Running for Health and Longevity: A Guide to Getting Active

Stefan
Feb 25, 2024
9 min read

As we age, the notion of reducing physical activity to prevent injury becomes a common misconception. Contrary to this belief, maintaining an active lifestyle is not just beneficial, but essential for our physical and mental well-being. In this article, we explore the benefits of running, especially as a powerful tool for aging gracefully. Let's embark on this path to better health, understanding how running can be a cornerstone of a vibrant, healthier life at any age.

Before discussing the benefits and potential downsides of creating a running habit, we must emphasize that running is not suitable for everyone. Depending on your existing medical conditions, it may be harmful. So, suppose you are a beginner who wants to improve your health. In that case, it's recommended to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new exercise habits to ensure you are healthy enough to engage in physical activity.

Always listen to your body and adjust your program as necessary. With dedication and consistency, running for health and longevity can be an excellent way to stay independent with age. So, let's dive into the benefits of running.

Benefits of Running for Health and Longevity

Running is one of the most popular forms of exercise, and for good reason. It provides numerous benefits for your physical and mental health, making it a great way to improve your overall well-being. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned runner, adding running to your daily routine can help you enjoy the following benefits:

Strong Bones, Muscles, and Joints

As we age, we naturally experience a decline in bone density and muscle mass. However, physical activity such as running can help restore the loss of bone density. Running also strengthens your muscles and joints, essential for maintaining balance and stability and preventing injuries. Read more about age-related muscle loss here.

Improves Cardiovascular system

Running is a cardiovascular exercise that elevates your heart rate and improves your blood flow, enabling your brain, muscles, and organs to receive an increased oxygen supply. This boost in blood flow can help alleviate fatigue and breathlessness, lower your resting heart rate, and decrease your blood pressure levels, leading to an enhanced overall performance.

Healthy Body Weight

With age, it's common to experience weight gain, especially since our bodies' metabolism slows down. This can increase our risk of acquiring various health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes. Fortunately, a running routine can be beneficial when trying to manage your weight and boost your metabolism.

Boost the Mood, Reduce Stress Anxiety

Running and other forms of physical activity, such as jogging, brisk walking, and the like, generally provide many health benefits to individuals of all ages. Not only is running one of the best ways to boost the immune system, stay active, and be in good shape, but it can also reduce the risk of developing certain diseases and chronic conditions. Through a regular exercise routine, you can improve your overall health and significantly prolong your lifespan.

Boost Immune Function

Running can help boost your immune function, which can help you stay healthy and prevent illnesses such as a cold or the flu.

Better Sleep

Quality sleep is essential for your health. Your body repairs itself when you're asleep, which is why you wake up feeling refreshed. Running can help improve your sleep quality by reducing stress and anxiety and promoting relaxation. However, it's essential to avoid running too late in the day, as this can interfere with how well you sleep at night. Exercises like running trigger a release of endorphins, chemicals that help relieve pain or stress. These activate the brain and might keep you awake.

Promotes Longer Life

Running and other forms of physical activity, such as jogging, brisk walking, and the like, generally provide lots of health benefits to individuals of all ages. Not only is running one of the best ways to boost the immune system, stay active, and be in good shape, but it can also reduce the risk of developing certain diseases and chronic conditions. Through a regular exercise routine, you can improve your overall health and significantly prolong your lifespan.

How often should you run?

As we age, staying active and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential. Running can be a great way to improve cardiovascular health and muscle strength, but it's important to remember that not all of us have the same physical abilities. To get started with running, it's essential to adjust your program to your own pace, physical condition, and agility. Depending on your capacity and health condition, you can typically perform moderate-intensity activities such as brisk walking for at least 150 minutes or vigorous-intensity activities such as jogging, running, and hiking for at least 75 minutes a week. If you're an older runner aiming for muscle strength, performing these activities at least two days a week is recommended.

How to Start Running at an Older Age?

Running is a great way to stay in shape and improve overall health, regardless of age. However, starting to run at an older age can be challenging. Here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Get Checked First: Before starting any physical activity, it's crucial to consult with your doctor first. Ask for medical advice and get checked first to ensure you won't risk your health by doing such activities.

2. Warm-up and Stretch: Especially for beginners, it's good to start each run with a little brisk walking to warm up and include a few limbering up and shake-yourself-out exercises. Post-run is generally perceived as a better time for prolonged stretching.

3. Wear the Right Outfit and Gear: Wearing the right clothing and running shoes is essential to avoid injuries, improve performance, and increase comfort while on your run. Look for running shoes with cushioning that provide support and stability.

4. Think About Terrain: Using softer ground, like a park or a nearby trail, can be kinder on the muscles and joints compared to harder tarmac paths or pavements.

5. Start Slow: Don't rush into running immediately. Start slowly to build up your speed and endurance. Begin with a brisk walk or take breaks between running intervals while still working with your stamina. This way, you won't put too much strain on your body and still get the benefits of running.

6. Use Technology to Track Your Progress: Activity and fitness trackers like Fitbit, Garmin, and others can help keep you motivated and on track with your running goals. Many of these wearable gadgets can keep track of the distance you've run, how many steps you've run, how many calories you've burned, your running pace, your heart rate, and much more.

7. Create a Running Playlist: A great way to stay motivated is to listen to your favorite tunes on Spotify while running. Create a playlist with the music most likely to keep you moving.

