What are the benefits of a road run?

If you love running, then you will not need persuading on the benefits of pumping your legs to get from one place to another. However, you may be a runner who loves the treadmill or loves running across fields.

What are the benefits of a road run?

Equally, the idea of getting out, especially as the colder days roll in, to do anything sounds awful. We are here to persuade you to love spending time outside with your running shoes tied uptight. There are so many benefits!

Speaking to the nonrunners

Before we speak to the converts, we should address the elephant in the room. Running is hard. It is super hard, especially when you start running for the first time. Therefore, you probably think you don’t care where we suggest you run, you are not going there. So, why should you have running as part of your exercise routine?

First, running a great way to lose weight. It is one of the most efficient ways to burn your calories and so lose weight. If you are at your ideal weight, running will help you maintain it. The primary reason for the strength of running here is that there is an after-burn effect known as EPOC. You continue to burn calories after the workout as you consume more oxygen to help your body recover.

Secondly, it is a great way to improve your mental and physical health. When you run, especially if you run on the road, you will meet new people and become part of a community. This community will help counter any sense of isolation. Running also improves your immune system, so you become less susceptible to the bugs that float around. It also thought that running might help counter diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease because it helps to sustain cognitive brain health.

Finally, it is a great way to raise money for your causes. People admire others who run, and they likely to offer sponsorship for your efforts.

Less chance of a plateau

So, now you know why running is such a big deal in the world of fitness, it is time to explain why the road is better than the treadmill and the running track.

If you have ever run on a treadmill, you will know that you reach a plateau in your progress. You don’t seem to get any faster, and you don’t feel like your endurance is getting any better. The issue is that you rarely change the settings or adapt to the distance. Therefore, you get into a rut. When you run on the road, you are more likely to change your routine and so change up your run, including elevation. As you randomly take new paths, you will challenge your body more, and you will improve.

It makes it more interesting

Another benefit of running on the road is that you enjoy a change of scenery. Rather than staring at other gym equipment or the same circular route around the track, you get the mental stimulation from the people and places that you pass. The changes in weather also add interest, as you deal with the challenges of running in wind, rain and heat.

The idea of lengthening your run or adding in new terrain is also a factor in making road running more enjoyable. Part of your journey could be about planning to visit places you have never been to before.

More likely to strengthen muscles

Finally, running is more than just maintaining your health. For those who find muscle strength and definition necessary then running on the road is perfect for you. When you are climbing hills or deal with changes in the road structure, you are forced to engage your hamstrings, quads, and glutes – as well as the muscles in your calf. The result? Well defined legs and bottom muscles.

If you want to be an even better runner, you can also target these muscle groups in the gym. If you work on them, you will help improve your confidence as a roadrunner – as you will feel more comfortable when you do it. Most of our reticence about running outside is being judged by others. Therefore, although road running will make you a strong runner all-round, you might want to increase your self-esteem by doing other work too.

In short

Any running is good. However, it is a great idea to get outside for at least a couple of your runs if you want to improve and keep yourself stimulated.