Are you too tied up to go to the gym? This may very well be the case. However, there are many simple ways to get good exercise without necessarily going to a gym. One of these simple but very effective ways is running the stairs.

Read on to discover why it’s so effective.

#1. Keeping weight off:

Running stairs is a moderate to high-intensity cardio activity that burns calories for energy.  The heart rate increases, followed by the muscles working harder, and you constantly need more oxygen as you ascend and descend the stairs.

For better gains, run stairs in high-intensity, short-duration intervals. This will boost your metabolism helping you to burn more calories.  However, this wouldn’t be of much use if you swallow five donuts immediately after.

#2. Protect heart rate & fight disease:

Like any other cardio exercise, it will help to strengthen the heart and lungs. High blood pressure levels will be reduced, blood cholesterol improved, and the risk of developing diabetes highly unlikely.

Professionals recommend a minimum of 30 minutes moderate-high intensity workout 5 days a week. Not a lot to pay if you really want to be fit.

#3. It’s free:

This is one exercise you wouldn’t need to pay for and what else? It can be done anytime, anywhere. Use the stairs at work, the park, at home, and wherever you can instead of machines that replicate the act of climbing itself.

That’s not to say “don’t go to the gym” but if it’s a strain, using steps instead will be using your brain.

#4. Toned leg muscles:

Running stairs will strengthen your leg muscles significantly, most visibly those in your butt (glutes) and thighs (quads and hamstrings). If you’ve ever climbed a staircase before, you would know that the leg muscles play a vital role in this process.

Conclusion

Another set of muscles that are grateful to the stairs after the strain is the spinal muscles and the ones that protect your lower back. Strengthening these muscles will not just give you super balance but will also give aesthetic benefits.

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Hardly will you find anyone that wants to keep fit, without stretching exercises in his or her routines. Stretching exercises help to improve the strength of the muscles in the body and also allows a smooth flow of blood. There are so many benefits to stretching exercises. In terms of running, stretching is one of those things that will make you a better runner, if you are consistent.

Running controls a lot of muscles in the body, especially muscles of the lower body: the calves, hips, hamstrings, and squads. It also makes the legs strong, toned, and tight. All these effects on the muscles can result in scar tissue, muscle stiffness, tension, slowing you down, inviting common injuries, etc.

Below are 5 effective stretches you should know as a runner

1. Pigeon Pose

The pigeon pose is a very beneficial yoga exercise that stretches the thigh, groin, and back, and also help to increase mobility in the hips.

Sit on the floor or preferably, an exercise mat. Bring one of your knees forward between your hands, whilst your other leg is stretched out backward. Walk hands out in front of your body to your elbows till they are fully on the ground, allowing your torso to rest on your knee. Remain in this position for about 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Leg Swings

Leg swings work effectively on the muscles of the legs, and also help to boost speed while running. First, hold on to a heavy object, like a table for example. Stand on one leg, and swing the other leg backward and forward repeatedly. You can also swing the same leg sideways repeatedly. That done, you can alternate legs and continue for as long as you can

3. Standing Calf

The standing calf exercise focuses on the calf muscles, which are important muscles involved in running. It especially focuses on the larger outermost muscle that gives the calves its shape and size.

Stand facing the wall, with both hands on the wall at the chest level. Place the right foot’s ball against the wall, so that heel touches the floor. Then, lean into the wall slowly, till your calves get stretched and the legs are kept straightened.

4. Standing squads

Standing squads gives extra stretch to the legs.

Stand with your legs together. Then, bend your left leg, whilst you bring your heel toward your butt, and hold firm your left foot with your left hand. Hold this pose for some seconds before alternating sides.

5. Quadriceps stretch

The quadriceps stretch works effectively on the quadriceps muscle and helps to strengthen them. Lie on the floor with your face towards the ground, and make sure your legs are on the ground and parallel to each other. Then, grab your right foot with your right hand, whilst your thighs are still aligned together. Take in a deep breath, and remain in the position for some seconds, then repeat for the other side.

Conclusion

If you are an ardent runner and you want to get better in what you do, stretching exercises are recommended and they should be done consistently for a more effective result.

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The only way you can ever improve your speed is by having a regular training regimen. As such, it’s imperative that you have training plan designed to address the specific demands of each event. That means training your body for the exact physiological challenges, teaching your body and mind how to push through the tough parts of a race, and perfecting a pacing strategy that allows you to run on the edge of your abilities.

