Due to lifestyle or trend a lot of people out there are investing their time and money for some gym sessions, though the only thing they do in the gym is only running in the treadmill. Well, it is kind of ironic because the main purpose is not healthy lifestyle but only a shiny membership card of exclusive gym brand. Running is one of the highly recommended exercises, not only because it is easy and cheap but there are a lot of health benefits of running you could get if you do it regularly. You must be surprised about the benefits of running of 20 minutes a day if you do it in regular basis.
Benefits of Running of 20 Minutes A Day
Some people you know may prefer to do running in the gym or in the treadmill at home. The reason is more practical and less pollution. Well, if you are currently living in a nice neighborhood, running indoor is like a waste. Furthermore, 20 minutes a day is enough to give you all the benefits of running and 20 minutes is short enough especially when you do it in the morning, so you will not lose your precious time. Not only that, the list below will tell you more about what kind of benefits you will get if you invest your precious 20 minutes a day for running in the morning.
- Maintains the Lung Health
A study published in “Annals of Internal Medicine” has stated that high-intensity cardio exercise like 20 minutes running could increase the capacity and clean the lung. Moreover, if your purpose is to increase the lung capacity, short duration but intense interval is much more recommended.
- Good for Heart
The fact that there are a lot of benefits of running for cardiovascular health is not only a myth but already studied scientifically and even published in British Journal of Sports Medicine. It is said that during running, your body will take in more oxygen and because of that your heart will work more efficient to make sure all those oxygen are optimally distributed. Different studies also stated that regular running exercise could reduce the risk of death caused by cardiovascular diseases up to 30%.
- Easy Solution to Burn Fat
You must be wondering whether 20 minutes running session is enough to burn the fat. Well, that is why you need to do it in regular basis. Moreover, after you stop running your body will be in EPOC state or Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption when your body will continue taking the calories and carbohydrate to heal your muscles after the intense 20 minutes running. That is why running is also great to prevent and reduce the health risk of obesity.
- Access to the Wonderful Endorphin
20 minutes is not a long time but it is enough to give you all the endorphin you need to feel happy all day long. If you want to have a quick access to wonderful endorphin taking a short running session is better than a long run because you don’t want to feel tired.
- De-stress Solution
Whenever you feel stressful with your job, your life or even your love life, why don’t you use your precious 20 minutes to have a quick running session? During the run, you will take in more oxygen that will be distributed to all parts of your body including your brain. Moreover, the endorphin booster is also an excellent de-stress solution.
- Recover Quickly
There are a lot of exercises you could choose to stay healthy and shape but 20 minutes running session is the easiest and the quickest one. You don’t need to deal with all the tiredness because you will recover quickly. It is a perfect exercise for you who don’t want to deal with sore muscles.
- Makes You Feel Less Guilty for Dessert
When you do a quick run before you eat lunch, the EPOC state after the exercise will make you feel less guilty when you choose your favorite dessert.
- Better Cope with Depression
The amount of endorphin you produce during the 20 minutes running session will make you cope with the symptoms of depression in much better way.
- Promotes Better Sleep
If you are currently having insomnia issue, perhaps use your 20 minutes to run before bed time could help you having a better sleep because running could reduce anxiety, since it is one of the reasons why you have insomnia.
- Shapes Your Muscle
Having ideal weight is not enough if your body is not supported with strong and tone muscle. 20 minutes running per day is enough to shape your muscles without the need to join a bodybuilding class.
- Improves Appetite
While there are a lot of people out there who are struggling to lose weight some others are striving to gain their weight. Improving appetite is one of the solutions to gain weight and having 20 minutes running session is great to improve appetite.
- Prevents Some Chronic Diseases
As mentioned above, running is good for lung and heart. It means you could prevent some chronic disease including cardiovascular conditions, lung conditions, certain types of diabetes especially type 2 diabetes and many more.
Cautions of Running of 20 Minutes A Day
The twelve benefits of running of 20 minutes a day as mentioned above are excellent motivation for those who are currently achieving a healthy lifestyle. However, there are some considerations you should know as well to avoid all the side effects of running.
- There is one essential thing you should know before you start running; it is better for you to do running before you eat breakfast or lunch. However, if you want to do running at night, you have to make sure to give some times after you have dinner.
- It is important to do it regularly with the exact same time every time you do it. If you want to add some minutes, you should do it in stages or you will just injure your muscles.
- It is highly recommended for you to do running outdoor but with one condition that the air is fresh and good enough for your lung to breathe. If the air is full of pollution, perhaps running indoor is a better option.
- Though generally running is good for lung but for those who have been diagnosed with certain lung conditions should consult their doctor first before adding this activity to the routine.
Most people will ask question like ‘Is 20 minutes enough to burn fat and maintain healthy lifestyle?’ the fact is it is not the 20 minutes that you should concern about but instead the regularity. 20 minutes or even 1 hour is not going to be enough if you only do it whenever you feel like doing it. 20 minutes will be everything from maintaining the health of your lung, heart and even your brain if you do it regularly in daily basis. So, why don’t you start running today and do it for the rest of your life?