Running - what would it do for me?

[sonicteamaajm]

I seem to have a lot of spare time lately, and I was thinking of doing some sort of exercise in that time and I was thinking of running, but I am already pretty skinny as it is, I don't want to exercise to lose weight.

Maybe a 1 hour jog in the afternoon or something.

I did some research, but I thought I'd ask you guys anyways for a more straightforward answer.

My question is what will running do for me other than lose weight?

Andy.

 

[MadWolfZX]

I seem to have a lot of spare time lately, and I was thinking of doing some sort of exercise in that time and I was thinking of running, but I am already pretty skinny as it is, I don't want to exercise to lose weight.

Maybe a 1 hour jog in the afternoon or something.

I did some research, but I thought I'd ask you guys anyways for a more straightforward answer.

My question is what will running do for me other than lose weight?

Andy.

I ran for several years (almost daily), and it made me feel great. I mean, at all times I felt better/healthier. Unfortunately, I had some serious surgery and then all sorts of terrible health problems made it very difficult for me to run and I no longer run, but wish I did, as I don't feel nearly as good as back then.

You will not necessarily lose weight; that depends on what you eat and your body's specific genetic characteristics. Some people lose a lot of weight from just walking a lot; but I did not ever lose weight running; only gained(in muscle mass in my legs).

 

[SirTophamHat]

Running is a super form of mediation. You are able to zone out and think of nothing, or if you want to, everything. If you drink a quart of chocolate milk directly after finishing your runs you will gain all the calories back that you burned and it's also a good cheap recovery drink.

Don't necessarily think of running as a way to lose weight; it's a wonderful pastime. Running road races like 5ks, 10ks, etc. are fun. So are trail runs, runs at night, runs around a new city or with friends. A couple of my college professors did a study on aerobic exercise and its influence on mood last year. Here is the abstract:

The objective was to estimate the duration of the effects of aerobic exercise on mood. Healthy men (n = 13) and women (n = 35) ages 18 to 25 years (M = 20.2, SD = 3.4) were randomly assigned to either a control or exercise group. Participants completed the Profile of Mood States before, after, and at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours following either exercise at 60% VO2 peak or quiet rest. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance was utilized with VO2 peak entered as a covariate. The exercise group showed significantly lower total mood disturbance immediately after and at 4, 8, and 12 hours following exercise.

Running is awesome "you time." I quit running regularly because I wanted to get bigger, but if you don't mind being skinny (I know a lot of girls dig the skinny dudes) then running is great fun. You might even put on a little weight at first from added muscle too.

 

[amapola]

Hmmm obviously running is great cardiovascular exercise, and one reason I've always liked it is because of the history of ancient human runners.

Check it out very cool! Basically we can outrun anything and did to survive for thousands of years.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=256348&page=1

However that being said running (especially on concrete sidewalks were I live) is just so bad for you knees, hips and feet. Now I try and focus on biking and swimming, but every once in a while nothing beats a good run if I am out of the city. Plus I got to keep those triathalon times up :D

 

[SirTophamHat]

However that being said running (especially on concrete sidewalks were I live) is just so bad for you knees, hips and feet.

We were meant to run long distances, we evolved doing so as you said. The potential for injuries is not a reason to stay away from running more than any other sport. Poor biomechanics can be fixed most of the time.

I've always been sort of a running fanantic. I go to www.letsrun.com almost every day.

 

[amapola]

Haha okay fine it was likely tennis that messed up my joints and running just didn't help. Still it's a bazillion times better to run than to do nothing :D

 

[ganja god]

As already said it will change your mindset a little to be less stressed and more mentally alert. Your heart will become allot stronger as will your lungs. You will have more energy throughout the day. Mentally running teaches allot of valuable lessons in will power and perseverance and gives you the opportunity to completely surprise yourself at whats inside you and what you can accomplish.

 

[webbykevin]

i tried to get my wife into running.

I told her that if she jogged 7 miles a day, by the end of the week she would be 49 miles away.

And we would both be much happier.

