So, what are the benefits of running every day? Shock answer! You don’t have to actually run a mile or for 30 minutes every single day to reap the benefits. But running often is a good idea and we all know it has great cardiovascular health benefits.
What are the health benefits of running everyday?
Research shows that even just running up to 10 minutes every day can help reduce risk of heart attacks and strokes.
- Improved sleep
- Good for your heart
- Less risk of cancer
- Less risk of Alzheimer’s
The list goes on..
Do you need other exercises too?
Other exercises like pilates, yoga, strength training and walking can all really help give you a far more rounded approach to running. You’ll still reap the benefits of running. But adding in the others can help your muscles recover faster and build strength and flexibility in different ways.
What if I get injured running every day?
If you injure your lower body on a run, the best remedy is usually RICE. That means:
- R – Rest – Don’t run!
- I – Ice – Keep it cool so that any swelling helps to go down
- C – Compression – Get a bag of something frozen from the freezer and wrap it in a tea towel
- E – Elevation – Keep your leg lifted, so up on the couch for example
If you’ve not run for a while or you’ve overdone it, I usually find ‘RICE’ fixes things soon enough. And then when you’re ready to get back to it, you can do so with care. Don’t jump into a half marathon straight after recovery!
If you’re concerned, contact your health care professional.
What are the benefits of running 30 minutes everyday?
You can run for 30 minutes every day and you’ll be in better shape fitness wise if you do that for a few weeks. You’ll also sleep better from the physical exercise and you’ll feel sharper mentally too, especially short term. But you don’t need to run for half an hour every single day. And it’s probably worth asking why you want to do that because you’re at a higher risk of injuring yourself.
Throwing yourself in at the commitment of running for 30 minutes every day is a big challenge if you’ve not really run much before. And you don’t necessarily need to. You could run for 30 or 40 minutes twice a week, or even less if you’re a beginner at running. Or if you prefer, run shorter times every day and see how you feel.
But I would definitely recommend making sure you’re looking after yourself if you are running that often:
- Wearing the right running shoes – neutral or stability shoes? Or cross training shoes?
- Stretching properly before and after you run
- The right running clothes
- Eating correctly before you run
Should you run every day?
I’d always advise speaking to a healthcare professional before you embark on a huge physical challenge because you want to avoid any injuries, especially if you’re on any medication or anything like that. But in my experience, you’ll get more benefits from not running every day.
Instead, just start incorporating running into your weekly schedule. You could do the couch to 10k. You could start trying to improve your 5K pace. You could even plan ahead and train yourself up for a half marathon (but I wouldn’t do a half marathon without training!).
How to run every day
If you’re set on running every single day, this is a very rough guideline of how I’d go about it:
You’ll need:
Running gear
Shoes, running top, leggings, comfy socks and sports bra
I’d always wear headphones too – can’t beat a motivational running playlist!
Weekly plan
Decide how many far or long you want to run for every day. If you’re new to this, I’d maybe start really small with a 10 minute run or less. And then note down what your plan is for that week. Again, a couch to 10k plan can be helpful here. They’re literally designed to go from zero to something great, without the injuries!
