Running Benefits
Running is Good for Your Heart
Running doesn’t just strengthen your heart muscle, but also improves your entire circulatory system by making the lining of your blood vessels more flexible. When your blood vessels are more flexible the heart doesn’t have to work so hard to pump blood throughout your body. Another bonus is blood vessels of a fit person tend to accumulate less plaque than those of an unfit person, leading to a much lower risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Running Boosts Your Mood
When you run, your brain pumps out a feel-good hormone called endorphins. Endorphins are natural pain killers. The cool thing is these endorphins don’t just last during your run, but they also stay in your body for hours after, helping to boost your mood throughout the day.
Running Strengthens Your Bones and Joints
A recent study showed that runners were half as likely to suffer from knee osteoarthritis compared with walkers (study referenced below). The reason for this is every time your foot lands on the ground during the foot strike it puts stress on bones and cartilage, as well as your muscles, causing them to grow and learn spring back stronger. Low-impact exercises like walking, biking and swimming, don’t have the same bone-building benefits as running and resistance training.
Running Burns Serious Calories
Running requires a lot of fuel for your body to work. In fact, running burns twice as many calories as walking the same distance.
Running Builds Community
The running community is a strong one and the community benefits are immeasurable. There is something special about a group of runners getting together to work out together while boosting moods together (with those endorphins pumping!)
Running Makes You Vital
Ever notice when you exercise regularly you have more energy throughout the day? During your workout, your body goes into overdrive to remove old and damaged mitochondria (the powerhouse of every cell). When this happens your new and healthy cells work more efficiency and produces better mitochondrial quality. Having better mitochondrial quality gives vitality, both when you exercise and throughout your day.
