15 Benefits of Running Everyday
It can be very challenging to start a fitness routine, let alone take up running. If you’ve been inactive for a long time, imagining yourself running every day likely seems nearly as inconceivable as winning the lottery or taking a trip around the world.
After all, by Newton’s Laws of Motion and the concept of inertia, an object at rest tends to stay at rest.
With that said, the second half of that central tenet of physics is, “An object in motion tends to stay in motion.” Just as it can be difficult to start running when you are out of shape, it can be challenging for some runners to force themselves into actually taking rest days rather than running every day.
Some runners feel guilty taking rest days, or they worry they’ll lose fitness or gain weight, or they simply love their run so much that it can be unappealing to fathom a day each week without running.
But, is running every day good for you? What are the benefits of running every day? Are there risks associated with running every day? In this article, we will answer these questions and explore the pros and cons of running every day and more.
Let’s get started!
How to Master Your Running Technique
“Good posture begins with your head,” advises elite distance runner Jonny Mellor, British Champion at the London Marathon 2020 and founder of JM Coaching. “Look ahead with your eyes focused on the ground approximately five to six meters in front. Keeping your chin parallel to the ground will ensure you don’t lean too far forwards or backwards.”
“Relaxed shoulders are key to enable your arms to swing backwards and forwards beside your body,” Mellor continues. Avoid cross-body arm movements, and resist the urge to make a tight fist. “Imagine you’re holding an egg,” he says. “You want to hold the egg without dropping it, but equally not so hard that you squash the egg in your hands.”
Keep your hips level with your pelvis. “This is why a strong core is important – to prevent the pelvis from tilting forward and pushing the hips back,” Mellor advises. “Often when runners have a tight lower back, it’s a result of tight hip flexors.” Despite what your park run-mad neighbour might tell you, it’s not worth getting hung up over your ‘foot strike’.
“You can be a rear foot, midfoot or forefoot runner, depending on how your foot hits the ground,” says Mellor. “Stick with what naturally occurs for you, unless you’re getting repeated injuries in this area. Your body will adapt to the forces you put through it. Focus on improving your posture further up your body instead.”
The most common posture error? “Running too stiff and rigid,” says Mellor. “If your spine is too rigid or you’re tight in your upper back, it can have a knock-on effect further down the chain and can result in injury.” Be loose, but don’t flail your hands around – in terms of movement patterns, “think tossing pancakes rather than frying sausages,” he says.
“Often runners don’t use their arms enough, which means they don’t get the same drive and power from their stride,” Mellor adds. “Short hill sprints – 10-15 seconds in duration – is a great way to practice form and technique and improve that drive phase.” Walk back to recover and repeat 4-6 times. “It’s a great way to work on your form,” he says.
How to Train For a 5K as a Beginner
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If your only marathon experience consists of the Netflix variety, this plan will get you out the door.
Designed by Tim Benjamin, former Olympic runner, current Team GB Olympic coach, and co-founder of the audio-fitness app WithU, it’ll build you up from walking to running a full 5km within eight weeks. “Each week will progressively increase the time spent running and reduce the walking time in between,” he says.
To get the most out of the plan, forget pace and focus on effort. “Your pace may change due to a variety of factors, including the weather, elevation, sleep, fatigue and stress,” says Benjamin.
“Listen to your body and try not to push too hard when your body isn’t feeling up to it. Some days you may find the runs easy, some days will feel super challenging.”
If you miss a day, no sweat. Just reset and jump in where you left off, Benjamin advises. “All athletes have down days so don’t get too hung up on it. You’re in control of what you put into the program and therefore what you get out of it.” And don’t skip the recovery days – they’re just as important for your progress. Stretch, drink plenty of water, and refuel.
Fueling your training is key. Typically, a quick bite between 30 and 60 minutes before you run – or a meal three hours prior – is recommended for a balance of fuel and fullness.
Adequate protein before exercise and throughout your training season will build and repair muscle tissue and may help reduce post-exercise muscle soreness.
15 Benefits of Running Every Day
1. Running Every Day Increases Your Lifespan
Research has found that runners have about a 25-30% lower risk of all-cause mortality, and consistent running has been found to increase life expectancy by at least three years.
In fact, according to a study published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings that looked at the disease and mortality risk of 13,000 runners over nearly 15 years, running as little as six miles per week—or roughly 52 minutes total—effectively reduced the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality by 30% and 45%, respectively, relative to non-runners.
CVD Cardiovascular disease (is a general term that describes a disease of the heart or blood vessels)
Moreover, runners with this low volume of training had an average increase in survival over non-runners of 3.0 and 4.1 years for all-cause and CVD-related survival, respectively.
2. Running Every Day Improves Your Cardiovascular Health
Jogging fortifies your heart and lungs since your pulse rate must rise while running to drive more oxygen and supplements to the muscles you’re using.
Over time, with consistent running, your heart, blood vessels, and lungs adapt and become stronger, healthier, and more resistant to cardiovascular disease.
