Our reporter Liu Xintong
Will running every day hurt my knees?
Does running every other day work?
Many runners have doubts about these issues, and have trouble running every day and running the next day.
A few days ago, the "Scientific Fitness and Health Promotion Guidance Popularization" project under the guidance of the Group Department of the State Sports General Administration and sponsored by the Sports Science Institute of the State Sports General Administration answered this question.
Experts said that running every other day can also bring the desired sports effect, and running every day will not hurt the knees. There is no better and more scientific difference between running every other day and running every day. We still have to evaluate according to our own ability. , choose what to do.
If you are a novice in the running circle, it is recommended to run every other day; if you are a senior runner or have a relatively good foundation in sports, running every day is not a problem.
Running every other day can also benefit your body
The Physical Activity Guidelines for the United States states that for substantial health benefits, adults should engage in at least 150 minutes a week (2 hours 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes a week (1 hour 15 minutes) of vigorous aerobic physical activity, Or combine moderate- and vigorous-intensity cardio.
Aerobic activity 1 should last at least 10 minutes, and best spread over a week to complete.
The moderate-intensity exercise here is typically brisk walking, and running is usually a high-intensity exercise.
This means that running 75 minutes a week can get basic health benefits.
If you run 3 times a week for about 20 minutes each time, it is easy to achieve a minimum amount of exercise of 75 minutes per week. Even if you are a novice runner, use a slower speed, such as a 7-part pace, and run three or four kilometers every other day. Basically meet the conditions for getting healthy through running.
Therefore, running every other day and running for about 20 minutes each time is enough for health and is the basic amount of exercise suitable for most people.
Running every other day gives your body more rest.
Experts say that running makes us feel tired, which is due to the consumption of energy substances, and it takes about 24 hours to fully recover from glycogen consumption.
The recovery of the cardiopulmonary and other systems of the body generally depends on the individual's ability. People with good cardiorespiratory endurance may recover within half an hour, while those with poor cardiorespiratory endurance may take nearly three hours to run 5 kilometers before their heartbeat returns to the level before exercise. s level.
In addition, some people may still have muscle soreness symptoms on the second or even third day after running, which is a manifestation of our muscles and joints not adapting to the load.
Therefore, for novice runners or runners with poor ability, running every other day is more conducive to the elimination of fatigue and the recovery of the entire body.
Running every day can also scientifically not hurt your knees
So why don't you run every day?
Neither.
Experts say the Physical Activity Guidelines for the United States state that, within certain limits, the more physical activity, the greater the health benefits.
Scientific research has found that about 1.5 hours of moderate-to-high-intensity physical activity per week reduces the risk of all-cause death by 20%; increasing moderate-to-high-intensity physical activity to about 5.5 hours per week reduces the risk of all-cause death. about 35%.
That is, within a certain range, health benefits are directly proportional to the amount of physical activity.
More physical activity will lead to more health benefits, including preventing chronic disease, maintaining a healthy weight, and more.
For the problem of knee injury from running every day, experts remind that if you are experiencing pain, of course you should pay attention to rest. It is not suitable for running every day, but there is no direct relationship between running every day and knee injury.
To give an extreme example, it is normal for marathon runners to train and run every day, with a monthly running volume exceeding 200 kilometers, but their incidence of knee injuries is lower than that of ordinary runners.
There are many reasons for knee injury. Unreasonable and overloaded running volume is an important factor, but more reasons come from running posture and unreasonable kinematic chain.
If the kinematic chain is abnormal, injuries are often caused as soon as the running volume is increased; if the kinematic chain is normal, there is no problem with a slightly larger running volume.
Cross-training makes it easy to stay active
The biggest worry of many runners about running the next day is whether they can achieve a certain amount of exercise to increase consumption and help lose weight.
Experts said that you don’t have to think so complicated about this issue. It doesn’t mean that you need to run every other day and exercise every other day. You can run every other day and do other sports in between, which is the so-called cross-training.
Cross-training allows us to develop our physical fitness more comprehensively, allowing you to not only run faster and longer, but also make you stronger and softer.
At the same time, cross-training can also reduce the chance of sports injuries. Many injuries of runners are strain injuries, that is, injuries caused by repeating the same and wrong actions for a long time. Cross-training can improve physical fitness in an all-round way through different sports. At the same time, constantly change the movement to reduce the chance of strain injury.
In addition, cross-training can help you continue to improve your athletic ability and maintain your physical activity.
For runners, after running, cycling, swimming or doing strength training at intervals not only allows different parts of the body to take turns to rest, but also enhances the fun of exercise, without worrying about insufficient exercise and affecting the progress of weight loss.