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If you dedicate just one hour to jogging a week, you can get amazing results. This statement has an evidence base in the face of 20000 Danes who regularly practice jogging.
If a man runs for an hour a week, then his life expectancy increases by 6,2 years. As for women, they live, on average, 5,6 years longer compared to the fair sex, who refuse to run.
The study was conducted by Peter Schner, who now confidently claims that jogging can indeed prolong life. In this case, the run should be regular. Jogging should be done at a moderate pace, the body does not need extra stress.
Interestingly, a study conducted with the participation of cyclists made it possible to establish a different fact. It turns out that it is precisely those cycling enthusiasts who pedal to the limit of their physical capabilities that live longer. Later, scientists found an explanation for this. The fact is that when a person is jogging, he expends as much effort as a cyclist pedaling at the limit of his own capabilities.
Movement – the guarantee of health
Domestic physiologist I.P. Pavlov argued that physical activity can replace any medication, but not a single medicine can become a full-fledged alternative to movement. This statement is 100% correct.
Swedish doctors in just 6 months of regular exercise managed to prevent the development of diabetes in 100 people who were at high risk for this disease. Thanks to physical activity, all participants in the experiment normalized metabolism, including carbohydrate metabolism.
Van Aaken, a cancer specialist, followed 6 people for 1000 years. At the same time, half of them regularly ran, and the second half of the people did not bother themselves with physical activity. During the study, 29 people who ignored sports died from oncology. Among the running people, only 4 people were affected by the disease.
Another living example of the healing power of movement is Valentin Dikul. Thanks to physical exercises, he managed to restore the injured spinal column and receive the title of “hero”.
How long can you live longer if you run regularly?
Recent studies have found that people who run regularly live 3 years longer than those who do not. And this statement is true even for those runners who drink, smoke and are overweight.
The testers found that no other physical activity can match the effectiveness of running. The study was conducted three years ago by scientists from Dallas (Cooper Institute). They managed to prove that even a five-minute run a day can extend life.
The results of these studies have been verified once again by Professor Dak-Chul Lee of the University of Iowa. He managed to prove that running, regardless of its pace and duration, reduces the risk of premature death by 40%. If every person who refuses to run would start doing it regularly, this would reduce the number of deaths from a heart attack by 25%.
If a person runs 2 hours a week, then in 40 years of his life he will spend less than six months on this activity. At the same time, his life expectancy will increase to 3 years and 2 months. In total, the “benefit” is 2 years 8 months. Having run only an hour, a person grants himself 7 hours of life.
Life is impossible without movement
Insufficient physical activity is the cause of many diseases, including various pathologies of the cardiovascular system. The active work of the muscles is a powerful “switch” that starts the work of all internal organs, and also allows the body to function properly.
Physical activity contributes to the normal functioning of the brain, makes all feelings sharpen, and awakens consciousness. After all, during the performance of physical exercises, the brain must control the direction of movement, calculate the trajectory, and observe coordination in space. The lungs during movement begin to work better, breathing becomes deeper.
Physical activity allows you to spend a maximum of energy, which requires the processing of a large amount of substances. This improves the digestive function.
Body temperature rises during movement. To prevent overheating, the body starts the mechanisms of thermoregulation, enhances metabolic processes. This speeds up the flow of blood through the vessels. Therefore, we can safely say that the movement allows you to inhale vitality into a person.
People who don’t move enough may still be outwardly healthy. At the same time, even from insignificant mental work or physical effort, they quickly get tired. With hypodynamia, metabolic processes in the body slow down, toxins begin to accumulate in it. This naturally weakens the immune system, increases the likelihood of developing oncology, degenerative changes in the muscles and tissues of organs, and infectious diseases. To avoid health problems, you should give the muscles a load.
Walking is suitable for people of all ages
Walking is a versatile exercise that is suitable for people of all ages. You need to walk hard enough to get real benefits from training. In this case, you should not overexert yourself, as this can be hazardous to health.
A half-hour run is enough to feel a surge of happiness. This is understandable from a scientific point of view. The fact is that during physical activity, the work of the pituitary gland increases, which produces hormones of happiness. They are called endorphins. It has been found that high doses of these hormones can override the effects of morphine use.
Endorphins cause a feeling of real bliss, help relieve pain. The effect of the release of these hormones persists for an hour. Therefore, running can be called a method of getting rid of depression. Moreover, this method is available to everyone.
Walking can be an alternative to running, but it must be vigorous enough to make the person sweat. It is he who is an indicator that physical activity is effective. If you walk at this pace for an hour, you can get an effect comparable to a 15-minute jog. Paul Bragg called walking the “queen” of all exercise. He recommends starting training with walking, for starters, the distance should not be more than 5 km. In the future, this distance can be doubled.
While walking, the work of the cardiovascular system and all digestive organs is normalized. Bile liquefies, does not precipitate, so food is digested quite intensively. All products that have entered the intestine are intensively shaken, which contributes to an additional reduction in the intestinal wall. As a result, a person completely forgets about what constipation is.
Walking allows you to improve the functioning of the liver, kidneys, gall and bladder, as well as the pancreas. The blood supply to the organs increases, with the blood they receive a sufficient amount of oxygen and nutrients. The person is charged with energy and begins to feel much better. This is also possible due to the fact that toxins are eliminated from the body at a double rate.
