Australian Men’s Fitness – September 2019

● Game Changers Cardio

Sevenbenefitsofrunningthatwill

makeyouwanttostartrightnow.

1

RUNNINGCANHELPYOU

LOSEWEIGHT

If youwanttobehealthy,

thenmaintaininga good,

healthyweightshould

berightatthetopofyour

to-dolist,andrunning

willhelpyoutickthat

offindouble-quicktime.

Youburna wholelotof

calorieswhenrunning,

especiallyif youchuck

ina fewsprintsections

duringyourrunor

powerthroughyour

localparkrun.Andeven

if youjustmaintaina

nice,steadypacefor 45

minutes, you’re going

to burn more calories

than when you push

yourself to the limit in

a 20-minute HIIT session.

3

RUNNING CLEARS

THE HEAD

Your mental health can

benefit from running just

as much as your physical

fitness. Running is your

own time, away from the

stresses of day-to-day life,

and the endorphin rush

you get from the activity

is a great pick-me-up.

2

RUNNING CAN MAKE YOU

FEEL HAPPIER

Runners are happier,

more positive and have

higher self-esteem,

according to a study

by Glasgow Caledonian

University, UK, of more

than 8,000 pavement

pounders, who scored 4.4

on the Oxford Happiness

Scale. The average score

is 4. Another study found

that the mental health

benefits of running were

almost instantaneous.

Run club

It’swisetotakeit slow

atthestartofwhatever

sportyoudecidetotake

up,butit’sespeciallyimportantwith

running.That’sbecauserunning

canbeanabsolutechoreatfirst.

Withina minute,you’rebreathing

hard,musclesstartscreamingatyou

withinfive,andafter 10 a lotofpeople

haveconvincedthemselvesthey

won’tbotherwithrunningagain.

However,if youtakeit easyatthe

startanddon’tputanypressureon

yourselftorunquickly,it won’tbelong

untilitscharmsbecomeclear.Here

aresevenreasonsyou’llfallinlove

withrunningif yougiveit a chance.

I

34 MEN’S FITNESS SEPTEMBER 2019