impact of training on the amount of energy expended.
You are mistaken in thinking that you mainly burn calories during training. A huge amount of them is spent simply on maintaining life: sleeping, standing, eating, thinking. What you spent in the gym simply pales in comparison with the energy costs of normal daily activity that has nothing to do with sports.
Therefore, it is not important how many calories appear on the monitor of a cardio machine, but how your workout will affect the expenditure of calories in everyday life.
Running simply burns calories, while sprinting or strength training increases muscle size. And the larger your muscles, the more calories your body needs to maintain them.
4. You don't try other types of cardio.
If you love long endurance runs and want to use them to lose weight, I have bad news. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research found that running at a relaxed pace on long distances reduces muscle strength and slows down their growth. To verify this, just look at the figures of marathon runners.
Peter Mooney/Flickr.com Researchers from Stephen F. Austin University say that even if you run at high intensity and inclined surface, cycling is still more effective for building muscle and burning fat.
However, it cannot be said that running is useless for losing weight and has no benefits at all. Just if you want to lose weight faster, that is, more effective workouts. Choose cycling (especially high-intensity cycling) rather than going for a long, leisurely run or leisurely walk.
5. You run too much
Maybe the number on the scale isn't changing because you're running too much? We are talking about really serious loads when the body simply does not have time to recover after training.
Exercise improves health, but it also puts stress on our bodies. If you exercise too much, it affects your hormonal levels, and hormones play important role in weight gain and loss.
During exercise, cortisol levels increase. There's nothing wrong with this, but when combined with chronic stress, this hormone can cause insulin resistance and cause your body to retain fat despite your best efforts.
Study Overtraining, Exercise, and Adrenal Insufficiency, published in the journal Hormone Research, found that long-distance running increases cortisol levels over the long term. This can cause inflammation and slow recovery, destroy muscle tissue, increase the amount of fat and reduce immunity.
If you suffer from long-term stress, it doesn’t matter if it’s caused by too much long workouts or lack good nutrition necessary for recovery - it harms thyroid gland and slows down your metabolism, making it much more difficult to lose weight.
Bottom line
So, if you start running an hour a day and the weight isn't coming off, try reducing the amount of cardio, replacing jogging at a leisurely pace with sprinting, and adding strength training. Most likely, a pleasant surprise awaits you.
Running is an effective tool for losing weight. It is recognized, according to experts, as one of the most effective means for losing weight.
Running helps strengthen the cardiovascular activity of the body, build muscular system and improving immunity. Therefore, this sport is very useful for those who want to lose extra pounds and lead an active, healthy lifestyle. However, to achieve the desired result, you need to follow some rules and competently build the training process.
How does running help you lose weight?
Running affects all muscle groups. Therefore, when running, metabolic processes in the body accelerate, the heart rate increases and energy consumption increases. As you know, the main sources of energy in the body are fats and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are glycogen located directly in the muscles, while fat is stored under the skin and around internal organs.
When a person starts running, he first of all uses up glycogen. It is the depletion of its reserves that causes weakness and fatigue. As soon as the reserves of this substance are depleted, it becomes active as a fuel. subcutaneous fat. Thus, while running, a person expends the maximum amount of energy, which promotes active fat burning. Therefore, people who regularly jog have the opportunity to lose weight and maintain their physical shape.
How to run to lose weight?
- Effective running is running with a load that does not overwork the body. Each person's resources are individual, and you must determine your capabilities in playing this sport.
Start jogging in doses of 3-5 minutes, gradually increasing the interval to 10-15 minutes. Constantly monitor your pulse, breathing and general well-being. Do not try to immediately start long-distance jogging; remember that the main thing is gradual movement towards a given goal.
- It is best to run 2-3 times a week, mainly in the morning. The fact is that morning jogging not only give tangible results, but also charge you with energy and good mood for the whole day. The frequency of training should not be daily for the first three weeks. In the future, the regularity of classes is determined by your desire and well-being.
- The most favorable place for jogging is the park. Running on rough terrain is much more effective for losing weight than jogging on a flat surface. But if you don’t have the opportunity to exercise in the park, run in a specially equipped stadium. Running on asphalt is not recommended, as the asphalt surface causes various damage and overload of the knee joints.
- Now let's talk about technology. Many people mistakenly believe that to lose weight it is enough to just run, without thinking about the speed and rhythm of running. But the body quickly adapts to steady and slow jogging, which means it stops actively spending energy. Your task is to stimulate him to actively burn fat. This can be achieved by changing your running form, speed and rhythm. You can combine jogging and running with high knees alternately, short and long steps and speed running. Alternate different kinds run, remembering to change the speed and maintain the set duration of runs.
- To lose weight, you need to do a warm-up before jogging. Warm-up acts as a “launch” for the body, which it needs for further work. During it, he “awakens”, replenishes his resources and prepares for the main load. If you don't warm up, you'll spend the first 10-15 minutes trying to “wake up” your body.
This will lead to a decrease in the desired result.
Running will definitely help you achieve your cherished goal. Follow the above tips and maintain regular exercise, and then within a few months you will see the first changes in your figure.It is worth remembering that overweight often indicates the presence of chronic diseases. Therefore, if the problem of excess weight weighs heavily on you and does not change significantly over a long time, be sure to consult your doctor.
In the mornings, in almost any park in the United States you can find many people going for a run. This is a great attitude for a country where so many people are obese! However, running is becoming a fashionable sport around the world. Firstly, it really burns fat, especially on the stomach and hips, secondly, you don’t have to pay for it and, thirdly, it really improves your well-being and overall vitality.
Is it possible to lose weight by running?
You are still asking the question: “If you run in the morning, will you lose weight or not?”, and many people have already successfully lost many kilograms this way. Of course, running also has its secrets that allow you to lose weight faster. However, running itself, like any type of active physical activity, allows you to burn calories very effectively, which in itself means losing weight.
The problem is that many people expect results after the first run. Or after a week, during which you ran only 2 times for ten minutes. Of course, you won’t be able to lose weight this way! Running should be regular, at least 3-4 times a week, and not for 10 minutes, but at least 30. Let’s look at why this is so.
How much weight can you lose by running?
Let's start with the fact that for people who are not just overweight, but obese, running is generally contraindicated. But everyone else who has no contraindications, combining running with more or less healthy food, can effectively lose weight as much as they want - the only question is the timing. Like any healthy weight loss, running assumes a pace of 4-5 kg per month. And if you add proper nutrition, the effect can double.
The main thing that running gives is the burning of fat mass, which unsightly frames the figure. With regular jogging, within two weeks you will notice how your body begins to change!
How much should you run to lose weight?
In fact, the question of how much you need to run to lose weight is decided individually in each case. But a simple law applies to everyone.
During aerobic exercise - and running is just such an exercise - for the first 20 minutes the body uses the energy it receives from food, and only after that does it begin to consume those reserves that have been accumulated in the form of fat deposits. Thus, a run of less than 20 minutes does not burn fat at all - it only uses up calories obtained from food. To get rid of an unsightly fold on your stomach, tighten your thighs and get beautiful buttocks, you need to run for at least 35-40 minutes at a time!
But how long to run to lose weight - a month, two or three - depends on how much you have neglected your body. If you need to lose less than five kilograms, you can do it in just 4-5 weeks.
What's the best way to run to lose weight?
The question of how to run to lose weight should be approached comprehensively. The general list of recommendations will look like this:
Subject to compliance proper nutrition and stopping overeating, you will quickly bring your weight back to normal.
