Running is a great way to lose weight. Running is also a great way to disillusion yourself into a higher pants size. How many times have we come in from a “run” and felt justified in eating a lot of food or eating food that isn’t fueling our machines, but clogging the gears? We may have only burned 200 calories, but we ate 400 in our “post run snack”. Hint..we don’t need a post run snack for every run we do.
If you want to turn up the fat burning machine, there are 4 things we can do to increase the metabolism, really get the heart pumping, and burn more calories. Just make sure you don’t undo all your hard work after with a milkshake and potato chips!
1. Run Hills.
I didn’t say these would be a lot of fun. Running hill repeats is a great way to work those major muscles in our glutes and hams that can get short changed in traditional flat road running. Running trails engages more of your core as well. Find a big hill. Run halfway up. Run down. Run all the way up. Run down. Repeat for 20 minutes. You should be sweating a lot. And maybe cursing some, too.
2. Run Intervals. (Also known as HIIT—High Intensity Interval Training)
These can be done anywhere, but work great for the Treadmill on those days when rain or snow is not on your list of challenges for the day. Intervals are rotations of running/walking or rotations of fast running/easy running. Here is an easy to remember program.
Sprint for 20 seconds, then jog for 10 seconds.
Repeat four to eight times. Walk one minute. Repeat sequence (sprint/jog repeats followed by a walk) two to four times. (Warm up for six minutes with two 30-second pickups. Cool down for four.)
3. Run Tempo
This is a running term meaning “run faster” over a sustained time. These are mentally tough because there isn’t a quick “relief” like in intervals or hills. If you’re a beginning runner, EVERY run can seem like a tempo run.
4. Run Long
The LSD..Long Slow Distance. Running long is the backbone of most long-distance training programs. Many people like to debate the efficiency of these LSDs, but most agree that longer running will burn fat. Plus, long runs improve base fitness so you’ll reap more from high-intensity workouts. Pick a day, lace up, bring water, and just run long.
Happy Running!