1.Nail good form

The key to running (at any speed) is to practice proper running technique. That means keeping the upper body tall yet relaxed, striking the ground with the mid-foot landing under the hip, and swinging the arms forward and back (not side to side!) at low 90-degree angles.

2.Improving speed endurance

One mistake runners make when training for the 5k or 10k is running lots of fast VO2 max workouts, which improves the speed component, but doesn’t specifically target your ability to hold a fast pace for an extended period of time.

Consider a workout like 6 x 800 meters at 3k pace with 2 minutes rest. This is a great VO2max and speed workout. However, it’s not very specific to the demands of the 5k since the 3 minutes rest allows you to effectively recover fully between each repeat.

A better workout to prepare specifically for the 5k would be something like 6 x 800 meters at goal 5k pace with a short jogging rest at 85 percent of marathon pace. An example for a 20 minute 5k runner would look like: 6 x 800 meters at 3:10-3:15 w/200 meters jogging (8:35 pace) rest between.

In this instance, you’re teaching yourself how to run 5k pace with as little rest as possible. By not fully recovering and jogging quickly between repeats you still improve your ability to run at race pace, but you ensure you have the aerobic strength and support to maintain goal pace on race day.

Use interval training. There are several benefits to interval training that will help you get the most out of your runs, and increase your stamina.^[1]

3.Improve cardiovascular capacity.

Endurance running can take wind out of you. By using the interval training, you’ll increase your anaerobic capacity (oxygen-depleting). And when you combine this with aerobic capacity (oxygen-building with easy runs and long runs), these will end up making you faster.

• Burning calories. Bursts of energy (the high-intensity part of interval training) will increase the amount of calories you burn. This is true even for relatively short bursts.

• It adds interest to your running routine. It may seem a small thing, but boredom with your normal running routine can make it much harder to stay motivated.

4.Add weight training to your running

Weight training increases your running economy, which means that you use oxygen more efficiently during your run. Try doing free weights, machines or other strength training exercises three times per week.

5. Change your diet

Cut out refined carbs and eat more lean protein and vegetables. Also, eat smaller, more frequent meals.

Conclusion

It is possible to actually improve your speed. It might take a lot, but at the end of the day, it’ll be worth it.

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Running is a great cardio exercise that helps in the effective pumping of oxygen into the blood, and also a great way to get into shape. These are benefits that many of us are quite familiar with. Running, however, spans many benefits that many of us do not know about, including some of those who run on a daily basis.
To increase the overall level of your health, running is the best option to go for. Below are 5 amazing benefits of running that you should know.

1. Stimulates growth hormones

Running helps to increase the weight and height of an individual by improving the stimulation of growth hormones. This works mainly for children and teenagers that are still undergoing growth. Individuals in that category are advised to run as much as possible to enhance growth level. On the other hand, it makes adults look younger and vibrant, without having to take medications.

2. Burns cholesterol

Excess cholesterol in the body can lead to different heart diseases, and some other health complications in the body. Running helps greatly to burn the bad cholesterol in the body, due to its cardio benefits and the amount of energy expelled in the process. And this could also lead to weight loss.

3. Prevents muscle and bone loss

Sitting in front of the monitor all day can weaken the bones in our body, and running is a great exercise to make these bones strong and active again. Running keeps the inner body strong and firm; strengthens the muscles of all the body and gives the body a well-fitting frame. This helps to reduce the risk of osteomalacia and other diseases that affects the bones, joints, and muscles.

4. Reduces hypertension and stroke

Inadequate supply of oxygen into the blood will place much pressure on the heart and cause it to pump harder, which could lead to high blood pressure and eventually cause hypertension and stroke. Running reduces the risk of these complications, as the body won’t be devoid of the adequate amount of oxygen needed to pump blood throughout the body.

5. Stress relief

At different points in our life, we undergo stress. The stress could be physical or psychological or from things happening around us. If you fall into this category, take out time to run; gradually the tension eases off. It also helps to reduce headaches some other situations nagging at you. Run as much as you can to clear your mind and feel good again.

Conclusion

One of the major reasons so many people do not run is because they do not know how much benefits they can get in running. This exercise or activity works practically on the whole body and improves the health amazingly. Be consistent with it; run and run till you get tired. Keep running.