 

[bighooter]

when I used to go running 3 mornings a week 5miles in 30minutes

I was the fittest i'd ever been in my life, basically I had never felt so healthy and good

- i slept like a baby
- i had no anxiety what so ever
- my resting heart rate was rediculously low

however i lost alot of strength and only weighed 8 stone 10 and this in turn made me feel bad about myself because I felt very weak and fragile it knocked my self esteem for sh1t so I gave it up.

Now I do weights aswell as a bit of running and I feel AMAZING!

 

[Cohesion]

i tried to get my wife into running.

I told her that if she jogged 7 miles a day, by the end of the week she would be 49 miles away.

And we would both be much happier.

Running far away is much easier without the legalities...

 

[sonicteamaajm]

I ran for several years (almost daily), and it made me feel great. I mean, at all times I felt better/healthier. Unfortunately, I had some serious surgery and then all sorts of terrible health problems made it very difficult for me to run and I no longer run, but wish I did, as I don't feel nearly as good as back then.

^It sucks to hear about the health problems dude.

You will not necessarily lose weight; that depends on what you eat and your body's specific genetic characteristics. Some people lose a lot of weight from just walking a lot; but I did not ever lose weight running; only gained(in muscle mass in my legs).

^I do want to gain a little muscle, so yeah that would be great. I do walk a lot, about a 20 minute walk to my parents house at about 5 days a week.

Running is a super form of mediation. You are able to zone out and think of nothing, or if you want to, everything. If you drink a quart of chocolate milk directly after finishing your runs you will gain all the calories back that you burned and it's also a good cheap recovery drink.

^This especially sounds like my cup of tea, I do think a lot and sometimes over analyse things, so meditation would be great for me. Also thanks for the chocolate milk tip.

Running is awesome "you time." I quit running regularly because I wanted to get bigger, but if you don't mind being skinny

^My biggest hobby at the moment is playing on my xbox with friends, which isn't doing my any good at all!

(I know a lot of girls dig the skinny dudes)

^Well

As already said it will change your mindset a little to be less stressed and more mentally alert. Your heart will become allot stronger as will your lungs. You will have more energy throughout the day. Mentally running teaches allot of valuable lessons in will power and perseverance and gives you the opportunity to completely surprise yourself at whats inside you and what you can accomplish.

^I have always been interested in the ways of the mind/brain and this will be a great experiment to see how running can improve its performance like this and the thing about the stronger heart and lungs is also good news too as I have asthma, so I would need some strong organs.

when I used to go running 3 mornings a week 5miles in 30minutes

I was the fittest i'd ever been in my life, basically I had never felt so healthy and good

- i slept like a baby
- i had no anxiety what so ever
- my resting heart rate was rediculously low

however i lost alot of strength and only weighed 8 stone 10 and this in turn made me feel bad about myself because I felt very weak and fragile it knocked my self esteem for sh1t so I gave it up.

Now I do weights aswell as a bit of running and I feel AMAZING!

^At the moment I weight about 10 1/2 stone, maybe less by now, so I would mainly be after some muscle as I would love to do the London marathon at some point in my life.

Thanks for all of the replies guys, much appreciated.

 

[n3ophy7e]

sonic I'm really excited to hear you're wanting to get in to running. I love running and just last year I competed in my first half-marathon. I'm hoping to compete in my first full marathon in July this year.

As others have said, running won't necessarily make you lose weight. If you're already pretty skinny there won't be much excess weight for you to lose! More likely, especially if you're going to run middle-distances at a reasonably moderate to fast pace, your legs, shoulders and abdominals will build up a lot of muscle and tone nicely.

Diet is also super important so make sure you read up properly on what you should eat before and after running to maximise muscle growth and repair.

The potential for injuries is not a reason to stay away from running more than any other sport. Poor biomechanics can be fixed most of the time.

This is so so true. If one stretches and warms up before and after each run, and listens to their body for when it needs rest, injuries are a minimal risk.

 

[sonicteamaajm]

sonic I'm really excited to hear you're wanting to get in to running. I love running and just last year I competed in my first half-marathon. I'm hoping to compete in my first full marathon in July this year.

