What is the right way to run to lose weight

In general, science agrees that running workouts are the best way to lose excess weight. That’s why, according to a study, about 40 percent of people who lose weight choose running as the easiest but most effective tool. However, it seems simple only at first glance.

Бег или ходьба

For weight loss, people often choose between walking and running, trying to find out from experts which is better. Probably most people think that walking is the least traumatic sport. This is true, but it is also the least effective for burning fat.

And it’s not even that because of the body’s good initial adaptation to walking, everyone’s metabolism and energy intake are optimized. The point is that the low intensity simply will not allow you to lose weight quickly. This is possible only in case of extreme malnutrition, which borders on health hazards.

But even if you can devote every day entirely to walking, there are two things to keep in mind:

Walking, just like running, requires recovery. Therefore, walking great distances, especially for an untrained body, can equally lead to overtraining and injury.

2. Unlike running and other intense cyclic sports, walking has virtually no after-burning process. This is when calories continue to be actively consumed even after the training process is over. According to some reports, the after-burning process after running can last up to 14 hours.

The choice in favor of walking can be justified only in cases where running would be a clear danger to the person. For example, in cases of cardiovascular disease or an increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Including due to excessive weight.

Some researchers have also noted that some people experience appetite suppression after an intense workout. But we have no data on whether this suppression is subsequently compensated by doubling the carbohydrate intake and what percentage of athletes are affected.

From personal observations, I have not noticed a permanent lack of appetite after exercise. But there are fluctuations in portion sizes and cravings for one food or another, depending on numerous factors, which I am not able to list.

Основные принципы

The main thing is, of course, not to hurt yourself with your good intentions. There are many methods for those who want to lose weight, but among this abundance of information one does not feel an understanding of the subject, and there is only piling up of facts or, worse, conjecture.

In the meantime, there are only four main points that can be made to ensure a successful weight loss mission.

1. Баланс калорий

And not just a balance, but a negative balance. Without it, you can forget about everything else. If calorie intake exceeds calorie expenditure, then weight gain will continue, deposited as fat, no matter how actively you train. That is why it is important to create a deficit.

Another option is to practice running for the sake of running. When you understand the beauty of this sport, and the movement will bring only pleasure, then the need to control the calorie balance will disappear by itself.

2. Постепенность

There is a serious risk of injury for all novice runners. And when it comes to being overweight, the risk increases even more because of the increased stress on the joints, ligaments and generally the entire musculoskeletal system.

No matter how well you land your foot and work all your muscles, it takes a long time for your body to adapt to running. Even experienced runners return to training very carefully and in stages after forced breaks.

3. rest and recovery

Many amateur athletes train every day. But by following their example and wanting to speed up your results, you will only hasten the onset of overtraining, injury, and loss of motivation.

It may be a revelation to you that the point of training is recovery. It is during it that the body is strengthened and modernized. If the body has not had time to recover, then further exercise may not be beneficial, but detrimental.

But the rest should not be too long either. It is desirable not to set a weekend between training sessions longer than 2 days.

4. Мотивация

By losing your motivation to lose weight and not reaching the enjoyment stage of running, you risk giving up a valuable tool in the fight against excess weight and stress relief.

How much running do I need to start losing weight?

This is not a difficult question, as many people think, and it can be answered with a little math. It can be complicated by many factors, including the individuality of each body. But in general, the statistical average can be relied upon.

Loss of calories and weight

We know how many calories are burned by running. Of course, it all depends on the pace and intensity, but we’re talking about beginners, so the pace is meant to be minimal, conversational.

In light of this, you should only start from the weight of the future athlete, because the variation in calorie expenditure is very tangible. For example, an athlete weighing 70 kg will consume about 550-600 calories per hour of running, while weighing 85 kg more than 700 calories will be burned.

From the above example, you can see that it is optimal to make calculations based on the fact that 8 calories are lost per hour for each kilogram of weight.

But this does not give us a clear idea of the kilograms lost. In this case we can again rely on average statistical data. In order to lose 450 grams, you need to expend 3,500 calories.

Someone will probably want to demand that all this data be converted to distance. This is also possible, albeit very roughly. To lose 2 kilograms of weight, you would have to run between 170 and 250 kilometers. Why such a spread? As usual, because of a lot of secondary conditions.

It is worth understanding that these kilograms will lose technically, but in fact you will need fuel to overcome any distance, so the incoming nutrition will always offset this result in the short term.

Adaptation of

Often this point is ignored, but you can’t put on sneakers tomorrow and run a marathon without preparation. I mean, that possibility exists, of course, but it borders on insanity.

As the body adapts to the innovation and the body begins to strengthen, there will be favorable changes for the jogger and undesirable ones for the one who wants to lose weight.

The fact is that regular cyclic exercise optimizes energy expenditure, bringing it to a minimum, and honing the technique further contributes to the efficient operation of the body, the rationality of running and, consequently, to saving calories.

