Jogging regularly is one of the easiest ways to improve your endurance and tone the muscles throughout your entire body. It is generally defined as running at a moderate, steady pace between 10 and 12 minutes per mile for approximately 30 minutes, two to four days per week. The muscles that benefit most from a routine jogging program are those in your legs and buttocks. But don’t throw away those skinny jeans, because your thighs are not going to get bigger.
Tone Up
Jogging causes your quadriceps, hamstrings and inner-thigh muscles to thicken and shorten, making them stronger while enhancing your body’s ability to store glycogen and use fat for energy. Your muscle-mass increase will be minimal because with jogging, which is an aerobic exercise, you'll burn about 67 percent more calories than you would with an anaerobic exercise, such as weightlifting. You'll notice that it's becoming easier to control your weight because your muscles burn more calories -- even during inaction -- than all other body tissues.
Lose Weight
If you’re jogging to lose weight, several factors, including gender, will affect how that happens. In general, women have 5 to 10 percent more body fat than men. The upper part of your body, which is controlled by stress hormones, will become slimmer before a reduction occurs in your hips and thighs, which are controlled by reproductive hormones.
Your genetic composition also plays a role. Whereas some people store the most fat in the upper part of their bodies -- apple types -- others store more fat in their midsections and thighs -- pear types. To accelerate weight loss, decrease your caloric intake and avoid fatty processed foods.
Added Benefits
Reducing your overall body fat, increasing your lean muscle mass, burning calories more efficiently and keeping those skinny jeans are just some of the benefits of routine jogging. This exercise will also help improve your bone strength and lessen your risk for chronic health issues such as heart disease and diabetes.
Jogging may help increase your longevity. In a study published in April 2013 in the “American Journal of Epidemiology,” researchers at the Bispebjerg University Hospital in Copenhagen analyzed 27 years’ worth of data from an ongoing cardiovascular study. They found that men who jogged one to two-and-a-half hours per week increased their life spans by an average of 6.2 years, whereas females on the same routine increased their life spans by about 5.6 years.
Tips and Considerations
Stretch to loosen your muscles before you begin jogging. Establish a pre-jogging exercise warm-up as well as a post-jogging cooldown program. Walking briskly is an easy way to warm up and cool down. Stay hydrated, especially during hot weather, which continues well into the autumn in the southern-most part of the U.S. In the Southwest, temperatures can rise above 120 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer and even hover between 80 and 90 degrees during the fall.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Strength Training: Get Stronger, Leaner, Healthier
- ACEFitness: Slow Down: Study Says Moderate Exercise Keeps You Alive Longer
- The Beginning Runner's Handbook: The Proven 13-Week RunWalk Program; Ian MacNeill
- CurrentResults: Weather Averages
- National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: Physical Activity and Health -- A Report of the Surgeon General: Physiologic Responses and Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise
- Realistic Weight Control: The Healthy Guide to Weight Loss; Jan de Vries
- Fat Matrix; Robert Knyzewski et al.
- American Journal of Epidemiology: Longevity in Male and Female Joggers: The Copenhagen City Heart Study
- The Lancet: Minimum Amount of Physical Activity for Reduced Mortality and Extended Life Expectancy: A Prospective Cohort Study
- American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism: Effects of Aerobic vs. Resistance Training on Visceral and Liver fat Stores, Liver Enzymes, and Insulin Resistance by HOMA in Overweight Adults From STRRIDE AT/RT
Resources
Writer Bio
Dawn Daugherty has been writing about medical research, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, fitness and healthcare for more than 18 years. She realized she was destined to be a writer in 1995 after she began attending US Food and Drug Administration committee hearings and writing summary reports about the proceedings.