Losing weight is not really "my" topic because of my tendency to lose weight, and I am constantly trying to build shape rather than lose extra pounds.
However, a large number of people are fleeing through the desire to lose weight. Some are enough for a month, others run a marathon, and still others have run their whole lives, once wanted to lose weight. This is great because ongoing wellness also improves metabolism and cardiovascular function.
It became interesting to me:
- How effective is running for weight loss?
- Which running workout burns the most calories?
- What physiological processes are behind this?
- What does the research say about this?
And since I have been running for several years now and have noticed some changes in weight and my appearance, I want to share my experience.
Running as a way to lose weight is shrouded in a lot of 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 complex than it seems at first glance.
Needless to say, the benefits of running?
In addition to the obvious benefits (involving large muscle groups, improving the function of the cardiovascular system, metabolism, which 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 in 15 years.
What conclusion did the authors of the study come to?
- the risk of dying 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 need extra equipment, expensive equipment and high cost makes it one of the most popular sports in the world. If you can afford even a pair of cheap running shoes, you're up and running.
Weight loss factors
No matter what sport you play, there are factors that directly affect how quickly and intensely you lose weight.
Among 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 burn more calories while running;
- Training intensity. . . Literally means everything: activity, frequency, tempo, distance, etc.
- Floor.Men burn calories faster than women. The University of Copenhagen, together with eight other institutes, conducted a study in which 2, 500 people with diabetes and obesity were given a strict eight-week calorie-controlled diet. Under 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 most important and unshakable formula for losing weight is to consume more calories than you consume.
How much can you reset in a race?
First of all, it is worth clarifying: is it about running on a treadmill or, for example, on a street or a stadium?
It may seem that there are no differences, but it is not. Functionally, the load changes a little, but the mechanics are completely different. When driving on asphalt, it is necessary to push off intensely from the surface, while the track, due to the continuously moving belt, pulls your leg back and you use less physical exertion.
In addition, the treadmill significantly shortens the crotch and prevents movement.
Why not rely on the lost calories shown on the machine's display? It takes into account the speed and duration of the training as well as the average data about the runner, which often has little to do with reality. In addition, the machine tends to overestimate the numbers to motivate them to continue training.
In one hour on a treadmill working at a pace of 10-12 km / h, you can lose 550-750 calories. It all depends on inclination, running pace, heart rate, 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 weighing 70 kg. can burn 370 calories in half an hour while driving at a pace of 6: 12 / km. And a man who weighs 56 kg. at the same time and at the same rate he loses 300 calories.
- A man weighing 70 kg. can burn 539 calories in a half hour run at a pace of 4: 20 / km. And a man who weighs 56 kg. at the same time and at the same rate, it loses 435 calories.
When you run slowly, calories are consumed primarily from fat. At an intense pace, muscle and liver glycogen stores become a source of calories. After training, "by the way, they still burn out" (EPOC effect, if that - including).
Compared to other sports, the indicators on average are as follows:
| Activity | Calorie burning in 30 minutes |
| Swimming (freestyle) at an active pace | 370 |
| Running at a speed of 8 km / h (6: 12 / km) | 300 |
| Beach Volleyball | 297 |
| Bicycles with 20 km / h | 295 |
| Roller skates | 260 |
| Aerobics | 240 |
| Basketball | 220 |
| Playing badminton | 167 |
How many days a week do you have to run to lose weight?
If you have just started running, then you should not set yourself the goal of running every day or running for an hour in every way.
Your training plan should be gradual. Start by switching between brisk walking and slow running. A normal running pace is a pace where you can talk. It will be difficult at first so you can go to a step if necessary.
Start with training for at least 3 in 7 days. There should be enough time for the body to dump excess and recover.
Once you get the hang of it, you can do different forms of running training to pump your body more versatile and burn calories more efficiently. Keep in mind, however, that basic exercise will keep your body running and minimize the risk of injury.
High-intensity running training
A meta-study showed that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) burns on average 30% more fat than other forms of training.
Thus, HIIT training is a more effective way to reduce body fat. High-intensity running training includes interval running and speed play.
Intense training creates excess oxygen consumption after training, the so-called oxygen debt effect.EPOC (excess oxygen consumption after exercise). . . This promotes oxidation of fats for a shorter period of time and produces the so-called "afterburner effect". In addition, the body produces more adrenaline and growth hormone (according to a study, up to 450%) within 24 hours of completing HIIT.
In addition to weight loss, this type of cardio has a number of other benefits:
- improved endurance
- blood sugar control
- strengthen muscles
- strengthening the immune system
- relieve stress and anxiety etc.
