8 Reasons Why You Should Start Jogging Every Day
If you’ve been living a sedentary lifestyle but are keen to get fit this year, starting small will help you meet your weight-loss and fitness goals more easily.
Jogging is great way to introduce your body to physical activity after a long gap, and it comes with a number of health benefits.
It protects your heart
Jogging is a great aerobic exercise that improves your cardiovascular health by enhancing the delivery of oxygen to your muscles. In addition, regular jogging also improves your muscles’ ability to utilize the additional oxygen.
As you make brisk walking or jogging an indispensable part of your life, you will feel an overall sense of wellbeing and will also be strengthening your heart in the process.
It boosts HDL
HDL, the good cholesterol, plays a pivotal role in maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system. A poor lifestyle, unhealthy diet, and exposure to environmental toxins can upset blood cholesterol levels, making you prone to a number of serious health conditions, including heart disease.
Regular aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular fitness, which in turn boosts the production of HDL in the body. In fact, doctors say that running just an hour a week can reduce the risk of high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and stroke.
It is great for weight loss
If you’re looking for a way to reduce weight gradually, there’s nothing better than brisk walking or jogging for 30 to 45 minutes every day. Support this habit with a healthy diet of fresh produce, and you’re on your way to slow but sustainable weight loss.
On the other hand, if you’re keen for rapid weight loss through a focused, science-backed approach, try the HCG diet program, which can help you lose about one to two pounds every day.
It improves mental wellbeing
The effect of exercise on mental health is well known. Ask anyone who is physically active and they will vouch for the fact that any form of physical activity is a definite mood lifter. Being outdoors, in particular, has verified positive effects on the mental wellbeing of a person.
Research shows that running triggers the release of happy hormones in the brain, which can improve even the worst of moods. If you’ve been feeling low, stressed or anxious lately due to a personal or professional situation, get out and give jogging or running a try. It may just be what you need to get fresh thoughts and ideas.
Jogging is great for your leg muscles
Research has found that running strengthens the bones and muscles in your legs and reduces the risk of bone-related conditions such as osteoarthritis. In fact, jogging or running every day is a great way to tone up your calf muscles, thighs, hamstrings, quads and glutes—that is, all the muscles in your legs benefit from routine aerobic activity.
It can reduce your risk of developing cancer
Numerous studies have found that physical activity can cut the risk of cancers of the colon, prostrate, lungs and breast. Some studies have also found that exercise reduces the risk of endometrial cancer in women. In addition, exercising regularly and staying physically fit not only improves your quality of life, it also increases your lifespan, as lack of exercise leads to more deaths than does obesity.
It improves sleep
If you haven’t been exercising lately and have been having trouble sleeping, jogging for as little as 15 minutes every day can help you sleep better, according to research.
As stated before, physical activity causes the brain to release feel-good chemicals into the body, which relax the mind, improve mood and reduce stress, despite the fact that any type of physical activity is actually stressing your body. These combined positive effects help exercisers sleep better than non-exercisers.
Jogging improves your ability to burn fat
A fit and healthy person’s body weight constitutes more of muscle mass than fat. This is why all forms of exercise focuses on building and protecting muscle mass and burning fat. When you jog or run, your muscles need energy, which they get from calories. Therefore, when you jog every day or at least four times a week, your muscle mass improves and blood sugar and body fat start to reduce.
This is why, when you start exercising first, you may notice a change in your appearance but no change when you weigh yourself on the bathroom scale. This is because muscle mass, which you’re building through exercise, is heavier than fat, which you’re losing gradually.