Wonder what your fellow runners want to know about the sport you all love when they’re too shy to pose running questions aloud?
Wonder no more; we’ve covered all bases. And if one or more of these running questions happen to be on your own list of questions you’ve been reluctant to ask, everybody wins!
All Your Running Questions Answered
1. Will running burn my belly fat?
Sometimes. It’s hard to target “just the stomach,” so you may have to add strength training and a healthy food plan to achieve your goal.
2. Will running burn other fat on my body?
We’re betting you already know the answer to this one. Running can reduce fat in a variety of places, but it’s a delicate dance. Throw caution to the wind when it comes to eating fattening foods and your body will punish you.
3. Will running make me skinny?
Maybe. As London’s “Daily Mail” sadly reminds us, “Skinny people have an ‘overdose’ of chromosomes that keep them thin,” so the answer is more likely found on your DNA helix than the number of hours you run to get skinny.
4. Will running tone my body?
Yes! You wanted good news, right? According to EverydayHealth.com, running daily torches calories, tones the body, and improve cardiovascular health, so chalk one up for your team!
5. Will running build muscle?
Former “The Biggest Loser” trainer/host Jillian Michael is fierce.
In her opinion, not only can you build muscle by running, but you’ll build it in the right places: Quads, hamstrings, abs, glutes, calves, shins and hip flexors.
6. Will running tone my legs?
Certified Personal Trainer Robin Adellar says that the advantages of leg toning as a direct result of running are diverse and to prove it, she wrote a two-part article for WikiHow how to tone legs on the treadmill, roads and trails. Switch up your surfaces so you don’t get bored.
7. Will running banish cellulite?
Nope. We turned to fitness experts Niall Traynor and Daryl Devonish—hoping against hope that it is possible to banish cellulite by running—but our hopes were dashed.
Cellulite results from a build-up of cortisol levels (bad stress hormones), and while you can diminish that stress, unsightly dimpling removal could require plastic surgery.
8. Will running build my abs?
Plenty of folks (especially dudes) are on a continual quest for sexy abs. Pacific Health Laboratories reports that while running burns fat, to get that six-pack, you must work on your eating habits.
“Even if you run 50 miles a week, your paunch won’t vanish if you continue to eat donuts and French fries all day long,” say the PHL folks studying the art and science of ab building.
9. Will running build my glutes?
It can’t hurt, but you must first overcome the booty deficit already attached to your gene pool! The workout that delivers the most fantastic booty in concert with your regular running programme? Squats and glutes are the magical combination and you couldn’t find better incentive than a new pair of skinny jeans.
10. Will running make my legs slimmer?
We turn to Florence Ng, whose treatise “How to get Slim Legs Fast” is comprehensive. Her “skinny legs workout method” includes running, walking, cycling, stretching, swimming. Ng’s also a proponent of the “skinny leg diet” that promotes food plans loaded with lean protein, fruits, veggies and lots of water. Sound familiar?
11. Will running help me lose weight?
Answering this question is trickier than you might think, says Matt Fitzgerald, writing for the magazine “Women’s Running.”
His reasoning? When one runs frequently, the body craves more food to offset chronic fatigue, so your best weight loss plan is to pair running with a restricted calorie diet (300 to 500 fewer calories per day) plus a training program “designed to keep your metabolic fire burning.”
12. Will running make me taller?
Yes. Intense anaerobic exercise stimulates the pituitary gland which floods the body with the growth hormone HGH.
“The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism” recommends this formula: “Run, swim or cycle 70 yards eight times, with a 1- to 2-minute walking break in between.”
Push to reach 8 reps in 20 minutes and you could increase your growth hormone production “by up to 530 percent.”
13. Will running build my calf muscles?
You can build calf muscles via a variety of running surfaces: Jog on flat surfaces, trails, paths, up and down hills and don’t discount staircases and exercise trainers if the weather’s bad.
14. Will running banish my saddlebags?
“Women’s Health” magazine editor Holly Perkins defines saddlebags as “optical illusions” that develop at the juncture where hamstrings meet glutes (under your derriere) and develop fat deposit repositories.
If the fat build-up is large enough, it causes the skin to “slump over to the side,” hence the name saddlebags. Cardio-running, cycling, swimming and aerobics can help, but the most effective way to get rid of saddlebags is via diet and targeted floor exercise.
15. Will running strengthen my knees?
Good news, wimpy knee people! We dug up a scientific journal article via the U.S. National Institutes of Health that’s based on a 10-year-long study. Researchers proved that even runners with pre-existing knee damage can be rehabilitated, so just because your knees are weak, that’s no excuse to sit on your couch!
According to study participants, the “projected value of long distance running” outweighs fears of doing damage—just as long folks with problem knees take enough time to re-orient their knees to full capacity by going slowly at first.
16. Will running get any easier over time?
Talk about a loaded question—one often asked by runners with serious histories of pounding trails, roads and tracks who keep hoping that they’ll one day run like the wind effortlessly. There are plenty of theories floating about the runnersphere that argue both sides of this question.
Rather than go into both (because we’ve run out of space), we answer by posing another probing question: Do relationships get any easier over time? If you find a reasonable answer to that one, please get back to us!
Got a pertinent question about running that has you in a quandary because you can’t find the answer? Why not try us?
More Questions About Running
What is the benefit of running?
There is a huge list of benefits of running. Running is a great way to burn calories, maintain your weight, prevent disease, relief stress and eliminate depression and among many psychological benefits.
What running does to your body?
Running can increase your endurance, strengthens the heart, build muscles, improves your mental health and mood. However, running may also give you twitchy legs, black toenails, nausea and other running related issues.
Is it okay to run everyday?
Depending in your goals and fitness levels, you can choose to run everyday. However, some may argue that running every day doesn’t make sense as your body needs rest to become stronger.
How do I start to run?
It’s easy to start running. You will need to have a willingness to move a little or a lot, all at your own pace. First, start training. Second, pick your gear. Third, fuel your body. Forth, track your progress. Fifth, prevent injury.