With all the benefits, however, interval training has a number of contraindications as there is an active load on the cardiovascular system. (CCC). Before starting this type of race, make sure that you do not have any contraindications from CCC.
What time of day is it better to exercise to lose weight?
According to recent studies, people who exercise in the morning do better than those who exercise in the evening. During the experiment, researchers divided 48 women into two groups: the first participated in aerobic exercise in the morning for six weeks, the second preferred to do exercises in the evening. During the specified period, they recorded each meal. As a result, it was concluded that morning exercise helped reduce the amount of high calorie intake of food during the day, allowing 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 taking a shorter and easier route as your body may not be ready for it.
There is much controversy about which time is most effective. It is believed that our physical performance increases when the body reaches its maximum temperature for the day. For most people, this is between 4pm and 5pm, although some experts extend this time to 7pm.
A possible monthly beginner plan for ongoing training
Before you can show results, especially if you were previously sedentary, you need to prepare your body and speed up your metabolism.
Notice thatonly a personal trainer can choose the optimal training regimen for you, since when choosing a plan, your goals and body condition will be taken into consideration.
The plan is designed to immerse you in your workouts as smoothly as possible; this is achieved by changing gait and running:
Week 1 |
Monday - Walk for 20 minutes Tuesday - rest or do cardio for 20 minutes (swimming, cycling) Wednesday - walk at a fast pace of 20 minutes Thursday - rest Friday - alternating brisk stride (4 minutes) and running (1 minute) 4 times Saturday - rest Sunday - Walk at a brisk pace for 20 minutes |
2 weeks |
Monday - change steps 5 times fast (4 minutes) and run (1 minute) Tuesday - rest Wednesday - alternating brisk strides (3 minutes) and intense jogging (1 minute) 6 times Thursday - rest Friday - repeat 7 times alternately fast step (3 minutes) and run (1 minute) Saturday - 20 minutes brisk walk or bike ride up to 30 minutes Sunday - rest |
3 weeks |
Monday - repeat 7 times alternately fast step (3 minutes) and run (1 minute) Tuesday - rest Wednesday - alternating 9 times fast step (1 minute) and run (2 minutes) Thursday - rest or cycle for 30 minutes Friday - repeat 7 times alternately fast step (3 minutes) and run (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 swim / bike (30 minutes) Wednesday - Alternative 5 minutes brisk stride, jogging for 20 minutes and complete with another 5 minutes brisk stride Thursday - rest Friday - running for 25 minutes Saturday - cycling or walking at a fast pace of 30 minutes Sunday - rest |
A versatile training plan for beginners. There are hundreds of similar plans on the Internet
As you move on to the second month of your workout plan, gradually increase your running time and keep your walking intervals to a minimum. When 30 minutes of running is normal for you, you can add 4 days for 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 depending on the age of the person. Very averagethis is about 115-130 strokes at the age of 30 or 110-125 strokes at the age of 40 years. You can measure the exact 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, do not expect that running in this particular zone will result in more weight loss: due to the low intensity, fewer calories are burned than when running in the high intensity zone.
What helps maintain the result?
To track your progress and get an idea of your heart rate during training, you can not do without aids:
- Fitness bracelet.Paired with your phone, they help you keep track of your steps, kilometers and track your speed and time. In most fitness bracelets, the heart rate monitor only works accurately in quiet zones and in low voltage zones. I can not say that this applies to absolutely all fitness bracelets, some do a good job with this task.
- Sports.Since most sports watches have a built-in GPS sensor, you do not also need to drive with your phone. Sportswear watches (and the Apple Watch) tend to have a relatively accurate heart rate monitor, but still not as accurate as chest straps. The accuracy of the heart rate monitor depends on the model and technology used to implement it, so it's best to look at the reviews of a particular gadget beforehand.
- Heart rate monitor in the chest.The most accurate heart rate measurements.
Why do I run but do not lose weight?
There can be many reasons:
- Wrong motivation.Very often you can hear from people running about that they work on a burger, they have eaten or cut circles in the stadium to serve a bar of chocolate in the evening. This possibility of weight loss is utopian; Food should not be a goal or a reward. Learn to correlate consumed and consumed calories and eat well. If you run an hour a day but eat 500 more calories a day, do not expect to lose weight.
- Weight control.A safe and reasonable weight loss rate is up to 1 kg per week. If you regularly run and strength train at the same time, keep in mind that muscle building builds at the same time as weight loss. In this case, it is more advisable not to look at the scales, but to regularly measure your body (waist, hips, leg circumference, arms, etc. ). This method of tracking progress would be more revealing.
