The Benefits of Running
 

They are truly amazing, In january 2010 i couldnt run a mile, now i can run 9/10 miles without stopping, av done really well for myself, wish there was more and more people running and doing something about there health rather than sitting in pubs allday getiing tipsy.



Edited by SF Staff

id love to run but other than on my wii fit balance board on the cushioned apartment, with bad knees it's out of he question :( actually since my knee flared up yet again, it's been almost 3 weeks since i was able to do my wii fit and i miss it!

What if they run to the pub? lol

Congratulations on your achievement. :smile:

james

Running is great. We develop spiritually but we forget abut our Earthly Vehicle - the Body. In healthy body - healthy spirit.

I love running too. Started last year when going through a bad time. Couldn't run far at all but now i can do 10k and more! its addictive and more people should do it!

Thank you brother :hug3:

It really is! i love it so much

Sorry about your knees, maybe you should try and see a Physio therapist?

Hope they get better! :cool:

My mum bought me a gym membership for my birthday, which was cool, so I've been going there a bit. Also swimming alot but would like to do more running. I find myself procrastinating on it a lot. I want to lose weight though cos my anti depressants have made me gain quite a bit of weight. PLus I've read all about the endorphine highs that people can get.

Fristly congrats.......I'm no runner I have a raelly weak ankle where if I mess it up anymore they say I need surgery, plus I don't have the body for a runner, instead I swim. So I can kind of see where you're coming from, I remember first swimming after not doing so for years and building up to a mile (which takes 40 minutes) it's such a great feeling, I admire runners.
Spiritlite.

I wish I had the motivation to start exercises and the will power to keep at it

It's all about forming the habit. Do it, every day, for forty days, and it will become part of your routine.

Hiya, i started running when i quit smoking over a year ago, i started out twice a week, sometimes 3x a week, over time my running has become more enjoyable rather than such a depressing chore to be healthy! when i feel well, slim, healthy, fit & look good, in return i feel good!! :color: mental physical & spiritual well being is what we all desire.

Trag blag yes make it a habit for 40 days....then you will settle in the routine......
Spiritlite

Running has great benefits.
For people with bad knees, or weak limbs and joints, it is important to regularly strengthen the area, and build muscle around the injury prone area. For example with those with bad knees, do forward lunges, lift weights on your feet or ankles and do knee strengthening exercises - in most, the knee is the weakest joint, because people don't often remember to strengthen that area, but it is the most important joint to be cared for in running. Injuries of all kinds are easily healed by strengthening up the muscles, it is one main step in physiotherapy.
Keeping the legs strong is a good thing. It is excellent to do calf muscle strengthening as well, like calf lifts, and before running do stretches and loosen up the limbs to combat injuries.
I have really bad knees, due to constant knee injuries in sports in my past, but when i strengthen them and build up muscle tissue around them they are just fine, and the injuries heal itself as long as it is strong and has muscle holding it in place.

For running, if people have joint problems, the proper running shoes are necessary, to provide shock and bounce when your feet hit the ground. Alternatives, like running on grass, soft trails in a forest, a treadmill, or a track which has a soft surface are better than running on hard surfaces like pavement, as concrete is not always beneficial to the body for anyone, the impact can injure joints. It is important to look after the body!

lol :smile: Thanks for the laugh! :occasion14:

I love to run when I'm mad or stressed! It's the best release! Of course, I can only run full speed for so long...
Then I walk for a bit... which gives me time to emotionally chill out too...
Then I take off like the wind again... until I'm emotionally & physically exhausted!

Ciquala- Yeah, stretching before & after helps a lot!
Thanks for the reminder - I usually just run on pavement or a rocky path, but it would probably be better on my knees to run on a track or something softer.

I don't think I would ever be a runner. I do enjoy speed walking, swimming and rollerblading and have a few pieces of workout equipment.

I have recently decided that I am going to get fit and lose the last few kilos of baby weight I have left. I have been working up to being able to run for longer and when I do it I find it alot of fun, I hope I have the will power to keep at it and make it a part of my daily routine.

CJ

I hope you get this. i actually had a great deal of trouble with my knees as well. In the Marine Corp a great deal of stress was placed on my body, so to a degree it was damaged.

what i found out, is that mechanically as we get older we are inclined to run in a manner that places undue stress on our knees. There is a way to modify our running so as to minimize it.

If you get the opportunity look into chi running and the pose method. the changes they offer may benefit you and allow you to take up running.

it did for me.

hope that helped.

kavon

I love running, but currently I'm only happy doing it on a treadmil. I'm, in the nicest possible term, viking-esque and when I run down the road people run away from me. Maybe a technique to get other people to run? lol chase them!

I do run on treadmills every weekend though, and I love it. But they say a mile on the treadmill is equal to quater of a mile on the road. Ah well. It's nicer for me, because with a treadmill I can close my eyes and listen to the rhythem of movement, and it can put me into quite a trance.

It's such a natural feeling to run, maybe one of the only primitive things we can till do today without too much attention.

lol, maybe I should deliberately dress up like a viking and go for a run, maybe start a trend. 'The Pillage Run!'

Productive Exercise Interest
 

It is productive that you’ve found an interest other than pub sitting all day!

