Losing weight is not really "my" topic due to my propensity to lose weight and, rather, I am constantly trying to get in shape rather than shedding extra pounds.
However, large numbers of people come on the run through the desire to lose weight. Someone is enough for a month, others run a marathon, and still others have run their entire lives once they wanted to lose weight. This is great because the wellness run also improves metabolism and cardiovascular function.
It became interesting to me:
- How effective is running for weight loss?
- Which running workouts burn the most calories?
- What physiological processes underlie this?
- What does the research say about it?
And since I have been running for several years and have noticed some changes in weight and appearance, I will share my experience.
Running as a means of losing weight is shrouded in many myths. The fact is, not everyone loses weight by running. Or lose weight, but not just by running. The question 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 functioning of the cardiovascular system, metabolism; there is a separate article on the benefits of running), at least one study is worth mentioning. More than 55, 000 people took part in it for 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 require additional equipment, expensive equipment and high costs makes it one of the most popular sports in the world. If you can also afford a pair of cheap running shoes, you're good to go.
Weight Loss Factors
No matter what sport you play, there are factors that directly affect the speed and intensity at which you lose weight.
Between them:
- Age. . . The older the person is, the less work is recommended and, therefore, the result will be less significant. In addition, the muscles shrink and weaken 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, pace, 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 received an eight-week strict calorie-controlled diet. By remaining in exactly the same conditions, men lost more pounds than women;
- General daily activity. . . A 10-minute recharge is also effective if you are sedentary;
- Weight. . . The more you 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 in one run?
First of all, it is good to clarify: is it about running on a treadmill or, for example, in a street or in a stadium?
It may seem like there is no difference, but it isn't. 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 the leg back and less physical effort is made.
In addition, the treadmill significantly shortens the stride and prevents movement.
Why not trust the lost calories shown on the machine display? It takes into account training speed and duration, as well as average runner data, which often have little to do with reality. Also, the machine tends to overestimate the numbers to motivate them to keep training.
For an hour on a treadmill, working at a pace of 10-12 km / h, you can lose 550-750 calories. It all depends on the incline, running pace, heart rate, body temperature, etc.
1 kilogram of fat = approximately 7. 500-8250 calories
There are many parameters to consider when running outdoors. For example, a Harvard University report indicated that a 30-minute workout for people of different intensities and weights gives different results:
- A man of 70 kg. can burn 370 calories in half an hour by running 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 of 70 kg. can burn 539 calories in half an hour by running at a pace of 4: 20 / km. And a man who weighs 56 kg. at the same time and with the same speed he loses 435 calories.
When you run slowly, calories are consumed mainly from fat. At an intense pace, muscle and liver glycogen stores become a source of calories. By the way, after training they continue to "wear out" (EPOC effect, about it - below).
Compared to other sports, the indicators are on average as follows:
| Activities | Burn calories in 30 minutes |
| Swimming (freestyle) at an active pace | 370 |
| Run at a speed of 8 km / h (6: 12 / km) | 300 |
| Beach volley | 297 |
| Cycling at 20 km / h | 295 |
| Skating | 260 |
| Aerobics | 240 |
| Basketball | 220 |
| Playing badminton | 167 |
How many days a week do you have to run to lose weight?
If you're just starting out on your running path, you should definitely not set yourself the goal of running every day or running for an hour.
Your training plan should be gradual. Start by alternating between fast walking and slow running. A normal running pace is what you can talk to. It will be difficult at first, so you can move on to a step if necessary.
Start from the fact that the workouts should be at least 3 in 7 days. There should be enough time for the body to have time to dump the excess and recover.
Once you get the hang of it, you can do different types of running workouts to pump your body more versatile and burn calories more efficiently. However, remember that core training will keep your body running smoothly and minimize the chances of injury.
High-intensity running workouts
A meta-study found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) burns an average of 30% more fat than other types of exercise.
Therefore, HIIT training is a more effective way to reduce body fat. High-intensity running workouts include interval running and fartlek.
Intense exercise creates excessive oxygen consumption after exercise, the so-called oxygen debt effect.EPOC (Excess of Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption). . . This promotes the oxidation of fats in a shorter period of time and causes the so-called "afterburn effect". Additionally, the body produces more adrenaline and growth hormone (according to one study, up to 450%) within 24 hours of ending HIIT.
