Blast more calories on your next run by incorporating different training strategies to keep the body challenged. Running is an incredibly effective and efficient form of exercise for weight loss and getting fit.
Depending on body frame size, an individual can burn approximately 100 calories for every mile they log. Most people assume that the more they run, the more weight they will lose which is true, but only to a point.
During the initial training stage, a runner can potentially lose some weight. But over time that progress can slow down once an individual adapts to the exercise regimen. Keep the training challenging by mixing up your routine. Here are 4 effective ways to blast more calories the next time you lace up your run shoes.
High Intensity Interval Training
The most effective and efficient use of time and energy to increase training intensity is to do some type of interval training. Interval training consists of short bursts of intense exercise with relatively short periods of recovery in between. Incorporating interval training is an effective way to blast calories especially when short on available training time.
When running at a comfortable pace, the body can obtain energy easily from the oxygen inhaled when running. The body likes to be on cruise control running at a consistently comfortable pace, because that is where it’s most comfortable and gas efficient.
However, by increasing the intensity thereby making the workout more challenging, muscles must work harder to process that oxygen. Fire up the fat burning furnace by incorporating interval training thereby making the body burn more calories to perform the activity.
Hill Running
Hill running is challenging but the results are worth the hard effort. For each degree of hill incline, count on at least a ten percent increase in calories burned. Running up a five percent grade (a gentle hill) will burn fifty percent more calories than running on a totally flat surface for the same amount of time.
Hill training recruits more muscles than running on flat terrain. The end result is increased calorie burn and a lean, fit body. The goal is to incorporate hill training into a run routine at least once per week.
Strength training
A strong body helps to prevent injury. The most efficient runners in the world have always used some type of resistance training not only to enhance speed, but also to improve strength and overall fitness. Several strength and conditioning studies found that runners who performed resistance-training exercises two or three days a week, in addition to their weekly cardio regimen, increased both leg strength and endurance enhancement – two things that contribute to weight loss. Metabolism can elevate by approximately twenty-five percent for the sixty minutes following an intense strength training session.
Cardio + Strength training
To double the calorie burn, combining both cardiovascular exercise with strength training is the real ticket. After a run workout, perform a strength train workout to extend the time you are active and burn even more calories. The strength train routine doesn’t need to be long and time-consuming to be effective. Select strength moves that maximize muscle groups like walking lunges, reverse lunges, squats and push-ups. Perform 3-5 sets of 12-15 repetitions per set and aim for 20-30 minutes work out time.
Blast more calories when running by stoking up the fat burning furnace using these effective training strategies. The more effort placed into each workout, the more calories an individual can burn and the stronger they will become. Don’t let training become stagnant. Running at the same pace on the same terrain day after day won’t get the results you want. When training becomes stagnant, so do results. Keep the body guessing by continually challenging it to become lean, fit, have more energy and better overall health.