Reasons to run… or not… 🏃🏼♂️
Everybody runs…. don’t they? Well it often seems as though they do!
I often hear clients say they ‘really should start running’. There seems to be a bit of unspoken social pressure to run and enjoy it, and that it’s the ‘best’ exercise you can do, especially during lockdown. I thought it might be handy to remind you of a few reasons why you should run, and perhaps why you shouldn’t?
Reasons you should definitely run; first and foremost, because you enjoy it! If you love running and it’s your thing then that’s brilliant! Enjoy it! If you’re training for a specific event, triathlon, half marathon etc then you should definitely be running – you’re going to need to! It is extremely convenient; you can do it anywhere and don’t need anything but a pair of trainers, and you can tailor it to the length of time you have available. If you’re trying to catch a bus, get somewhere faster or escape zombies then yes please definitely run! 🤣
Reasons not to run though… I’m not going to say running is ‘bad’ for you, it isn’t when done properly, in moderation and combined with other strength based exercises (too much of any one thing can always be ‘bad’!). But just because ‘everybody’ is running doesn’t mean you need to, you really don’t need to feel like you ‘should’ run! There are tonnes of other things you can do to keep fit.
Running to lose weight is another bad reason. It’s food that counts not the exercise you do. You can’t out-exercise diet and if you run regularly you will quickly adapt to it, which is why running to ‘burn more calories’ is a common misconception. You can actually burn more cals overall by being generally active and walking etc. Exercise should be for health and well being, not to justify eating, so running to ‘allow’ you to eat more isn’t a good reason. You don’t need to ‘earn’ foods you enjoy. If you’re injured then it’s a definite no! Pounding the streets when you have an injury is a bad idea, seek physio advice instead. The most important reason not to run is if you don’t enjoy it! Exercise should be fun and if you’re going to stick to it then it needs to be. There are SO many fun ways to exercise – find yours!
If you do decide to run and are new to it then try using something like the couch to 5k app that will build up the running safely and gradually, and consider also including some other forms of exercise as well to keep you fit and injury free!
Enjoy!
🤗
Xx
Every Step Fitness 
All great reasons to consider running, especially since they provide actual motivation. To run provides people with a sense of joy, depending on how much they enjoy working out in the first place.
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Oh yes I totally agree! Though as you say I think that can be said for any form of exercise that people enjoy xxx
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There are a lot of misconceptions that people have about running. Many believe that running is a guaranteed solution to weight loss. But there are many other things that need to be considered. There is also a need to learn the difference between muscle mass and body mass.
Thank you very much for this article and for explaining different misconceptions, looking forward to having more such useful information in the future also.
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Ah you’re welcome! Thank you xx
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