As others have said, running won't necessarily make you lose weight. If you're already pretty skinny there won't be much excess weight for you to lose! More likely, especially if you're going to run middle-distances at a reasonably moderate to fast pace, your legs, shoulders and abdominals will build up a lot of muscle and tone nicely.

Diet is also super important so make sure you read up properly on what you should eat before and after running to maximise muscle growth and repair.

This is so so true. If one stretches and warms up before and after each run, and listens to their body for when it needs rest, injuries are a minimal risk.

Yeah, this is pretty exciting for me too! Looking forward to gaining a bit of muscle. I will do plenty of research for a new diet to take on too. I will also be safe and do stretches and warm ups before every run!

By the way, do you suggest I start immediately, I mean in this weather or should I wait for spring when its a littler warmer or doesn't it matter all that much?

 

[Gormur]

We were meant to run long distances, we evolved doing so as you said. The potential for injuries is not a reason to stay away from running more than any other sport. Poor biomechanics can be fixed most of the time.

I've always been sort of a running fanantic. I go to www.letsrun.com almost every day.

We weren't made to run in poorly designed shoes that put stress on our bodies tho

 

[LoveAlways]

We weren't made to run in poorly designed shoes that put stress on our bodies tho

yeah has anyone tried or researched the whole "running barefoot" thing? i dont know much about running, i always get winded so easily (I'm actually trying to see a dr to get tested for asthma) i would love to run though i live in a beautiful neighborhood, but i already have horrible knees and ankles....advice?

 

[SirTophamHat]

You guys are right. A lot of shoes today intended for running use have a large heel lift (difference in height between the toe box and the heel of the shoe). This lift shortens your achilles, effectively deactivating your lower leg muscles as stabilizers. These "cushioning" styles of athletic shoes actually prevent your peroneals, calves, etc. from strengthening and being able to buffer against harsh ankle sprains and the like. If you can bring yourself to run in flats and teach yourself to land relatively flat footed, on the balls of your feet, you may experience less discomfort. I use a pair of Nike Free 3.0s when I run, or vibrams if it's a soft surface or lesser distance. The movement is called minimalism and you can find a lot of people arguing about it on the internet. I also think some dude wrote a book on it recently called Born To Run (less sciencey more journalisty). It is a good read IIRC.

 

[n3ophy7e]

Yeah there is a LOT of debate for and against the barefoot thing. I maintain that neither side of the argument is right or wrong, but (like most things in life) different things suit different people.

LoveAlways, if you have shitty knees and ankles I would personally suggest that you use proper running shoes for good shock absorption. But you're best off seeing a physiotherapist or podiatrist for a proper professional opinion before you start running.

By the way, do you suggest I start immediately, I mean in this weather or should I wait for spring when its a littler warmer or doesn't it matter all that much?

Hmmm, it probably doesn't matter a whole heap...what weather are we talking about? (it's the middle of summer here in Australia )
Do you have access to a treadmill if it's too cold outside?

If it's snowing or cold enough to snow, you might be better off waiting until it's a bit warmer. Especially if you have asthma or something like that?? Always be super careful running in cold temperatures if you have any kind of respiratory condition.

The only other things to note with running in winter is that you need to make sure you're well warmed up before you run, otherwise I find that my knees and ankles hurt. And sometimes I can get a sore throat from breathing the cold air. But that might not happen to you.

Try it and see how you go! And as always, listen to your body

 

[Whodathunkit]

Running allowed that necessary "me time"...that sometimes you don't get in daily life. Not to mention those natural endorphins that are dormant that you never release. It really feels good if you do it right.

The key is to not do too much too soon. Otherwide you'll injure yourself. Start off slow. Don't increase more than 10% per week. And at that point decide on either distance or speed improvement. Not both at the same time. Trust me. It'll decrease the possibility of hurting yourself. From personal experience. As a person who used to do only 5Ks and eventually did a marathon(last year).

One way to make sure you're getting the right shoes is going to a store that specializes in running/jogging. Some places will watch you run on a treadmill with a camera and give you recommendations on what kind of shoe to get. Those are super helpful. Here in Seattle, we have few. And take into consideration that running on treadmill and slightly different than running outside(impact, etc).

If you have any questions, PM me.