| Are you still getting up early in the pouring rain and | | | | 4. Produces more body fat. |
| pounding the streets in the hope of losing that excess | | | | Fat is one of our body's favourite sources of energy. |
| belly fat? Well all that hard work could be for nothing | | | | The more you run the more your body prepares itself |
| and leave you injured too! Find out why running is one | | | | for your next run. You will actually start to hold on to |
| of the last things you should be doing for your health | | | | more fat so you can run for longer next time. |
| with my 7 deadly sins of running. | | | | 5. Boring and time consuming. |
| 1. Decreases the size of your heart. | | | | Some people run for fun, but lets face it most of us |
| Small muscles use less energy and are more efficient. | | | | run to get in shape and lose that excess belly fat. The |
| Consider the difference in energy consumption | | | | truth is running is very time consuming and there are |
| between a 50cc scooter and a huge V8 4×4 | | | | better ways to get great results in a lot lot less time. |
| truck. Our heart is a muscle just like the rest of our | | | | 6. Cardiac distress and heart attacks. |
| muscles, if you force the heart to keep running for long | | | | Evolving from our hunter gatherer days we had no |
| periods of time it will naturally shrink to use less energy | | | | real necessity to run long distances, in fact the only |
| and become more efficient. Remember that energy is | | | | running we ever did was in short bursts to avoid |
| a valuable commodity and the body wants to retain as | | | | predators or to catch food. Our body simply isn't |
| much as possible. | | | | designed to run long distances and the stresses you |
| 2. Causes injury through repetitive movements. | | | | put your heart under during this time can set you up |
| When you run 2.5-3 times your bodyweight is | | | | for a heart attack. It's a fact that many long distance |
| transmitted through your joints. Now imagine this type | | | | runners do die of heart attacks. |
| of force being repeated over and over again for long | | | | 7. Fat burning slows right down. |
| periods of time, eventually your weakest joint will give | | | | The body is an amazing machine and will adapt to |
| out. Usually the ankles or the knees are the first to go. | | | | anything over time. The more time you spend running |
| Many runners then opt for some kind of support or | | | | the better you become at running and the more |
| brace which only exacerbates the problem by moving | | | | efficient you get at using less energy. So what starts |
| it on to the next weakest joint whist keeping the old | | | | off as a great calorie burner quite quickly becomes |
| injury still weak. | | | | almost useless at burning excess calories. Ultimately |
| 3. Slows down your metabolism. | | | | runners then have to run further and further to get the |
| The more muscle tone you can maintain, generally the | | | | same calorie expenditure that they achieved when |
| higher your metabolism. Muscle is highly metabolically | | | | they first started. |
| active and requires constant energy to survive, so the | | | | If you have read all this and are thinking "OK, so what |
| more muscle tone you have the more calories you will | | | | is the answer - what should I be doing?". The answer |
| be burning at rest. Long distance running will often | | | | is simple, high intensity training. Intensity training is like |
| deplete your energy stores and then start breaking | | | | strength training but for your heart and lungs. It burns |
| down your muscle tissue to use as energy. If you | | | | far more calories, strengthens your heart & joints |
| want some serious muscle wastage and to reduce | | | | and increases your metabolism - the best thing is it |
| your metabolic rate then keep running. | | | | only takes 10 - 20 minutes max. |