- Getting used to loads. . . In the first weeks you could see the result, but then it became less pronounced. Why? Because the body was originally stressed and actively used proteins and carbohydrates to rebuild energy reserves and building materials for muscle recovery. Over time, the body adapted to the stress and stopped perceiving them as annoying. In this case, it is enough to switch between different types of training: run over uneven terrain, find other routes, combine the pace, add strength loads, etc.
- A hard diet.It seems that the less you eat, the more you lose. In reality, things are a little different. Severe malnutrition puts the body under pressure, it begins to accumulate reserves whenever possible, as well as retaining water to repair damaged muscle fibers and supply glycogen to working muscles. As a result, this often leads to emotional breakdown and overeating.
5 myths about running
Stretch before running
Surely we have all heard that before running you need to stretch and warm up your muscles. You will be surprised, but researchers do not agree on this score. Rather, they agree that the benefit can only be by dynamic stretching (lunges, bends, swinging legs and arms, etc. ).
What's wrong with the stretch's static shape?
- A 2013 study showed that it can reduce productivity, not increase it.
- Another study by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons showed that stretching before running did not prevent injury.
And another recent study showed that static stretching can impair muscle performance for up to 24 hours.
Static stretching refers to exercises such as a fold or butterfly when it is necessary to freeze in a position for 15-60 seconds at the time of maximum muscle extension.
But articular warming will certainly not hurt you.
The more workouts the better
There is a common mistake among beginners - the desire to increase the running pace and the amount of loads as quickly as possible. In the early days, excitement and motivation overwhelm, and it seems that running 2-3 km is too little and a shame. Better just 10 and up the hill. As a result, the body is exposed to stress, does not have time to recover, and sports performance declines before it appears.
This results in prolonged interruption of training, general loss of strength and fatigue. Sometimes muscle swelling or weakness can be observed, which in most cases is a symptom of overtraining. As a result, this leads to "emotional" overeating and sometimes damage, which completely deters the urge to run again.
Be patient and think long term, do not empty your body. Even with the most intense workouts, you still do not lose in 2 weeks. The process must be approached systematically and the load must be divided into steps.
Runners do not need strength training
There are many studies that look at the effects of strength training on running training. One of them is dedicated to sprints. It is said that power, force and speed are inherently related to each other, as they are all the result of the same functional systems.
Strength training significantly improves endurance and running ability. For example, the gluteus maximus is thought to be the major contributor to maximum speed during running. Needless to say, it has to be pumped without fail? Running alone cannot do this.
Moreover, the stronger the muscles become, the more elastic and resilient the body becomes while running.
Dress warmly to lose more
A big misunderstanding for beginners who want to lose those extra pounds. Some girls wrap themselves under clothes with household films to achieve the maximum result in their opinion.
Why is this method ineffective? Because sweat has nothing to do with weight loss. Using sweat cools the body, removes fluid and toxins. Extra clothing interferes 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 in itself is a heavy strain on the body if there used to be a sedentary lifestyle. And being overweight is already a weight loss tool.
This method is usually used by athletes with experience to develop capabilities with speed strength. Heavy over long distances can increase the risk of injury to an inexperienced runner.
Running and increased appetite
When your body learns to adapt to the new regime and exercise, you burn fewer calories. When weight is lost, the body also 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 beginners. The body wants to return to its former mass and more intensively produces hormones that make you feel hungry. However, several studies have found that running at high intensity has the opposite effect - suppressing levels of ghrelin (the hormone of hunger) and reducing appetite.
From myself I can say that I have never won so much as when I was preparing for a marathon. My maximum monthly run was just over 200 kilometers and I ate so much that I could not believe I was capable of it. There was no goal of losing weight, 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 it is unlikely that it will bring you closer to your desired goal. Much depends on the initial parameters.
You can achieve the result by driving either for a long time or intensively. Ideally, for weight loss, you should alternate interval training with slow and long runs. This prevents the body from adapting to the stress level. Why is it important? Because you may face a phenomenon that physiologists call a plateau state when physical state and weight are stabilized and it becomes very difficult to move them from the ground. We need to "surprise" the body and try unusual loads that become annoying to it. New approaches also help avoid burnout that can arise from a similar routine.
You can achieve what you want faster by combining aerobic and anaerobic loads (cardio and strength). But do not forget the side (and indeed - main) effect of running. Along with the loss of extra calories you will bring huge benefits to the body as a whole.