According to the American Council on Exercise, running is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories and lose weight. In fact, running at a moderate pace for just 30 minutes can burn anywhere from 200 to 300 calories. Plus, it’s a low-impact exercise, which means it’s easy on your joints. But is running the best exercise for weight loss? Running can be a great way to get results on your weight loss journey.
Weight training for weight loss
While running for weight loss works it’s important to add some weight training in the mix. Strength training will help you lose body fat while maintaining muscle which can be lost during a running program. Lifting weights can also help you with running economy and prevent injury. Weight training is easy physical activity to do that helps with body composition. The reason why weight training helps with body composition is that it keeps valuable muscle while running to lose weight. Too many runners runners skip this important part of the fitness program.
How running can help you lose weight
The answer isn’t so simple. While running can help you burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time, it’s not the most effective exercise for burning fat. That distinction goes to interval training, which alternates between periods of high-intensity activity and low-intensity activity. Interval training has been shown to be more effective than steady-state cardio (like running) for burning fat.
But that doesn’t mean you should give up running if you enjoy it and it’s helping you lose weight. In fact, research has shown that people who combine interval training with steady-state cardio (like running) tend to see the best results. So if your goal is weight loss, you might want to consider adding some interval training to your routine—whether that means sprinting for 30 seconds followed by 90 seconds of walking, or any other combination of high- and low-intensity activities. The workout listed above is a great way to get started with interval training. After you get comfortable with this you can move to interval workouts that are a little longer.
The reason that interval training is a better bet is that it causes you to burn fat after the workout and this effect can last for up to 24 hours after the workout. Interval training gets the heart pumping a lot faster than easy running and may cause something called EPOC or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. The key to a good interval workout is to feel gassed on the last few reps of the workout. If you’re feeling gassed on the first couple reps you started too quickly and you won’t be able to finish the workout strong.
What is interval training?
Interval training is when you’re doing short, medium or long intervals at a challenging effort. This can range from 200 meters, 400 meters, 600 meters, 800 meters, 1200 meters or 1600 meters. The best place to do this outside is on the track or on a flat surface or you can use a treadmill. You can change up the incline on these workouts. Hill intervals are one of the best ways to get the heart rate up which can burn more calories post workout. Interval training can have a huge impact on the cardiovascular system which is an important part of any exercise program.
The reason that interval training is a better bet is that it causes you to burn fat after the workout and this effect can last for up to 24 hours after the workout. Interval training gets the heart pumping a lot faster than easy running and may cause something called EPOC or Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. The key to a good interval workout is to feel gassed on the last few reps of the workout. If you’re feeling gassed on the first couple reps you started too quickly and you won’t be able to finish the workout strong.
Here’s a blog we wrote on the benefits of 800 meter repeats.
Set a running goal
Something that is important if you’re running for weight loss is to pick a goal. Signing up for a 5k or 10k race is a great way to plug in a structured program which keeps you on track while working on your weight loss goal. If you’re new to running it’s important to pick a distance that is doable so that you don’t give up in the middle of the training program. I recommend trying a 5k at first then you can focus on a longer distance like a 10k.
Check out our article on how to run a faster marathon.
How to get started running
Here are a few tips to help you get started running. First, start by alternating walking and running for a few minutes at a time. As you build up your endurance, you can start to run for longer periods of time. Second, make sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes that are designed for running. Third, find a route that is interesting and varied, such as a park or nature trail. Fourth, be sure to warm up before you start running and cool down when you’re finished. Finally, don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results immediately-it takes time and practice to become a proficient runner. With these tips in mind, you’ll be on your way to completing your first 5K in no time!
1. Start slow and build up gradually. If you’re new to running, it’s important to start slowly and increase your mileage gradually. Running too much too soon can lead to injuries.
2. Find a comfortable pace. Once you’ve been running for awhile, experiment with different paces to find one that feels comfortable for you. Remember that your goal is to enjoy running, so don’t push yourself too hard.
3. Set realistic goals. Whether your goal is to run a 5K or a marathon, it’s important to set realistic goals that you can accomplish. This will help keep you motivated and prevent disappointment.
With these tips in mind, you’re ready to start your running journey!
80/20 running for weight loss
Doing intervals is a great way to burn fat while running but it’s not something you should do all the time. A lot of people think that more is better when it comes to interval training but this can leave you burnt out or injured. It’s important to balance hard runs with easy runs and the magic formula for this is doing 80% of your runs at an easy pace and the other 20% at a hard effort. Doing this will allow you to keep up your calorie burn on easy days while building an aerobic base. Building this base will help you recover faster when doing harder workouts and allow you to hold a faster pace during harder workouts. The best way to gauge if you’re running your easy runs correctly is to see if you can talk while you’re running. If you can talk easily then you’re likely running at the correct pace. When doing this type of plan it’s important to spread your hard workouts out across the week. It might look something like this easy run, hard run, easy run, easy run and hard run. The idea to to have a recovery workout between hard sessions.
You can’t outrun a bad diet
If your goal is to lose weight while doing a running program that is a fine choice but if you neglect the nutrition side of things you likely will fail. A run may burn up to 1500 calories depending on how far you go and you could easily eat all that progress you made in about 15 minutes. This is why it’s important to be mindful of what you’re eating if your goal is to lose weight while running. Caloric intake and caloric deficit is key to losing weight, if you eat too much your calories burned won’t cover what you burned and you might gain weight. While running is great for burning calories it isn’t enough to get the job done alone. A healthy diet is key for success.
Try using an app like my fitness pal and a food scale to make sure your energy balance is in check. Eat a high quality diet with lots of fruits and veggies and try to limit drinking beverages with lots of calories. Eating health fats is important while running for weight loss because fats can help you feel satisfied and help with hormone balance which can be impacted while running for weight loss.
Check out our review of my fitness pal
Conclusion:
If your goal is weight loss, running can help you achieve it—but it’s not the most effective exercise for burning fat. Interval training, which alternates between periods of high-intensity activity and low-intensity activity, is more effective for burning fat. However, combining interval training with steady-state cardio (like running) will give you the best results.