Body movements made during running and walking have a positive effect on the state of the musculoskeletal system. In the body, as it were, internal self-massage takes place, in which intervertebral discs, ligaments, and muscles take part. If a person leads a sedentary lifestyle, then they become numb, become hard and cannot perform all the functions assigned to them. Therefore, most people suffer from lumbar pain, pain in various parts of the back and joint pain. As the body ages, all these pains are aggravated, the range of motion becomes largely limited.
If at the initial stage it is difficult for a person to walk at an intense pace, then vibro-gymnastics can be practiced.
The technique of its implementation is reduced to lifting on toes with a separation of the heels from the floor. Then you need to drop down sharply. At this time, you can feel the impact, so you need to shake the body 1 time per second. Enough for 3-5 lessons per day, which should last one minute. If the body is weakened, then the exercise time should be reduced to 30 seconds. Then a five-minute rest should follow, after which the exercise is repeated again. It is very useful to engage in vibro-gymnastics for people whose professional activities are associated with a long pastime in a sitting position. This simple exercise allows you to prevent the development of many dangerous pathologies, from thrombophlebitis to myocardial infarction.
Running options
The most common running is a way to improve your health. Running is better than walking. During running, blood flow increases, the lungs open, all organs are washed with blood, toxins are eliminated through sweat. Energy expenditure during running is much higher than during walking.
“If you want to be strong, run; if you want to be beautiful, run; if you want to be smart, run.” These words were carved on a stone discovered by archaeologists. They belong to the inhabitants of ancient Hellas, who already in those days understood the value of running.
If a person runs rhythmically, keeping to a given pace, his heart rate increases to 120 beats per minute, blood vessels dilate, and pressure becomes lower. If a person suffers from low blood pressure, it will rise slightly. Therefore, running can rightly be called a means to normalize blood pressure.
You can run hypotensive and hypertensive patients, patients with VSD, coronary artery disease, rheumatism, mitral valve insufficiency, osteochondrosis, stomach ulcers.
Running is a unique method of fighting cell aging. It increases the body’s defenses, normalizes the functioning of the endocrine glands, and helps prevent obesity.
Running can control your appetite. So, a 20-minute run is enough to dull the feeling of hunger.
You can run in the morning, afternoon and evening. Immediately after awakening, the level of hormones in the blood is increased. Running restores hormonal balance. Evening jogging allows you to get rid of stress, gives a charge of vivacity and energy, reduces appetite. Sleep after an evening run will be excellent.
So that running does not turn into a tedious and monotonous activity, you need to diversify it.
In fact, there are many options for running:
The famous Porfiry Ivanov practiced running with his head laid back. At the same time, the hands were folded behind the back like wings. The body remains tense all the time, which allows you to strengthen the muscles of the back and the spinal column. He also recommends “calming” running. In this case, the movements should be slow and smooth, the arms go back and forth, like flapping wings.
Power running is another type of physical activity. In this case, the back must be kept straight, and the body is slightly tilted down. The knees rise high while running, reaching almost to the chest. The steps are small but intense. You can run in this way even in the dark, the risk of falling is minimized.
Separately, you need to dwell on the options for meditation running:
Pumping energy. While running, you should direct your thoughts to the fact that energy enters the body along with air. At the same time, it must be directed to the place that is sick or weakened. Sometimes this meditative running technique can actually get rid of the pain. At the same time, people indicate that they really felt a surge of warmth to the place that they were thinking about at a given time.
Pumping out metabolites. If any organ functions with violations, then during the run you need to imagine that all toxins and other harmful substances are removed from it. These elements should be mentally visualized in the form of black smoke that leaves the body during exhalation. After the organ is sufficiently cleansed, you need to start “pumping” it with useful energy. To do this, you need to inhale the air with a full chest, mentally directing it to the right place. Such energy should be represented as white or yellow smoke.
The flying arrow. Before you finish your run, you need to try to run 2 km at maximum speed. To do this, imagine yourself as an arrow shot from a bow. Such thoughts positively affect the mood of a person, energize him for the whole day. When the measured distance is overcome, you need to run another 1 km at a slow pace with relaxed hands.
Running with a mental attitude. While running, you can constantly repeat the given phrases, for example, “I am absolutely healthy”, “I am full of strength and energy”, “I am filled with life-giving force”, etc. You should pronounce the phrases mentally, you can even sing them.
Many people experience stiffness during their first run. You can get rid of it. It is enough to ensure that the spine remains straight, and the arms and legs move actively. Hands and fingers should be left relaxed. Then you need to relax the muscles of the face, buttocks and legs.
It is necessary to look while running a little above the horizon line. This will create the impression that a person is floating through the air. If you look at the ground, it will be more difficult to run. Sometimes circumstances develop in such a way that a person simply has nowhere to run. This is not a reason for not exercising. You can run on the spot.
A good healing effect can be achieved if you run on your toes. At the same time, the body of the body should be slightly tilted forward, and the legs should hit oneself on the buttocks. This running technique allows you to increase not only muscle tone, but also normalize bowel function, as well as get rid of constipation. To enhance the effect, you can try to hold your breath. You need to start running in this way from a small period of time – from 15 seconds, gradually bringing the time interval of classes to 15 minutes.
You can also run with your knees high. In general, running technique can be any, the main thing is that it suits the person.
So, running increases life expectancy – it’s a fact. It helps to reduce pressure, normalize the work of all internal organs, improve well-being in general. Therefore, to refuse to run means to deliberately harm your health.