January is a special time of year. It has that fresh start feeling of September but your goals and dreams seem much more urgent. Resolutions are in the air and you feel like a fraud if you don’t set some, even though you’re not sure you really believe in them anyway. Plus you’re feeling a bit out of it thanks to all those sugar cookies and all that turkey and gravy you stuffed your face with over the holidays. One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to get healthier – think trading soda for green juice and nights out drinking for early bedtimes and early workouts. If you want to exercise more (and you probably do) and you’re not sure what type of workout is right for you, why not consider running? It’s easy to start (you can literally head out and start immediately) and you’ll feel like a new person. Here are 11 reasons to start running.
11 You Can Avoid The Super Busy Gym
If you think that packed gyms in January are a myth, think again: research proves that lots of people really do try to up their fitness game during the first month of the year. Apparently gyms have less people by the time February is halfway gone, but you don’t want to wait that long to start working out again. Score one for learning to run: you can avoid the gym. You can literally run anywhere that you want – around the block of your apartment building, in your best friend’s neighborhood, etc. It’s pretty cool that you won’t need to shell out for a costly gym membership or even deal with anything but your own schedule.
10 You Can Make New Friends
Joining a running group is an awesome thing to do. You’ll not only learn to the proper way to run and might not injure yourself but you will meet new people too. Runners are super friendly and they love to spread the joy of healthy living everywhere. They’re kind of like kids on Christmas morning. They’ll welcome you into their little club and you’ll be a member forever as long as you stick with it. In general, people who have a regular exercise routine are pretty happy and so you’ll be making friends with friendly people who are always in a good mood, which is never a bad thing.
9 You’ll Get Fresh Air
Back when you were a kid your mom always wanted you to get fresh air, right? It wasn’t such a bad idea. Now that you’re older, you spend enough time sitting on your office chair and lying on the couch at night in front of Netflix. If you start running, you’ll most likely be running outside, and nothing feels better than working out while getting fresh air at the same time. Sure, it’s cold out, but it’s actually perfectly safe to run in the cold – as long as you wear the right warm gear. So you basically have zero excuses left.
8 You’ll Say Goodbye To Calories
Sure, calorie counting is super boring and not the healthiest way to live. We’re definitely not stuck in the 80s anymore when everyone was absolutely terrified of anything with even the smallest bit of fat in it. But if you want to lose some pounds or even just maintain your weight, running is a good way to get there because it’s basically straight-up cardio. You most likely know someone who took up running and got super healthy – you can be that person too.
7 You’ll Feel Powerful
Think you can’t run when it’s below zero or raining? Or when it’s insanely hot out? Not so. Runners are kind of crazy or amazing, depending on your perspective. Let’s go with amazing. When you start running, you’re at the mercy of the current season and the weather. Runners run in the winter and in the summer and, for the most part, whenever they want. You’ll feel incredibly powerful and invincible once you give in and can go for a run in almost any condition. There’s nothing like the natural high of running when everyone else is curled up on the couch, claiming it’s too cold.
6 You’ll Accomplish A Goal
There’s nothing better than the feeling of accomplishing a goal. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there, as long as you do. Even if you decide to start running and it takes you several months to actually begin, that’s okay – you got there on your own time. Deciding to start running is an especially satisfying goal because it’s a form of exercise that feels super intimidating to most people. After all, you’re not going super slow and stretching in a yoga class or following an instructor in a dance class – it’s just you and your body, and you’re supposed to just keep moving.
5 The Pace Isn’t Important
Most people seem to think that if you become a runner, you automatically have to run marathons or at least go super fast whenever you get outside. Not true. What experts call “slow running” is actually a technique that professional runners use to make sure they can handle super long distances. You don’t need to run a marathon anytime soon, but if you’re scared of learning to run, don’t be. You can run at a pace that’s pretty slow and is comfortable for you. If you run too fast, you’ll only hurt yourself or worse, and that’s definitely not what you’re looking for.
4 Your Brain Will Thank You
If you want to crush it at work this year – and who doesn’t? – then running is a great activity to help you get there. Research says that your ability to remember things and in general your brain will be helped by running. That definitely makes sense. Just consider how you feel after an intense workout (usually involving some cardio) compared to an afternoon on the couch watching a movie. The difference is pretty obvious, right? Taking up running is an awesome way to help your mind as well as your body. Sounds like the perfect way to start off your 2016.
3 You Can Schedule A Run Whenever
If you go to yoga regularly or any form of group exercise class, you’re basically at the mercy of when the studio or gym has scheduled the classes. If you run, however, you can literally run whenever you want. If you want to wake up at 5 a.m. and get in a run before commuting to the office, you can do it. If you want to run around your office area at lunch, go for it. If you want to run home instead of taking the annoying subway or bus or driving, then that’s totally cool. It’s awesome that running is so versatile and gives you so many options.
2 You’ll Eat Better
Okay, so running and putting down the potato chips might not automatically go hand-in-hand. But if you’re making the effort to get healthier and go for a run several times a week, you might find yourself wanting to make healthier food choices. After all, you’ll need to fuel yourself for those runs. Your body can’t perform its best when you’re living on cheesy pizza and white bread. You’ll most likely be eating bananas as your post workout snack thanks to their carb content. You might even find yourself mysteriously making those healthy breakfast smoothies with tons of fruit and non-dairy milk that everyone is so into these days. It’s a whole new you.
1 You’ll Have Fun
Running is fun. It makes you feel free and like you can literally do anything. The best part of running is being able to zone out and focus on your thoughts. You could even do your best brainstorming work while out on a long run. Or you can even catch up on a podcast that you’ve been meaning to listen to forever. If you lead a super busy life, which you probably do since it seems like we all do these days, then running is an awesome chance to get physically fit while chilling out at the same time.
sources: huffingtonpost.com, telegraph.co.uk, runnersworld.com, active.com