In addition to weight loss, this type of cardio has a number of other benefits:
- improved strength
- blood glucose control
- strengthen the muscles
- strengthen the immune system
- relieve stress and anxiety, etc.
However, with all the advantages, interval training has a number of contraindications, since there is an active load on the cardiovascular system.(CCC). Before starting this type of running, you must make sure that you have no contraindications from the CCC.
What time of day is it best to train to lose weight?
According to recent studies, people who train in the morning perform better than those who train in the evening. During the experiment, the scientists divided 48 women into two groups: the first engaged in aerobic exercises in the morning for six weeks, the other preferred to exercise in the evening. During the specified period, they recorded every meal. As a result, it was concluded that morning exercise helped reduce the amount of high calorie food intake throughout 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're running on an empty stomach, it's worth taking a shorter, easier route as your body may not be ready for it.
There is a lot of controversy over which time is most effective. Our physical performance is believed to increase when the body reaches its maximum daily temperature. For most people, this is between 4pm and 5pm, although some experts extend this time until 7pm.
A possible monthly running training plan for beginners
Before you can show results, especially if you were previously sedentary, you need to prepare your body and speed up your metabolism.
Please note thatonly a personal trainer can choose the optimal training regimen for you, since when choosing a plan, your goals and the state of the body will be taken into account.
The plan 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 20 minute pace Thursday - rest Friday - alternating fast pace (4 minutes) and running (1 minute) 4 times Saturday - rest Sunday - Walk briskly for 20 minutes |
2 weeks |
Monday - alternate fast pace (4 minutes) and running (1 minute) 5 times Tuesday - rest Wednesday - alternating fast pace (3 minutes) and intense jogging (1 minute) 6 times Thursday - rest Friday - repeat 7 times alternating brisk pace (3 minutes) and running (1 minute) Saturday - 20 minutes on foot or up to 30 minutes by bike Sunday - rest |
3 weeks |
Monday - repeat 7 times alternating brisk pace (3 minutes) and running (1 minute) Tuesday - rest Wednesday - alternate 9 times brisk walking (1 minute) and jogging (2 minutes) Thursday - rest or bike for 30 minutes Friday - repeat 7 times alternating brisk pace (3 minutes) and running (1 minute) Saturday - active walking for 25 minutes Sunday - rest |
4 weeks |
Monday - alternate 6 fast steps for 1 minute and jogging for 4 minutes Tuesday - rest or swim / bike (30 minutes) Wednesday: alternate 5 minutes of brisk walking, jogging for 20 minutes and complete with another 5 minutes of brisk walking Thursday - rest Friday - ride continues for 25 minutes Saturday - cycling or walking at a brisk pace of 30 minutes Sunday - rest |
A versatile training program for beginners. There are hundreds of similar plans on the internet
As you move into the second month of your training plan, gradually increase your jogging time, keeping 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 the heart rate.
The fat burning heart rate zone is considered to be 50-70% of the maximum heart rate. It is calculated based on the age of the person.Very averagethis is about 115-130 beats for the age of 30 or 110-125 beats for the age of 40. Exact heart rate zones can be measured using special functional diagnostics. This will help you train more effectively.
When you run into the fat burning zone, your body learns to burn fat as efficiently as possible. However, you shouldn't expect running in this particular zone to result in more weight loss - due to the low intensity, fewer calories are burned than when running in the high intensity zone.
What helps keep the result?
To keep track of your progress and get an idea of your heart rate during training, you can't do without aids:
- Fitness bracelets.Paired with your phone, they help you keep track of your steps, kilometers and speed and time. In most fitness bracelets, the heart rate monitor works accurately only in quiet areas and low stress areas. I can't say this is true for all fitness bracelets, some do a good job with this task.
- Sports watch.Since most sports watches have a built-in GPS sensor, you don't need to run with your phone as well. Watches from sportswear brands (and Apple Watch) tend to have relatively accurate heart rate monitors, 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 is best to look into the reviews of a particular gadget in advance.
- Chest heart rate monitors.The most accurate heart rate measurements.
Why am I running but not losing weight?
There can be many reasons:
- Wrong motivation.Quite often you can hear from people running around that they are working on a burger they ate or cutting circles in the stadium to earn a bar of chocolate in the evening. This weight loss option is utopian; food shouldn't be a goal or a reward. Learn to correlate the calories consumed and consumed and eat right. If you run for an hour a day, but eat 500 extra calories a day, you shouldn't count on weight loss.
