Friday, February 24, 2012

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Top Reasons to Start Running: From Feeling Your Best to Looking Your Best

Running Protects Your Heart

Runners have a much lower chance of developing heart disease or suffering a heart attack or stroke. This is because running is a cardiovascular exercise that efficiently pumps the blood through the body and gives strength to the heart. It also burns a lot of calories and enhances the metabolism, which allows more consumed calories to be burned for energy. This contributes to the next reason to start running on this list, but it also protects the heart.

Running Is Excellent for Weight Management

If you need to lose weight, running is definitely going to be a challenge. It is also going to be the best thing you ever do for your weight loss efforts. You can start out with doing run/walk intervals and gradually increase the periods of time that you are able to run. Do not worry about speed. A light jog is more than enough when you are getting started. You will find that consistent runs increase your calorie burn on a daily basis and thus make it much easier to lose weight without depriving yourself with food.

Running Is a Challenge worth Taking

Who says challenges have to be a bad thing? Many people find that the most motivating reason to start running is the fact that it is a challenge. If there were no challenge they would get bored and quit too easily. When there is something to strive for and you really have to push yourself, it isn’t as easy to get bored. Are you mentally strong enough to rise up to the challenge? Just start running slowly and you may surprise yourself how strong you actually are!

Running Is Excellent for Your Social Life

You can join a local running club or connect with other runners online to compare times and training schedules. When you sign up for races, you can spend entire weekends in the company of other athletes who see the value in running.

Running Is an Excuse to Spend Time Alone

Maybe you don’t want to improve your social life through running. Maybe for you the best reason to start running is having an excuse to spend time alone. Perhaps you spent time all alone before having children and settling down with someone special, but now that alone time is only in your dreams. You can make your dreams come by telling your family you are going for a run a few day s a week.

Running Will Lift Your Mood

Running will lift your spirits and release the happy hormone that puts a smile on your face. It is an excellent way to burn off stress and tension in the body, and gives you time to think through problems and relief mental stress. Others will find you more pleasant to be around once you adjust to going on runs and start to enjoy it. You may even start to depend on that run to keep your spirits up.

Running for Charity Can Save Lives

One way to remain motivated in your running schedule is to sign up for a race. You can start with a one mile race and then progress to a 5K, 10K, and eventually a half marathon and marathon if you are really ambitious. When you sign up for these races, your entry fees will benefit a charity you believe in. In some cases, you may even be able to fundraise for additional funds to benefit that charity. You could literally help save lives just by getting healthy and feeling better through running.

Running Gives You a Goal

You have something to strive for when you start running. You will find yourself competing with yourself in terms of distance, speed and race finish times. You will set new goals and challenge yourself to meet them. This means you are more likely to stay motivated in the long term, since you always have a new goal to strive toward.

Running Makes Everyday Life Easier

Imagine being able to get down on the ground and stand back up without struggling. Imagine leaning over and standing up straight without aches and snaps in your joints. Imagine slipping into the clothes you find attractive without worrying your fat rolls show too much. Simply imagine feeling better and looking better in every way. How much easier would your daily life become?

Wednesday, February 1, 2012