Running for Weight Loss Plan: Beginner’s Guide

Running is one of the best workouts for weight loss. It burns more calories per hour than many other forms of exercise, and you don’t even have to spend a lot of money because all you need is a good pair of running shoes. If you are new to running and would like to shed some extra pounds, the following running for weight loss plan will get you off to a good start.

Getting Started – Running for Weight Loss

Walk and Run

Running is a challenging exercise, so it’s important to begin your fitness routine gradually in order to avoid injury. A combination of walking and running will give your body time to adapt to the training while still burning calories. Start with a brisk 10-minute walk to warm up your body and loosen your muscles. Alternate between running for 1 minute and walking for 1 minute for the next 10 minutes. Finish your workout with a 10-minute walk to cool down.

Gradually increase the duration of the runs and shorten the walks until you are able to run consistently for 10 minutes. Finally, begin to shorten your warm-up and cool-down walks so that you will be running longer periods. Run at a pace that allows you to carry on a conversation. Your goal is to be able to run for 30 minutes at a time in order to maximize calorie burn.

Add Mileage

Running for Weight Loss

The next stage of your weight loss running plan is to run longer distances. You can easily get bored if you run the same distance day in and day out. Gradually increase your total mileage for the week in order to burn more calories each week and achieve your weight-loss goal.

The rate of mileage increase should not exceed 10% per week. This will give your body time to adapt to the workout without suffering from the added stress on your joints and muscles.

Intervals

Interval training is one of the best ways to increase the number of calories burned during your workout. When doing intervals, you alternate between sprinting/running and jogging/walking. Fartlek can also be integrated into your running for weight loss plan. Fartlek is an unstructured form of interval training where you sprint 200-400 meters, then run at your normal pace for recovery.

Vary Your Workouts

Your weight loss running plan should provide variety in your types of workout so as to prevent boredom. In addition to intervals, your workout can include tempo runs or running at a challenging but manageable pace. It’s also a good idea to incorporate long, slow runs at least once a week. Running longer distances allows you to burn more calories and shed extra pounds.

Running for Weight Loss Plan: Beginner’s Guide