In fact, studies show that running as little as 5 to 10 min/per day and as slow as 6 miles per hour (10 km/hr) or slower is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
3. Running Every Day Improves Your Aerobic Capacity
With consistent training, your cardiovascular system adapts and your fitness improves. Running every day increases your VO2 max, or aerobic capacity, which makes it easier to jump into any sort of physical activity without feeling so winded.
4. Running Improves Your Sleep
Performing endurance exercises in the morning improves your kip the following night, research published in the International SportMed Journal concluded. Not only will you nod off faster, but you’ll sleep for longer and enjoy a sounder (less restless) night’s sleep.
5. Running Makes You Happy
A brighter mood isn’t exclusive to the elusive ‘runner’s high’, which comes after an hour of pavement pounding. A few miles is enough to turn your day around, lifting your mood as effectively as an antidepressant, research from Karolinska University Hospital found.
6. Running Relieves Stress
Just 20 minutes of running is enough to mitigate work deadlines. In a study conducted by Asics via Kings College London, amateur runners experienced a 29 per cent increase in their ability to deal with stress and saw an 18 per cent boost in relaxation levels.
7. Running Burns Calories
Precisely how many calories you’ll burn depends on your weight, your pace, and the duration of your run. Lacing up for 30 minutes could burn anywhere from 200-500 calories. As a general rule, though, you can expect to burn roughly 100 calories per mile.
8. Running Boosts Learning and Memory
When you head out for a run immediately after learning something new, you’ll process and retain the information way more effectively than if you fill the time by playing a computer game, a study published in Cognitive Systems Research concluded.
9. Running Dampens Inflammation
Just 20 minutes of running suppresses inflammation, the University of California found. When inflammation is left unchecked – known as ‘chronic’ – it causes damage that leads to serious health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer and arthritis.
10. Running Provides an Energy Boost
Exhausted, overworked, and experiencing the cumulative effects of poor sleep? It sounds sadistic, but lacing up is the solution. A 20-minute session of low- or moderate-intensity exercise boosts your energy levels by 20 per cent, a University of Georgia study found.
11. Running Provides a Confidence Boost
Skip the shirtless mirror affirmations and hit the road, instead. Exercise inflates your ego, regardless of whether you actually lose fat, build muscle or get fitter, a meta-analysis published in the Journal of Health Psychology found.
12. Running Every Day Helps You Run Faster and Longer
All runners want to get faster and/or be able to run longer distances, and running every day is a good way to get closer to those goals.
If you only run sporadically, say one day this week, two days the next week, and then maybe one or two days the following week, and so on, it will be difficult to make progress as a runner and see your fitness improve.
Your training needs to be consistent—which usually involves running at least 3 days per week—for your body to really adapt enough for you to see noticeable improvements in your fitness and body composition.
13. Running Increases Your Attention Span
If you’re struggling to focus on that work report, tame your wandering brain with a trip around the block. Just 12 minutes of exercise is enough to improve your attention span and reading comprehension, researchers from Dartmouth College discovered.
14. Running Improves Insulin Sensitivity
Your blood sugar gradually declines during a run as your muscles begin using glucose for energy. A single bout of moderate-intensity endurance exercise increases whole-body glucose uptake for at least 48 hours into recovery, research published in The BMJ found.
15. Running Establishes a Fitness Routine
Running every day can help establish a fitness routine that keeps you motivated to continue. Some runners thrive on the prospect of maintaining a running streak of running every day with no days off.
If running every day helps keep you from falling off the bandwagon of exercising altogether, it might be a good idea to do a daily run, even if it’s just 5-10 minutes.
Is It Ok to Run Every Day?
Although there are many benefits associated with running, running every day is not necessarily the healthiest approach.
Running Every Day Can Increase the Risk of Injury
Running is a high-impact, repetitive activity, so overuse injuries such as stress fractures, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, runner’s knee, and IT band syndrome are common.
Taking rest days or doing low-impact cross-training rather than running every day can reduce your risk of injury.
A 12-month retrospective study of 446 male and female endurance athletes found that athletes who took fewer than two rest days per week during their training season had a 5.2-fold risk increase of sustaining an overuse injury.
Running Every Day Can Lead to Overtraining Syndrome
Your body needs time to rest, and running every day can increase cortisol and lead to overtraining syndrome.
Overtraining syndrome is a condition characterized by the presence of different physical and mental symptoms, such as sluggishness, low energy, appetite changes, hormonal imbalances, difficulty sleeping, irritability or other mood changes, compromised immunity, and reduced athletic performance.
Running Every Day Can Make It Hard to Fit in Other Forms of Exercise
If you run every day, you might not have time for strength training and cross-training, which can make you a more well-rounded, injury-resilient, and faster runner.
Running Every Day Can Create Its Own Type of Stress
Running every day can also create stress and pressure if you feel like you “must” run so that you don’t break your streak.
Life happens and it’s important to be able to listen to your body and do what’s best for your physical and mental health when it comes to how much and how often you run.
If you find yourself placing pressure on yourself to run every single day, you may find yourself in an unhealthy pattern.
Remember, running should enhance your life and health not detract from or complicate it unnecessarily. Running every day can be a real gift and joy, but it’s also important to take time off and respect your body’s need to recover.
