Why I Started Running Again

 If you follow my Instagram {via}, you know that I have committed to running three miles once a week. I walk for 2 minutes then I run for 2 minutes. When I am about 100 yards from my car, I sprint until I am past my car and then do lots of stretches before heading back home. Today I am sharing the reasons why I started running again, some of the reasons may surprise you!

1. To switch things up

Right now, I am weight lifting 4-5 days a week and try to walk at least 3 miles every single day. I love weight lifting and I really enjoy creating new workouts and improving on my maxes on squat, deadlift, bench, etc. I decided that I wanted to add 1 day of a week of running/walking interval training in order to add more variety into my training and to get my heart rate up every once in a while. I want to make sure I am still in good cardio health while I am trying to build muscle. 

2. I go through periods of enjoying running

Two summers ago, I ran a 5k and after that, I stopped running because I despised it. I have a love-hate relationship with running so now I am missing my running days. I love to listen to my workout playlist and test my limits on how fast I can run. I am not sure how long I will continue running; however, I started to have constant thoughts about running again so I will continue to run until it's not something I look forward to. I believe you should never force yourself to exercise, find a sport or activity that you enjoy in order to stay active. 

3. Interval training has amazing benefits

According to the Mayo Clinic, interval training can have extraordinary benefits. Interval training burns lots of calories, is time-efficient, improves aerobic compacity, not boring, and no equipment needed {via}. Most people know interval training as HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training). So far, I have done 5 interval runs with 2 minutes of walking and running. In the future, I may switch it up to 1-minute walking and 30 seconds of sprinting. 

4. Change of scenery

With COVID and online college classes, it feels so nice to go on a run. When I go run I see older couples and families going outside and doing their best to socially distance and stay healthy during a pandemic. It gives me hope that we will get through this and stay active even though many gyms are closed.

I highly encourage if you are wanting to start running again, consider interval training! If you never run and you suddenly run 3 miles, you will be sore for days and possibly injure yourself. Start off slow by doing 2 minutes of walking and 1 minute of speed walking. Slowly increase your speed and transition to completely running 3 miles IF that's your goal! If your goal is to build muscle, only do HIIT 1-2 times a week so you can focus on strength training. It's impossible to be an amazing runner as well as an amazing weight lifter. If you want to be a good runner, focus more on running. If you want to be a good weight lifter, focus more on weight lifting. My goal is to be in the middle so I can be strong but also not be out of breath when I walk up a hill. 

Thank you for reading!

Gabby