8. Join Local Running Groups: Joining a running program or community group with your specific interest is one of the best ways to start. By doing so, you can meet a running buddy and build a network of like-minded runners who can help improve your overall health while having fun.

Is It Better to Run on a Treadmill or Outside?

When it comes to running, there are pros and cons to both treadmill and outdoor running. Treadmill running is more accessible and allows precise pace, incline, and interval control. It can also be safer for those returning from an injury. However, it can also be boring over time and expensive if you're considering purchasing your own treadmill.

On the other hand, outdoor running provides a changing scenery, fresh air, and unlimited options for running routes. It can also help activate different muscle groups and develop better balance while building stronger bones due to the harder surfaces. However, it's less ideal and riskier in extreme weather conditions, can increase the risk of dehydration, and running at night can be dangerous without proper precautions and gear.

Ultimately, which type of running is best for you depends on your budget, environment, and personal preferences. If you're unsure, try both and see which one feels more enjoyable and sustainable for you. Whether you choose treadmill or outdoor running, the most important thing is to get moving and enjoy the many health benefits of regular exercise.

Creating a Running Habit

Starting a running routine can be an exciting and rewarding way to improve your physical and mental health. However, it's crucial to approach it with a simple and gradual plan to build a habit, gain confidence, and increase stamina.

Aim to run two to three times a week at an easy to moderate pace. Setting achievable goals and tracking progress can keep you motivated. You can use an activity tracker or a running app to log your weekly miles, running pace, or calories burned. Celebrate your accomplishments and set new goals to challenge yourself further.

As you get stronger and more comfortable with your running routine, you can gradually increase the distance or add an extra day to your weekly training. However, avoiding overdoing it and listening to your body is essential. Remember that running is a high-impact activity, so giving your body enough time to rest and recover is crucial.

Additional Tips for Beginners

With age, engaging in physical activities like running becomes more crucial than ever. However, taking certain precautions to avoid injuries and improve performance is essential. Here are some additional tips for beginners:

Our metabolism slows down the older we get, which affects the body's ability to renew and regenerate cells. To recover after each run, it's important to get plenty of rest before starting the next session. This means balancing running with quality rest, including getting the recommended 6-8 hours of sleep. Following the mantra of 'hard day, then easy day' or even '2 easy days' can be helpful. By doing so, we can achieve better running performance and help our body rejuvenate easily.
Don't compare yourself with your former running self: If you have run regularly, thinking you can run the exact times as 20 years ago is futile. Yes, you may still have the enthusiasm of a 20-year-old, but the body doesn't agree! Treat each year as a new year. Wipe the slate clean and just set a few realistic goals for the year, happy you are still able to get out there. Those goals could be to maintain as close to last year's times over 5k or 10k or to run a certain number of miles each month. Never give up easily on your goals, but treat it like a little amusing game, and be prepared to adapt if the body isn't 100% willing.
It's okay to walk: Some days, for many reasons, running can feel like hard work. Just know it's okay to walk little bits or just have a brisk power walk. Running as you get older shouldn't be torture, but each time you go out, it should have some purpose.
Slow and steady wins the race: Ask any seasoned runner about their biggest training mistake, and you'll likely hear they ran too much too soon. Whether you're running as part of an overall fitness plan or you're training for a race, increasing mileage gradually over time is key. Remember to listen to your body and not push yourself too hard.

How I Created my Running Habit

I started running in 2015 when I had 30kg (66 lbs) more on my hips. The first thing I did was purchase a pair of running shoes. Next, I looked for a suitable running track near our home. Luckily, there was a 7k loop near our house. Then I downloaded the Nike Run Club App (for iOS, for Android), which I use until today to track most of my runs.

Initially, I was terribly slow and barely managed to do more than 3k. But I decided to give it a go for a few weeks. What motivated me was the race against myself. I tried every run to improve my average time per kilometer. That worked initially well since I was more or less able to improve my performance by the week.

I started out running 3k and gradually increased my distance to 5k, 7.5k, and 10k. For some time, I struggled to make any further progress, but I didn't give up. I maintained my self-discipline, and after about three months, I finally broke through the 10k barrier. From there, I was able to quickly reach the 15k mark, and by the end of 2017, I successfully completed my first half marathon. I felt an immense sense of pride and accomplishment for what I had achieved.

I did not run during our world trip since we walked many miles daily. So, when we arrived in Australia, I had to start almost from the beginning again. Luckily, I was 30kg (66 lbs) lighter this time, but my first runs were terribly slow, which was extremely frustrating. It took me around two years to build it back up again to half marathon length.

For me, the key element to success was to make running a weekly habit. So, I scheduled three runs into my calendar when I started again, increased the distance and speed every month, and slowly added more runs to my week until I went for five runs a week and clocked more than 50k a week.

Recently, I changed my exercise habits and reduced it to around 20-25k a week but added a daily 30-minute strength workout to improve my back muscles and balance. But again, I made small changes over the last year and kept making small changes every month to not destroy healthy habits since, most of the time, I fail when I make changes too quickly.

Conclusion

In conclusion, adding running to your daily routine can benefit your physical and mental health. Whether you're looking to improve your cardiovascular system, enhance your balance and coordination, manage your weight, boost your mood, promote longevity, boost your immune function, or improve your sleep quality, running is a great way to achieve your fitness goals. So, get out there and start running today!