Aerobic exercise is an essential component of a complete fitness program. Most people need at least two hours and 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, or one hour and 15 minutes of more intense aerobic activity such as running, each week to stay fit, according to MayoClinic.com. Consistent daily exercise can benefit you the most, and running for 30 minutes most days of the week can help you burn fat, lose weight and stay healthy.
Running For Daily Exercise
Even 15 minutes of aerobic exercise, such as running, a day can aid in weight loss, benefit your overall health and help you live longer, reports Mikaela Conley for ABC News Health. However, longer-duration aerobic activity is needed to burn fat significantly. During a 30- to 60-minute aerobic workout, you expend calories whether you perform low-intensity exercise, such as walking and jogging, or high-intensity exercise, such as running. The more calories you expend, the more fat you burn, according to "U.S. News & World Report."
Target Heart Rate
To burn fat while jogging or running, work out within your target heart rate zone for 30 minutes or more. To determine your target heart rate zone, you must first figure out your maximum heart rate, which is calculated by subtracting your age from 220. Your target heart rate zone is between 40 and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate, according to MayoClinic.com. You can burn more calories by working out at a higher percentage of your maximum heart rate and within your target heart rate zone.
Fat Burn
Running at a faster pace means burning more stored fat. Even though your body tends to burn more carbohydrates than fat when you run at a faster pace, it burns more fat in the long run than it does when you run slower or jog, according to "U.S. News & World Report." You expend more calories overall with a higher-intensity workout. For example, an individual weighing 200 lb. can burn approximately 728 calories per hour jogging at a pace of five miles per hour, but he can burn about 1,129 calories per hour running at a pace of eight miles per hour, according to MayoClinic.com. Although more of the calories burned during low-intensity exercise come from fat, high-intensity exercise burns more calories from fat due to overall calorie burn, according to "U.S. News & World Report." If you burn around 200 calories during a 30-minute low-intensity jog, approximately 60 percent, or 120 calories, comes from stored fat; however, if you run at a faster pace and burn around 400 calories, 35 percent, or 140 calories, comes from stored fat. By comparison, you burn 20 more calories of fat by running faster.
Running and Health
Long term, you can burn more calories jogging or running most days of the week than you can with moderate aerobic exercise such as walking, especially if you also follow a nutritious and low-calorie diet. If you haven't exercised regularly in a while, get a checkup and ask your health care provider if you're healthy enough for regular physical activity. If you're just beginning a jogging regimen, continue working out at a slower pace until you gain more cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength. Gradually increase your jogging pace until you're able to increase your miles per hour and run faster.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise Intensity: Why It Matters, How It's Measured
- ABC News Health; 15 Minutes of Exercise Per Day Adds 3 Years to Life, Study Finds; Mikaela Conley; August 2011
- MayoClinic.com: Exercise For Weight Loss -- Calories Burned in One Hour
- U.S.News & World Report; The 'Fat-Burning Zone': A Fitness Myth Debunked; Katherine Hobson; March 2009
- McMillan Running; The Marathon Long Run; Greg McMillan; 2007
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