Running 30 minutes a day is one of the best things you can do for your overall health and a manageable healthy habit for most people. If you're just getting started, commit to running 30 minutes a day 2-3 days a week and build up from there.
The truth is, all you really need is 30 minutes. Studies suggest that just thirty minutes of running can provide incredible benefits to your long and short-term health. There is no need to run for hours to reap the positive effects on your mental and physical well-being.
Jogging for 30 minutes a day can burn from 200 to 500 calories, the level of energy consumption is suitable for people who need to lose weight and exercise.
Studies across the board show that running for just 15-30 minutes will kick-start your metabolism and burn some serious fat, both during and after the exercise itself.
30 Minutes of Exercise Can Significantly Improve Your Health
Yes, it is! Most people think that if they can only fit in 30 minutes of exercise it won't be enough, especially compared to a 45-minute spin class or a 1-hour yoga class. However, 30 minutes of exercise is more than enough time to get in a great workout.
However, the good news is that running is one of the best forms of exercise to lose belly fat, and there are even a few small tweaks you can make to your regular running schedule to deliver a sustained fat burning boost.
But is it OK to run every day? The simple answer is: No, you need at least one rest day a week to allow your muscles to recover. Plus, overtraining can lead to overuse injuries, stress and prolonged fatigue.
Studies show that running just 5 to 10 minutes each day at a moderate pace may help reduce your risk of death from heart attacks, strokes, and other common diseases. But the same research also shows that these benefits top off at 4.5 hours a week, meaning there's no need to run for hours each day.
Aim for 30 minutes per session. Allow a minimum of 8 to 12 weeks to build up to regular running. Aim to increase your jogging time each session, and alternate between walking and jogging.
Of course, whether you measure distance in miles or kilometers, the distance you run in 30 minutes will depend on your running pace. The faster you run, the farther you'll run. With that said, the distance covered running 30 minutes will fall within the 2-6 miles (3.2-10 km) range for nearly all runners.
Burning Calories
If your goal is to lose weight generally, you should run about 3 or 4 times a week on alternating days for about 45 minutes. On rest days it is still crucial to engage in some form of exercise. Moving and burning calories are key! Most people overestimate the calories they burn on a run.
If you're interested in losing weight, running 3 miles a day could help with this goal. In order to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. Calculating your burn rate and knowing how many calories you're burning from running is a good start.
There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. Running one mile burns (on average) 100 calories. If you want to lose one pound of fat – then, you should run 35 miles. If you were to run 7 days a week, you would need to run 5 miles each day in order to lose one pound of fat in a week.
Most experts agree that beginners should plan to run three to four days per week with at least one day of complete rest and optional cross-training on the other days. The duration of your initial run/walk sessions should be 20-30 minutes, increasing the percentage of time spent running in subsequent workouts.
Jog, mix it up, and rest. In general, average jogging speed is 4 to 6 mph. It's faster than walking and slower than running.
Although there are no hard and fast rules for jogging vs. running pace, most sources put the cutoff point at around 6 miles per hour. So, if you cover the equivalent of 6 miles or more in an hour (10-minute per mile pace or 30 minutes for a 5K race), then you're running; if you cover less than that, you're jogging.
Slow Jogging Benefits
We touched on this already, but slow jogging burns more calories than walking at an identical pace, and thus, it is a more effective way to lose weight, if that's your goal.
Running, or jogging, is one of the best cardio exercises you can do. Running for at least 10 minutes a day can significantly lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. Runners lower their chances of dying from heart disease by half.
If you're running great workouts five days per week of training, you can safely run six or even seven days per week—elite runners may do up to ten runs per week, while still hitting two solid workouts and a long run. “The number of days running themselves typically aren't that important,” Macari says.
Running about 15 to 20 miles a week provides optimal health benefits, O'Keefe said. Or walking can provide benefits, from 2 miles a day to as much as 40 miles a week.
“Between 1.6 and 4.8 kilometres is a reasonable beginning distance for a day's running. This running distance is thought to be the most effective for lowering the risk of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular disease.
And, will running give you abs? “Yes, running can help give you defined abs,” said Todd Buckingham, Ph. D., exercise physiologist. But before you get too excited, it's important to note that running alone isn't enough to improve muscular definition in your midsection.
By running regularly, you lower your cholesterol and blood pressure levels, both of which are indicators of heart health. Running also helps you to lose or maintain weight.
Research suggests running just twice per week is sufficient to see improvements in health and fitness. Running just 10 miles a week reduces the risk of heart disease by an impressive 42 per cent, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.
You can burn fat running and lose weight running. It's effective whether you run long, slow jogs, or high-intensity intervals. Running and jogging help lose belly fat.