Can Jogging in Place for 45 Minutes Be a Good Cardio Workout for the Day?

Jogging in place for 45 minutes can help you meet the American Heart Association guidelines for heart-healthy physical activity. You may get bored or become sore from this type of nonstop exercise, so mixing things up a bit might be a good idea. Vary your movements and add some upper-body exercises to make jogging in place a more comprehensive workout.

The American Heart Association recommends that adults perform 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. A brisk walking pace would be considered moderate intensity, while jogging creates a vigorous workout. The association suggests 30-minute workouts five days each week but notes that three 10- to 15-minute workouts a day will help you meet your guidelines. You can meet the AHA guidelines with two 45-minute jogging-in-place workouts as well.

Jogging at 5 mph will help a 160-pound person burn more than 600 calories per hour, according to the Mayo Clinic. Jogging at that speed for 45 minutes would help her burn about 450 calories. Compare this to a brisk walk at a pace of 3.5 mph, which burns about 315 calories per hour or 235 calories after 45 minutes.

During a jog, both of your feet will leave the ground, creating a high-impact workout. This will stress your lower back, spine, knees and ankles. You might also experience shin splints or muscle cramping if you’re not used to using your muscles this long. You can start a jogging-in-place program by starting with one minute of jogging followed by one or two minutes of walking, depending on your cardiorespiratory strength and how long it takes to catch your breath. At each workout, decrease your recovery periods and lengthen your jogging times, reaching a point where you can jog for five minutes and walk for 60 seconds. Walking is also low impact because you keep at least one foot on the ground at all times.

To reduce the monotony and repetitive stress of jogging in place for 45 minutes, add some upper-body exercises to your workout. Use dumbbells while you jog or take a break from jogging every 10 minutes to perform dumbbell or resistance-band exercises. If impact and muscle fatigue are not a problem for you, consider adding jumping rope, butt kicks, high-knee stepping and going up and down stairs to your routine. To do butt kicks, kick your heels into your buttocks with each stride to use more leg muscles. Skipping with high knees requires you to skip, raising your knees up to your waist or higher on each stride. Swing your arms as you do these exercises to burn more calories.