Excess weight needs to be whittled down with the addition of exercise in your daily life. Running is a form of cardiovascular exercise that hits the spot when it comes to weight reduction. To maximize your weight loss with running, your best bet is to do interval training, which involves bursts of high-intensity effort. The harder you work out, the more calories you will expend according to MayoClinic.com.
Preworkout Stretches
Running requires you to activate muscles and joints in the upper and lower body in a repetitive manner. Stepping full stride into a workout without stretching first can increase your risk for injury, whether that it's interval training or long-distance running. Before your running routine, spend a few minutes doing a series of dynamic stretches. These stretches help acclimate your body to movement and reduce stiffness in your muscles. Perform stretches like alternating toe touches, leg swings, trunk rotations, arm crossovers, high knees, ankle bounces and forward bends.
Warmup
After stretching out your body, you should next work to raise your core body temperature. To do this, walk briskly for a couple minutes and gradually increase your intensity to a jogging pace. Spend five to 10 minutes on your warmup and get to a point where your heart rate is elevated and you are starting to break a sweat.
Intervals
Once your body is thoroughly warmed up, you are ready to perform your intervals. You have the option of running for a specific amount of time or running from one point to another. If you are working out on a treadmill, you have to run for time. In either case, the splits between your high and low intensity bouts are not set in stone. As a general rule of thumb, aim for a low-intensity bout that is twice as long as your high-intensity bout. For example, if you run hard for 10 seconds, jog lightly for 20. When you do your high-intensity bouts, run at about 80 percent of your maximum effort.
Time Spent Exercising
Interval training is different than steady state training. Because you are mixing in bursts of high intensity, you do not need to work out as long. As an added bonus, your metabolism stays elevated when you are finished, which further contributes to weight loss. A 30-minute interval routine is plenty of exercise to promote weight loss. To get the best effect, train every other day.
Cooling Down
Upon completion of your last interval, spend five to 10 minutes doing a cooldown that is opposite of your warmup. Instead of gradually increasing your pace, gradually slow it down. For example, jog at a moderate pace, then a light pace, then walk. This will slowly bring your heart rate back down to a normal level.
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