But this should not be upsetting, because along with this will come other factors to get rid of fat. This is a multiple increase in distance and pace of running. As a rule, by this point the opposite problem appears – the need to eat well and a lot of high-carbohydrate foods.

Переход веса в мышцы и кости

Amateur runners sometimes do not report weight loss, even though the improvement in body shape suggests otherwise. It is the strengthening of the muscles, whose specific mass prevails over the fat, as well as the consolidation of the bone structure from the shock loads that play a role here. This, of course, has extremely little effect on overall weight compared to the muscle share.

Also, in cases of winter training, there may be a decline in white fat and the appearance of other, metabolically active fat, which is a good and healthy body reaction.

Безопасная потеря веса

You cannot lose weight uncontrollably by subjecting your body to physical exertion and not eating anything. A safe weight loss is considered to be 500 grams per week maximum at a body weight of 70 kg. And even less if the body weight is lower. However, even this figure is considered by some physiologists to be highly exaggerated.

Убрать только живот и бока?

Unfortunately, it is impossible to be selective about fat burning. It is impossible to tell the body which reserves to use up first. Moreover, as a rule, the most desirable areas for weight loss disappear last.

Running workout charts for lean people

This is a case of trying to lump all newcomers to running together. There can be no correct tables because the initial conditions are too different. Either there should be many such tables for weight loss in order to take into account every nuance and physical data.

It is possible to focus on a weekly plan of running training for beginners, when taking into account the condition of the average person of average activity:

• ПН. Вращательные упражнения, разогревающая ходьба 1 км, очень легкий бег 30 сек
• ВТ. Отдых
• СР. Вращательные упражнения, разогревающая ходьба 1 км, легкий бег 1 мин, легкая растяжка
• ЧТ. Отдых
• ПТ. Вращательные упражнения, разогревающая ходьба 1 км, легкий бег 1 мин, легкие растягивающие упражнения
• СБ. Отдых
• ВС. Специальные беговые упражнения, массаж
• ПН. Отдых

But, as you understand, there will probably be people for whom 1 minute of running will seem like a whole marathon. Huge body weight can also be the most tangible and dangerous obstacle. In this case, the plan for the first week of running should be even milder. The first workouts are the time when extreme caution in building up the load is required.

Интервальный бег и фартлек

You may have read somewhere that interval training is most effective for burning fat. Indeed, they are. But it is not recommended to include intervals and fartleks in your training program at the initial stage.

The cardiovascular system and the musculoskeletal system must be prepared for such shocks. It is even more complicated if you have been an active friend of various bad habits before, and now you have decided to start a new life abruptly.

Both fartlek and intervals are the lot of physically fit intermediate and high level runners to improve their performance, including the important oxygen metabolism in the body. You’re bound to get there later, but don’t take any chances at the outset. Don’t listen to incompetent recommendations from trendy fitness magazines.

The technique of running is the foundation

In the vast majority of cases, it takes a long time to learn running technique. Usually it takes a first injury or the beginning of discomfort as the average training distance increases.

No one is talking about perfect mastery of marathon technique. Especially since there is no such thing. But you should at least know the general principles and study your own body biomechanics. Then you subconsciously minimize the possibility of fatigue injuries, including stress compression fractures.

The problem with the initial lack of optimization of running movements and work on foot placement is the difficulty of further retraining. The force of habit is great, so many amateurs continue to run marathons and injure themselves regularly. Most are only saved from serious consequences by long-term running and years of musculoskeletal adaptation. However, this may not work for everyone.

Another reason in immediately learning proper running technique is the ability to begin to enjoy the movement after a short time. In some long-standing study, it was found that runner’s euphoria is much more likely to visit those athletes who run more correctly, gently, and rationally. Unfortunately, this statement can only be supported by my own observation. I could not find a link to the source.

Когда бегать

It doesn’t matter when you put on your running shoes, morning, afternoon or evening. Some athletes even run at night. Given the short duration of your first runs, you can give it any time of day. And then, the first month’s warm-up will and should take up most of your training time.

Having breakfast before a run and proper fluid intake are often separate questions. The answers may be short: no breakfast will practically not help you lose weight, and it is better to drink water as thirst arises.

There should be enough time before you run to digest your food, depending on what you have eaten and how fast your digestive system is working.

Резюме

In order to successfully lose weight through running, you really need, at the very least, to run correctly. And start with the shortest distances, not exceeding 1 kilometer.

Running and not eating at all is a direct path to a variety of diseases, but without a negative balance of calories you cannot lose weight. It is necessary to limit the calories (energy value) of the food consumed, but this should not affect its quality and variety.

It is better to conduct the first workouts not according to tables and plans, but according to your own feeling and common sense, keeping in mind the four main principles of successful weight loss with running:

1. Дефицит калорий
2. Постепенность
3. Восстановление
4. Мотивация

In the process of the first training you will have a huge number of questions, the answers to which you can find on the other pages of this online magazine.