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Running is probably one of the most popular cardio exercises for people looking to lose weight, get fit for sports, or even just relax. The health benefits everyone can get from running are enormous, ranging from improved heart rate and oxygen uptake, to improved stamina, and even long term development in certain key parts of the brain.

However, running could also be dangerous for health in a number of ways, and researchers have discovered that both people who run too little, and those who run too much face similarly high risks of death. Read on to learn how excessive running could be risky for your health:

1. Enlarges the heart

Exercise, particularly cardio, has well known benefits for the cardiovascular system including increased heart rate; however, studies have shown that excessive/obsessive runners have a tendency to develop extraordinarily large hearts and other such alterations in the structure and functioning of the heart, which make it much less effective at performing basic metabolic processes such as circulation of blood.

2. Oxidative Stress

During exercise, the body uses energy to power the circulatory system, but the increased exposure to oxygen increases the possibility of creating free radicals (cells which have their molecular structure altered due to oxidation), and thereby creating a health risk, as the presence of free radicals in the body is a strong predisposing factor for heart disease, cancer and other such complications.

The good news is that for the first hour or so, after exercise, the body naturally defends itself against increased levels of oxidation, through antioxidants. However, for people who run (or perform other kinds of cardio), excessively, the effects of oxidation may overpower the body’s attempts to “clean up”.

3. Coronary plaque

A comparative study conducted on the health levels of serious runners and regular people found out that, shockingly, the active runners had higher levels of coronary plaque, built up in their arteries. When this happens, individuals are more disposed to developing atherosclerosis and other related heart complications.

4. Injury

One of the biggest drawbacks associated with running is the fact that it could have an extremely degenerative effect on several joints, including the knees in particular. Often, the years of repetitive impact on the knees will bear impact in a runner’s old age, and often, such people might require surgery or even lose some degree of motion totally.

5. Depresses immune system

Beyond a certain level, exercises such as running can actually harm the functioning of the immune system. This is because sustained intensive exercise stimulates the release of cortisol and adrenaline, which have an inhibiting effect on the immune system

6. Heat

tired woman runner have a rest after running hard

In places like Dubai, and the rest of the UAE, where temperatures are usually high, high amounts of running are not recommended as there are several risks that accompany this, such as dehydration, heat fainting and possibly even sunburn and other such.

Conclusion

Running is a great exercise but like most things in life, you will need to do it in moderation, to avoid undoing its gains. Studies have determined that on average a distance of between 5-19 miles spread out over a week is the optimal level at which healthy adults should run.

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Running is one of the most popular fitness activities for most people all over the world, and if your goals are weight loss and fitness, then this is an exercise you should definitely do consistently. However, it is very easy to miss out on all the great benefits of running, if you do not use the right technique and in fact, you could easily end up picking up numerous and occasionally complicated injuries. To avoid this, and make sure you maximize your gains from running, read on to see the top 6 things every runner needs to know about running technique.

1. Keep your head held high

This is probably the first rule of running technique, and if you get it right, most other things are likely to follow. Your head is relatively heavy and if you let it bob around while you run, you will be wasting your energy. This will also affect your running form.

2. Hold your arms steady

What you do with your arms when you run will have a great impact on how you run. In fact, there’s a popular saying in the running world that goes, “fast arms make fast legs”, and your running will be greatly improved if you use your arms correctly.

Your arms should be held steady at your sides, swinging forward and backward (as opposed to sideways) in a controlled motion.

3. Keep your back straight

Your back should be kept straight and upright, and as much as possible, should be almost at a 90 degree angle to the ground. Be careful to neither lean forward nor backwards as both will have an effect on your stride that will leave you prone to picking up injuries, particularly on your knees.

4. Your knees and lower limbs

People aiming for faster more explosive running should aim for lifting their knees higher, but for longer distance, slower running, don’t lift your knees too high.

5. Stride length

A lot of runners make the mistake of going for longer strides but unless you’re competing in a 100 or 200 meter sprint, this is generally a bad idea. You don’t have to excessively shorten your strides, though, and what you should be aiming for is finding and maintaining your natural running stride.

Conclusion

Running can be fun and healthy, and extremely effective for weight loss. But to reap these benefits, you will need to make sure you get every facet of your running technique right. Remember to keep your head held upright, straighten out your back, swing your arms forward and backward, keep your knees low and maintain your optimum stride

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