One of the best ways to feel alive is to do some sort of exercise. I know that this blog is mainly kayaking orientated but right now that probably isn’t much use for most people. What’s a form of exercise everyone can do right now..? Running; apparently we’re all allowed out for infinite exercise, I know that I’ve been taking advantage of that but here’s why you should too…
Everyone knows that there are health benefits from running regularly but what actually are they, and is it worth fighting through the initial pain that people experience when they first start? Well the answer (predictably) is yes! For a start, running a couple of times a week helps increase muscle strength, reduces the risk of joint problems and is good for your heart and lungs. When you run, muscles around joints in your body strengthen, taking the load off said joints meaning that contrary to popular belief running is not actually bad for your knees, it keeps them healthy and the impact from running also helps to strengthen the bones themselves.
Running improves your lung capacity and strengthens muscles involved with respiration which means you won’t find yourself out of breath anywhere near as easily as you did before and your recovery time after any exertion will decrease dramatically. Runners have stronger hearts which leads to a lower resting heart rate and a significantly decreased risk of heart disease and, lastly, running is a great way of burning a lot of calories quickly, so for those of us who want to get into shape it’s one of the best ways to slim down and muscle up; apparently people who run regularly are likely to live up to 3 years longer than non-runners, some people might find this surprising though having run at least 10km a week for 4 years I think that that number is probably over cautious – but frankly if even 3 years extra life isn’t motivation to start running right now (when we have nothing else to do) then I don’t know what is…
Now that we’ve got all of the health benefits out of the way, why else would you run? Maybe you’re already fit, maybe you don’t care about that, maybe you’d rather stay indoors and watch my YouTube videos (in which case go ahead). I find that if I have a long day of school on Zoom or am just too lazy to leave my armchair then I start to feel tired or sluggish and while it might seem counterintuitive to go out and exercise, I find that you feel a lot better afterwards; you might not enjoy the experience while it’s happening (dodging sunbathers who should be social distancing but just aren’t) but the rush of blood and adrenaline makes you feel ready for anything.
Finally, running serves as a distraction. I tend to forget things that were irritating me like the delivery that should have arrived a week ago and still hasn’t or the fact that the wifi is noticeably worse now that everyone’s stuck inside; it focuses you – after a run I’m more productive and can set my mind to almost anything spending hours just getting whatever it is out of the way. If you’re stuck inside right now staring at the wall with nothing to do, just go out for a run. It’s easy, all you need are some trainers, you’re allowed to do it as much as you want now and I guarantee that you’ll feel better when you get back.
That pretty much sums this post up, if you enjoyed it and found it useful be sure to subscribe to this blog so that you’re notified the next time that I post…
Patrick Kyak 