How Often Should I Run For Optimal Benefit

Running is optimally about decreasing the risk of injury. Your body could be pushed to its limits by your determination and drive. However, the body has its limits. If you know how to do it right, running could provide lots of benefits as well as potential dangers if you do not perform it too much or improperly. So, how often should I run? It is a common question that comes to our minds. If you ask runners, you will find incredible variations based on their goals and experiences. Some people run for endurance, some for speed, and others for weight loss. So, how often should you run? It depends on your goals.

If you will run little, then you are going to miss your mark. If too much, then you could seriously hurt yourself. You need to find a perfect balance after carrying out some experimentation. Before you start your experimentation, let’s have a look at how often should you run for optimal benefits.

So, these are the fundamentals that you have to keep in mind while you decide to run. Now, let’s dwell deeper into how often you need to run and how far you should go.

Is It Safe to Run Every Day?

When you run every day, the risk of overuse injuries may increase. An overuse injury results from carrying out more physical activity, rapidly, and not allowing your body to adjust. This injury could even result from technique mistakes like running in a bad form and overloading specific muscles. For avoiding overuse injuries, keep the following points in mind:

How Often Should You Run?

So, how many times a week should I run? This is the first question that comes to the mind if you are a beginner or looking to step up the training for a competitive level. There needs to be a balance between how much you run and how much you rest. If there is no rest, then the muscles will not get time to recover, rebuild, and be stronger. So, rest plays an integral role in any training plan.

For a beginner, most experts suggest running 3-4 days a week. If you are running from some time and know how to pace, then you can run 5 days a week. Having said that, it is still better to stick to 3-4 days a week and do some cross-training 1-2 days a week. Cross-training can include weight training, cycling, swimming, walking, or other such physical activities. Here, you have to look for one that perfectly works for you. At the same time, remember to rest, which means no running and no cross-training for at least one day a week. If you do not allow the body to rest, there’s a risk of burnout, injury, or poor results as your muscles will be so tired to become stronger.

How Far Should You Run on Your Very First Run?

If you have never tried running before and have no experience with other sports like basketball or soccer recently, then you need to begin gradually. On the very first run, it needs to be at most 1-3 miles. The goal is not to run fast or get fit but to see how the body responds to it with no or minimal risk for injuries. Also, run as comfortably as you can, keep your pace easy, and end before you are actually tired. You will likely have soreness and that’s why do not make things hard on yourself.

If you have played sports or are an athlete, then you can become more aggressive with the first run. The distance needs to be around 3-4 miles. Like beginners, you have to ensure that you are not too fatigued. If you are an advanced runner, then you can go for a 10k training plan. Here’s an example of the sample 10k plan:

Day 1: 3-mile run

Day 2: 30-minute tempo run

Day 3: 6x400 meters at mile pace

Day 4: 3-mile run

Day 5: 3-mile run or rest

Day 6: 5-mile run

Day 7:6-mile run

Do Runners Require Other Exercise?

Training with other forms of exercise than running or cross training may be helpful to runners. Some of the potential benefits of cross-training include:

If running is the primary form of exercise for you, consider cross training two times with yoga, swimming, Pilates, or cycling for experiencing some benefits. One may take up anaerobic activities like weights and strength training 1-2 times a week. Here’s an exercise plan for beginners for a week:

Day 1: Run

Day 2: Rest Day/Off

Day 3: In the morning, run and in the evening, flexibility and strength training or do them back-to-back

Day 4: Recovery day/Walk

Day 5: Flexibility and strength training/Run AM

Day 6: Recovery day/Walk

Day 7: Cross-training like spin, row, or swim

So, this is the training plan that beginners can follow to begin their running. They have to run for about 3-4 days a week with cross-training on alternate days. Also, they have to take a complete day off on one day with no running and no cross-training. In this way, their muscles will recover.

Conclusion

For beginners, running three or four days a week on alternate days is perfect. It helps in building automatic recovery days. In this way, you can incorporate flexibility and strength training into the routine for achieving your fitness and health goals. At the same time, plan to take a complete day off every week, which is going to be your rest day. The rest days avert overuse injuries, enable the glycogen restoration, give your body some time to repair and heal soft tissue damage, and avoid mental burnout.

Also, watch out for grumpiness, fatigue, lingering muscle soreness, lack of motivation, etc. If you experience these signs, you need to have more rest days. Definitely, you will gain more by resting than over-training in the long run. So, make a training plan and get started. If you still have questions on ‘how often should I run’, write to us in the comment section below.

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