Some studies have found that brisk walking can be as beneficial as running for exercise & not nearly as damaging to the joints. As you’ve taken an interest in health issues, exploring some warm up stretching yoga type exercises might be a very useful complement for your running.

running is one of the best things you can do. Humans are built to run for hours on end, and keep going. ITs from our hunting and gathering past.

I have some knee problems as well, so its hard for me to run, but swimming and biking work really well. Im going to start getting into running again, but I have to build up my knee strength.

This includes full body stretches, especialy the calves, hamstrings and glutes. Stretching stops the mucles from geting tight and helps to eventualy ease some pain. Strengthening it takes a little bit more time. Leg press, biking, swimming, hanstring curls, and any excersise that works out the entire leg is good, becasue all the muscles around the injury are compensating for the damaged area ( which can cause some pain in itself)


A great study that was just done, has shown that running in shoes, even professional running shoes causes more shock and impact to run up your legs into your back. While barefoot running had little no no impact. Shoes force our feet to hit the ground differently then when we are barefoot. This always causes undo impact to your ankles and knees, even if you have perfect form.



LOl breath... im the same way. Im not a small guy, and i tend to walk with purpose, let alone run LOL. That IS a good way to get people to move!

sry... grats dude!!!! I didnt know that it was that big of an improvement dude!

:D!

I think you can get these new-age super shoes that are basically socks with a thin layer of rubber across the bottom and a split between the big toe and the rest of the toes. A good excersize for people who need low impact 'running' type excersizes is walking up steep hills. You'd be amazed at how fast your heart rate rises, my pulse raised up to about 201 just doing a massive incline walk on a treadmill.

And what you said about running. Weirdly humans are a bit of a picky hybrid, we've got the legs to run but the spine to crawl on all fours and a rib cage to run with hands and feet not just legs.

The best excersize for a human with little impact is swimming, cycling and climbing. I'd be up for a bit of tree hopping, used to LOVE that as a kid. Can't believe how high I'd climb now I'm an adult... Fearless. Sitting up in the evergreen looking trees, licking the back of the bark, that yellowy stuff that tasted slightly of orange juice with my best mate. Saving his bloody kittens from impending doom...

Those were the days.

:rolleyes:

Yeah... ive seen those. But nohting building some caluses couldnt solve. I used to be able to walk on glass LOL.

Were barley even evolved. We have lots of "growing up to do" i guess. hence they "Weird hybrid" as you put it LOL.

10 km 43 mins beat that craig! haha jk..

i am most spiritually evolving when running is a part of my regime.

I think that just as beneficial as running is, swimming is JUSt as beneficial....it excercises ALL muscles of the body not just the arms, it's very meditative and it doesn't hurt your joints.
Spiritlite.

edit,

i did it in 50 minutes today lol

and yeah swimming is soooooooooooooooooooooooooo awesome! one day i'll swim with ya!

Symbiotic sure come on down and we'll take a swim.
Spiritlite

l ran 11.5 km , ln 1 hour, am guna run 12.5 km ton1ght

Running is good for increasing serotonin levels, it is a natural anti-depressant in that sense. Anything that get your heart pumping is i think.

It is also much less impactful on the knees to run on a treadmill as opposed to concrete or pavement. I tried at one point to go jogging, but i found it boring and prefer sports or just a treadmill where i can zone out a bit and not have to worry about how much further until i get home.

I love walking though, strangely enough. Or bike riding. Any sort of regular cardiovascular exercise routine is very beneficial and worthwhile in my opinion. Keep that blood flowing and heart pumping, within moderation of course, unless you enjoy the torture of iron man marathons lol, which i could never do, but i respect those can achieve that level of physical endurance.

I envy runners but with my ankle if I ran I would tear it up so bad I'd need surgery in a month, I'm not kidding I'm still wearing a brace from a slight twist from 2 months ago....UGH...so swimming for me and yoga...I LOVE IT.
Spiritlite.

ahh my ankle is hurtin from last monday's 10 km run i wish i could run moreeeeee boooo it feels sooo good

lol Self also I don't have the body of a runner more the body of a swimmer.
Spiritlite.

;) I am very athletic and used to run loads...but I agree with Spiritlite.
Swimming & yoga are just as challenging...and much easier if you are really top-heavy :tongue: walking good too!

That was the only place I didn't lose all the weight after I had my son...6 yrs ago, LOL... :rolleyes:

7L

7 thankyou so much people don't understand how tough swimming is, people think you just use your arms but you use ALL parts of your body all muscles are involved and it's not easy to swim a mile a day in under 35 minutes using different strokes, and yoga is challenging plus I'm top heavy in terms of I'm very broad shouldered etc so I'm not a runners body.
Spiritlit.e

yay for yoga and swimming wooowowowo love em both especially hot yoga

Symbiotic I've always wanted to try hot yoga but scared I wouldn't last :)
Spiritlite.

they always tell you to take it easy and do what you can, it is your class by the way. you should have seen me the first time! i was soooooo sweaty that my mat couldn't keep my feet stabilized the teacher came over and recommended a towel on my mat for next time lol. i almost didn't last the first few but after you get a few in you you love it so much! i was addicted. i'm going today for the first time in a while

I used to run every day for half an hour after work but I'll be honest I was doing it for vanity rather than health. I wanted to lose some weight but after a couple of months and not really noticing a difference on the scales I lost my drive. I have just recently enrolled in a gym membership and intend to start tomorrow! :)