Is Running Every day Good for Your Health?

Last updated on August 22nd, 2022

You often hear the benefits of running and see the athletes completing marathons every year. Besides it, you can’t ignore the fact of how amazingly fit they look!! Researchers around the world have also proven that running and fitness go together. But as a beginner, you may wonder, whether running every day is good for your health or not.

A chain of confusion strikes your mind – How often should you run? Do you need to run daily or on weekends only? Should it be your only workout to stay fit or you should be doing other physical activities too?

Should You be Running Every day?

No, you don’t need to run every day.

Undoubtedly, it makes you fit from wanting to lose weight to trying to fight disease and ageing. There are lots of health benefits of running. It may be good for your heart health too.  Running 5-10 minutes every day at moderate speed may reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

But these studies also say that running is a vigorous activity and associates the health risks too. Running 4.5 hours a week is sufficient if you want to avoid the risks of running which is usually the frequency of overuse injuries. Over-training leads to injury risks.

Read:

• How to Avoid Exercise & Sports Injury

Is It Bad to Do Running Every Day?

Excess of everything is bad. It may be bad for your cardio health if you are excessively running every day.

For example: if you are doing it at full speed and not including other slower workouts into your routine, you imbalance the intensity of your daily workouts. You do not take easy, recovery runs. If that is the case, running every day is not a good idea.

A study says excessive exercise including running causes stroke and circulation problems. It leads to the wall thickness of the heart and enlarges its mass which results in cell damage. In this process protein troponin in blood and causes cell death in consequence of which stress on the heart is increased and runner suffers cardiac arrest.

Wait, you don’t need to panic! It’s not the case if you do train properly and progressively. It doesn’t mean you should avoid modest running too.

It is not only with running but researchers have proven this many times that any form of excessive exercise may result in adverse cardiovascular effects.

Visit Your Doctor If You Have Any Health Condition

Also, one other most important thing to remember is: are you having any health condition?

Here is my personal experience. I underwent two heart surgeries in 2014. And I was denied to do strenuous exercises like running, jumping in the same year. My doctor did not provide me with the chart of frequency and duration of physical activities.

After 6 months of bed rest, when I decided to be physically active, I had to consult him for the information. If I had started some vigorous physical activities like running only after reading these studies, I would have certainly deteriorated my health.

Of course, your condition may not be similar to mine but it’s not completely different either. You may have other issues regarding blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and age, etc.

Therefore, to get the most out of running, you should consult your doctor for a checkup if you are going to start.

How Often Do You Need to Run?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends –

Adults aged between 18-64 years should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity every week.

How often you should run each week depends on your workout routine, fitness goals, and fitness level.

Most of the guidelines suggest running 30 minutes per week may benefit you a lot. This study from Dutch researchers recommends running 30 minutes per week, five days a week or 2.5 hours a week to extend your lifetime.

You can run 5-10 minutes every day or do 15 minutes on weekends. But experts say you should progressively increase your speed. If you are a beginner, you do not need to start doing it daily.

Aim for a shorter distance and when you find it challenging no longer, you can increase your speed and go on for longer distances.

Try a couch-to-5K program to start.

Also, read :

• Top 15 Benefits of Running (Backed by Science)
• Best Fitness Bands With advanced Running Features In India
• Treadmill vs outdoor running: which is more effective?
• Treadmill vs Cycling: Which You Should Invest In For Losing Body Weight
• Top Running Websites For Beginners And Advanced Runners

Before You Start

When doctors give the green signal, you are ready to take the step towards your journey to fitness and lace up your shoes to hit the track. Here is the checklist before you start :

1. Do some warm-up exercises to avoid running injuries.
2. After going on a long run, don’t forget to have some cool down with stretching exercises.
3. Increase the number of miles you run each week gradually.
4. Mix up running workout with cross-training such as swimming, rope-jumping.
5. A combo of air pollution and exercise is lethal to your health. So, if you have asthma, lung problems and heart issues, opt running on a treadmill. Especially young children and older people are more susceptible to outdoor exercise.
6. Do not use headphones while running.
7. Hydrate yourself and have a proper nutritional diet.
8. Bring your phone while going for a long run.
9. Avoid it in hot weather and highly populated areas.
10. While doing it in cold weather, wear proper clothing that covers your body.
11. If you feel tired in the middle, stop instantly.
12. If you get an injury, visit your doctor instantly for a recovery plan.

You may be interested in:

• Top 11 Treadmill for home use in India with the complete buying guide
• Best treadmills for weight loss in India under 20,000
• Best Manual Treadmills for Jogging/Running in India
• 20 Minutes Treadmill Workout Routine for losing Weight
• How Exercise Increases Your Immunity 

Apparel that will give an extra boost to your runs

1.  Our recommended appropriate running shoes.

Studies show running shoes should be replaced anywhere from 300 to 500 miles after the first year. Get an alternate pair of shoes in case one gets dirty or wet.

1. Shop sweat-resistant running clothes like T-shirts and shorts because you will need them.

3. Reflective belt for safe running.

1. Wrist band to track your activity.

2. Get a light for safety if you run in the early morning or at night.

3. Carry a water bottle.

7. Treadmill. This is especially for young children and older people and those who are suffering from lung problems, asthma or any other similar type of issue.

Conclusion: Is Running Every Day Good for Health?

As you see, researchers from the corners of the world are saying that running every day is not hazardous but doing it excessively is. Apart from it, you do not need to run daily either.

When you start, start it on weekends, slowly and slowly increase your speed and distance. Add running with cross-training programs. Even, elite runners take a break and schedule their running days with cross-training days and rest days. By this, they avoid injuries.

If you’re still confused about how to include it in your workout schedule or whether it is safe to start running or not, approach a fitness programmer. He/she will recommend an efficient fitness program considering your body type, age, and fitness level.

References & Resources

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25082581
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28365296
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538475/

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