Contrary to what you may think, running a few miles at intervals may generate the same benefits as running a complete marathon or race. There is really no need to limit yourself to just endurance training and long distance running. Wondering how this could actually work? Then this is for you.
Running fast and tough for about five to ten minutes a day can add some years to your life span, the same way running for hours can. Once you are able to squeeze in training at specific times in a day, you can acheive results good enough to be compared with people who run more than four hours in a day.
Here’s why
According to a report in the Journal of The American College of Cardiology, short rushes of powerful exercise can provide similar health benefits as longer style workouts. “Leisure-time running, even at low intensity or pace, reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality independently of sex, age, body mass index, health behaviour, and medical conditions.”
Interval training is also a good pointer for working out. The main ideas is to push yourself to work at it for a few minutes, pause for a while, and then pick up from there. This only lasts for about a total of 10 minutes, which is not time consuming and actually works!
If you are able to break in between runs, it increases the amount of oxygen you take in, a necessity for optimum endurance. In a study conducted by Kuno Hottenrott et al on individuals who train intensely and those who are recreational active runners, the results were as follows: “The result of the present study indicate that high intensity training as well as continuous endurance exercise led to significant improvements in body composition, resting heart rate and aerobic power with less than 2 h 30min training weekly.”
There are certain disadvantages of intense exercise over a long period of time. This could vary from lower immune system functions to digestion problems and general discomfort. According to a report by BUSINESS INSIDER, Up to 71% of long-distance runners also experience abdominal cramping and diarrhoea (the latter being so frequent that runners have a term for it: “Runner’s Trots,” a.k.a. “runners diarrhoea.”
It is therefore right to say that you need not restrict yourself to only long distance sequences, you can also decide to work with a daily exercise plan.
