Improve Your Running with These Top Tips
So you think running is good for you any time of the day, and you’d be right. There are, however, three times of the day that running can help to benefit your body in different ways. Being aware of how these benefits will help you target what time of day you train in order to help meet your goals.
The early bird run is perfect for power work – something high-intensity like sprints or short intervals. The reason for this is that after a good nights sleep and light breakfast your muscles are fresh and ready for a powerful, high-intensity session. To get the most out of the run try 100 meters sprints with 20 second rests in between for 15 minutes.
After a full morning sitting at your desk with people shouting instructions at you and your boss looking for work you haven’t yet had the time to complete, your stress levels may be higher than normal. This is the best opportunity to get out and go for a relaxing half hour run and let the mind roam free. When you return you’ll feel fresh, relaxed and ready to conquer the rest of your day. For the best result try looking for new routes every week and explore the city around you.
At this time of the day, it’s by far the best time of day to run if your goal is to reduce your fat percentage. The easiest way to explain how your body burns fat is this – if you are using more energy then you put in you will need to use fat as energy to cover the remaining part. At the end of a long day you might not have had sufficient food to cover all your energy needs that means you are in an energy deficit. If you choose to run now you will become even more deficient in energy however your body will still need to work, so it will search for energy in the form of fat and use that to power you through the session. For best results make sure to plan a healthy meal for after your run.
Alternating between these workouts will ensure a better body, faster running speeds and a better day at the office.
