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Physical & Psychological Benefits of Running

- Physical & Psychological Benefits of Running    

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  • Running helps improve respiration
  • Running makes your heart strong & efficient
  • Running produces endorphins & well-being

Physical Benefits of Running

Running helps to improve respiration, making you an “easy breather.” When you run, your body needs more oxygen to fund the activity. Your lungs work harder than when they are at rest to supply the extra demand for oxygen to the body. With repetition over time, your lungs adapt to the extra workload and become more efficient at providing the extra oxygen needed for the activity. The overall effect of this extra work is that you experience more efficient and easier breathing at rest as well as when you are active.

Running also improves cardiac output. Just as success can be measured in terms of productivity or output, cardiac output refers to the productivity of the heart. It is a measure of heart rate and volume of blood pumped out with each heartbeat. When you run, your heart beats at a much faster rate than when you are at rest so that your muscles receive more blood.

The more you run, the stronger and more efficient your heart becomes. The training effect of running upon cardiac output is such that the heart at rest beats slowly yet is able to pump large amounts of blood with each beat. You get more output for less effort, improving your heart’s efficiency.

As with cardiac output, running also positively affects the vascular system. Blood and oxygen move through the vascular system, the body’s highway. As a result of running, veins and arteries become cleaner due to a reduction of fatty deposits. Exercise also increases the number and size of blood vessels, which is the equivalent of more paved streets in your neighborhood making travel less congested and less laborious. The effect is to improve your circulation and blood pressure.

An additional benefit of running occurs with improved muscular strength and endurance. When you run, you use one of the body’s major tools: its muscles. You need muscular strength and endurance in order to perform activity or work. Muscular endurance means your ability to maintain activity or work over time. One of the effects of running is to keep your muscles functional and strong.

Running also contributes to increased bone density. Muscles are attached to bone, so when you move your muscles during running, it is as if the muscles are massaging and tugging on the bones. The training effect upon your bones has to do with growth. Think of muscular movement like a bone massage that stimulates bone growth. Bone growth helps to keep bones dense, firm, and healthy.
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