Running burns calories. That’s obvious, but the amount you burn depends on the effort that you put in. This is not just about running further or faster. There are simple things you can do during your training to burn more and lose more weight. Here are six tips to burn more calories while you run.
Swing Your Arms More
Use your arms to help you run. You use more energy when you swing them, which helps you burn more calories. However, you cannot just throw them about—no Phoebe running (Friends fans will understand that).
You want to swing them in rhythm with the steps you take. Let them help you run faster and further.
Switch to Interval Training
Interval training is where you run faster for a minute or two and then slow the pace for a minute or so.
You can set the time periods for the faster and slower as you want, but should increase them as you get better at running and become fitter. This type of training makes the heart work more and improves your recovery time. At the same time, you’ll burn more calories.
Hill Repetitions
Like interval training, you will make your heart work harder doing this type of running. You’ll also focus on some different muscle groups as you force yourself up the hills.
The aim is to sprint up the hill and then jog slowly back down while your heart goes back down to a slower rate and your body recovers. Don’t let yourself go too slow back down.
Run a Longer Distance
Long distance runners are skinny, right? Well, it makes sense that this type of running will burn calories.
You will need to think about working your way up, and you will not be able to go as quickly as if you were doing interval or shorter distance running. The benefit is you are running further, so you have more time to burn the calories.
Running at Your Maximum Effort
Maximum effort running is hard. You will find it difficult to breathe, and struggle to keep up at first. However, it is a great way to burn calories and push yourself.
Listen to your body though to make sure the pain is good and not telling you that you really need to slow down. You will also need to limit this type of running to 30 minutes or so.
Obstacle Courses
Instead of just running, why not add some other exercises during it? For every five minutes of running, do a set of press ups, sit ups or other exercises. You’ll not only burn more calories, you’ll also build muscle in other parts of your body.
This also helps with the burning of calories after your run, while toning your body more as you lose weight. Think about where you are running for the type of exercises you can incorporate into your run. As they get easier, increase your running time and repetitions of the workouts.