I Mixed Up the Route
Running on the road in my neighbourhood was a great start, but my body quickly acclimated to the flat, even surface, and my consistent pace. When I moved my runs into the woods, the uneven terrain, hills, curves, and logs and rocks to leap over forced my previously steady-state runs to be more challenging.
For weight loss, "adding sprinting intervals and hills are great for several reasons," said Sabrina. A varied running workout usually keeps people more interested and engaged. She added that they also activate different muscles, which prevents overuse injury from running on a flat road or treadmill all the time.
But the most effective reason to add sprints and hills to workouts is because you can accomplish similar results in less time, NASM-certified personal trainer Jared Hamilton explained. If you don't have time to go walk or jog on the treadmill for 45 to 60 minutes you can do 10- to 20-minute HIIT-style run and still make progress. Sabrina said just make sure your sprinting pace is much faster than your regular jogging pace, with an appropriate rest period.
Switching things up is key for making your runs effective for weight loss. "Your body burns the most calories the first time you perform a new exercise. As you become more proficient at the movement, your body expends less energy in the process," explained NASM-certified personal trainer Dani Singer with Fit2Go. With that in mind, try changing something about your running workout each month to keep your body guessing.