Running every morning or every day has its health benefits. Just running about 10 minutes every day reduces the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and diseases like cardiovascular disease. And do not forget that it helps in burning calories, which helps the weight loss process.
Do you hate running or don’t have any running motivation? Well, we are here to change your mind about running and give you some ways to keep yourself motivated for a run. Yes, you might feel lazy to go for a morning run or run in general, but we have got some significant steps to get motivated to run.
If you hate running, take your time and look at the benefits running has to offer. We are hoping that you will change your mind about running after you look at a few of the health benefits, they are:
- Running reduces the chances of death due to stroke or heart attack.
- Lowers the risk of developing certain neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
- Reduces the risk of having cardiovascular disease.
- Lowers the risk of developing cancers.
Running, cycling, walking, and swimming help improve your sleep, mood, and concentration ability better.
Don’t know how to motivate yourself for a run? We got you covered. Here are ways you can motivate yourself to run:
- You can use apps that count your steps. Somehow this motivates you, and you can challenge yourself by increasing the step count.
- Download an app that helps record the number of steps. Runabout 20 minutes, check how many steps you took, and then set a target that the next day you will increase your step count.
- You have to run or walk for a longer time hence increasing your time of running.
- Rewarding yourself will help increase your running motivation. Make a list of things you want to do in your free time or things you want to buy. Then reward yourself daily, weekly, or monthly totally up to you.
- On days when you are busy and cannot run for 30 minutes or an hour like you do every other day, run for how long you can run, not lose the motivation.
- Running increases the heart rate, which helps to burn calories and helps to reduce belly fat. So if you are planning to lose weight, then this should keep you motivated.
- Ask your friends to be your training partners. Make training schedules and follow it. You can ask the most motivated friend to be the running coach.
- Notice changes like better sleep or mood. Remember all the positive feelings.
- You do not have to run for an hour every day. Change your running time, your running pace, or the number of days you run.
- You can join a training program and have friendly running competitions.
- Shopping can never get boring so shop for clothes and running shoes for your workout or for running. Wear clothes that you are comfortable in when you go for a run.
- To keep yourself entertained, listen to music or podcasts.
- To make your running routine enjoyable, take a different road, or change the time of the day.
- Change your running pace depending on you. If you want to run at a high pace or moderate pace, then go for it.
Avoid running every day right away; you have to gradually build-up, so it is best to make a running or training plan. Your body needs to adjust to the changes; therefore, start with running three days a week and gradually increase the time and the number of days. You can also change between running, walking, cycling, and swimming. If you think you can perform better when running with a group of people, join a training program.
Interchanging between running, walking, swimming, and cycling can be beneficial to you.
Few benefits include:
- Fewer changes in muscle injury.
- Interval training can help engage a variety of muscle groups.
- Increases flexibility.
- Increases core strength.
To keep the running motivation, here is an example of a training plan:
- Run three to four days a week.
- Run at a moderate pace for about 30 minutes, two days a week.
- Run at a moderate-high pace for about 20 minutes, one day a week. You can go swimming or cycling on this day instead.
- Walk for about an hour on any of the free days.
- After a month or more, run two to three days a week and swim or cycle on the other two days. Rest for two or three days. Mix these days up, run, then swim or cycle and then take a day off.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I stay motivated to run long distances?
Few ways to motivate yourself to run long distances are:
- Try reminding yourself that you can do this; you are not tired. Find ways to distract yourself.
- Divide the distance and take 5-minute breaks between the runs.
- Don’t start running at a high pace. Start with an easy-moderate pace, then gradually increase it to moderate and high pace.
- Few minutes before reaching the finish line, you can gradually start decreasing your pace.
- Don’t push yourself too hard.
What can I do instead of outdoor cycling?
You can use a stationary bike or recumbent bike for indoor cycling. The bike can come in handy when it is raining outside. These bikes mainly concentrate on the lower body, but we want to engage different muscle groups; therefore, outdoor cycling is preferred.
What are the benefits of swimming and cycling?
Few benefits of swimming include:
- Increases muscle strength
- It is a workout involving the entire body.
- Swimming helps improve flexibility.
- Swimming helps reduce stress.
Some benefits of cycling include:
- Cycling helps strengthen the muscles.
- Cycling improves joint mobility.
- It helps to burn calories.
- Cycling improves muscle flexibility.
- Cycling helps decrease stress levels.
Final Words:
Going for a morning run is peaceful. You can enjoy the empty streets, the fresh air, and try admiring the beauty of nature. Remember that it is all up to you; you are in control so change the pace, change how long you are going to run and your running route, change the time of the day and how many days you will run in a week.
Have a nice day!
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