- Weight control.A safe and reasonable weight loss rate is up to 1 kilogram per week. If you run regularly and at the same time do strength training, keep in mind that at the same time as weight loss, muscles are building. In this case, it is more advisable not to look at the arrows of the scale, but to regularly measure your body (waist, hips, circumference of the legs, arms, etc. ). This method of tracking progress would be more revealing.
- Get used to loads. . . In the first few weeks the result was seen, but then it became less pronounced. 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 adapted to stress and stopped perceiving them as irritants. In this case it is enough to alternate between different types of training: running on rough terrain, finding other routes, combining the pace, adding loads of strength, etc.
- A tough diet.It would seem that the less you eat, the more you lose weight. In reality, things are a bit different. Severe malnutrition puts the body under stress, begins to build up 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 breakdowns and overeating.
5 myths about running
Stretch before running
Surely, each of us has heard that before running it is necessary to stretch and warm up the muscles. You will be surprised, but scientists do not have a consensus on this score. Rather, they agree that the benefit can only come from dynamic stretching (lunges, pushups, swinging legs and arms, etc. ).
What's wrong with the static form 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 does not prevent injuries.
And another recent study found that static stretching can impair muscle performance for up to 24 hours.
Static stretching refers to exercises such as a crease or a butterfly, when you need to freeze in one position for 15-60 seconds at the time of peak muscle stretching.
But joint warming definitely won't hurt you.
The more workouts, the better
There is a common mistake among novice runners: the desire to increase the running pace and the volume of loads as quickly as possible. At first the enthusiasm 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 falls before they appear.
This results in prolonged interruption of training, general loss of strength and exhaustion. Sometimes muscle swelling or weakness may be observed, which in most cases is a symptom of overtraining. As a result, this leads to "emotional" overeating and sometimes injury, which completely discourages the desire to run again.
Be patient and think long term, don't drain your body. Even with the most intense workouts, you won't lose weight in 2 weeks. The process must be approached in a systematic way and the load must be divided into stages.
Runners don't need strength training
There are many studies examining the effects of strength training on running performance. One of these is dedicated to sprints. It claims that strength, power and speed are intrinsically linked to each other, as they are all the result of the same functional 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 fail? Running alone can't do that.
Also, the stronger your muscles become, the more elastic and resilient your body will be when running.
Dress warmly to lose more
A big misconception for novice runners looking to shed those extra pounds. Some girls even wrap themselves under their clothes with cling film to get the best 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, removes fluids 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 powerful load on the body, if a sedentary lifestyle existed before. And excess weight is already a weighting agent.
As a rule, this method is used by experienced athletes to develop endurance at speed. Heavy over long distances can increase the risk of injury for an inexperienced runner.
Running and increased appetite
As your body learns to adapt to the new regimen and exercise, you burn fewer calories. Also, when you lose weight, your body needs less energy to function. Therefore, the basic metabolism (the energy that the body burns at rest) actually begins to decline.
Running at a moderate pace is believed to increase appetite, especially for novice runners. The body wants to return to its former mass and more intensely produces hormones that make you feel hungry. But several studies have found that running at high intensity has the opposite effect: suppressing levels of ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and reducing appetite.
For my part, I can say that I have never earned as much as when I was preparing for a marathon. My maximum monthly run was just over 200km and I ate so much that I couldn't believe I was capable of it. There was no goal of losing weight, but the appetite was powerful.
Can you lose weight just by running?
It is possible, but for this, several conditions must be met: correct power supply, 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, this is unlikely to get you anywhere near your desired goal. Much depends on the initial parameters.
You can get the result by running long or hard. Ideally, to lose weight, you should alternate interval training with slow, long jogging. This will prevent the body from adapting to the stress level. Because it is important? Because you can face a phenomenon that physiologists call a plateau state, when the physical condition and weight stabilize and it becomes very difficult to move them off the ground. We have to "surprise" the body and experience unusual loads which become irritating to it. New approaches also help avoid the burnout that can result from such a routine.
You can get what you want faster by combining aerobic and anaerobic loads (cardio and strength). But do not forget the side effect (and indeed - the main one) of running. Along with the loss of extra calories, you will bring tremendous benefits to the body as a whole.