Benefits of Jogging for Weight Loss Explained

Jogging is an excellent form of exercise to lose weight, get a toned physique, and achieve your desired level of fitness. Therefore, if you are considering jogging for weight loss, know that it is a step towards your goal to become leaner.

So, read through to know several aspects related to this topic.

Short answer – yes!

Jogging is an effective activity to burn calories both during the exercise and after its completion. In fact, jogging burns out a substantial number of calories as compared to any other form of cardio workout.

Jogging is a full-body workout. Moreover, it warms up and prepares an individual’s body for an intense session of workout. Given below are the benefits of jogging to lose weight:

Burning Calories

A jogging session of 30 minutes is intense enough to burn approximately 300 calories. It also helps in boosting one’s metabolism. Besides, jogging allows you to burn more calories compared to walking.

Shedding Weight

Among all its benefits, it is imperative to know how good jogging is for weight loss. If individuals are performing this exercise to shed kilos, they should be mindful of the intensity of their jogging sessions. Jogging, at a high-intensity level, can allow an individual weighing 70 kilos to burn 500-600 calories in an hour.

Body Toning

This exercise engages all the muscles of a jogger. For instance, it tones the shins, hamstrings, calves, and quads of your lower body. Furthermore, a jogger’s glutes would benefit significantly if they choose to traverse up hilly terrain.

While jogging, one must rely on the core or the abdominal muscles for staying upright on the track. To keep the back straight, a firm core plays the role of a girdle, and for a jogger, it is imperative to have a straight and supported spine. As a result, joggers can observe its toning effects on their neck, shoulders, chest, and arms.

The equation for weight loss and jogging is pretty simple – the longer an individual jogs, and the more distance he/she covers, the higher is the number of calories burned. That said, the frequency of jogging and distance covered should depend on an individual’s present health condition and target body weight.

For individuals jogging for weight loss, half an hour of this activity on a regular basis is suitable. Moreover, one’s weight impacts the number of calories burned while jogging for a given time or distance.

For example, as per the Mayo Clinic, an individual weighing about 70 kilos will burn 584 calories during an hour-long jogging session at a speed of 5 miles per hour. On the other hand, someone with a bodyweight of 90 kilos would burn about 728 calories.

Regarding the frequency of jogging sessions for the purpose of losing weight, performing just 1-2 sessions per week will not help you achieve the expected weight loss.

Therefore, one must try to jog as frequently as possible on a weekly basis. To burn calories effectively and allow the body to adapt to this exercise, one should at least schedule 4-5 sessions in a week.

If you are wondering about the best time to jog for weight loss, take a look at the benefits of jogging during the mornings and evenings. Here they are:

Jogging in the Morning

Jogging in the morning enables your body to receive a healthy dosage of oxygen, which pushes the metabolism to burn a higher number of calories. The oxygen level is high in the mornings, thereby making it easier for joggers to breathe, especially during the summers. Moreover, in comparison to midday heat, jogging in the mornings can be a lot more comfortable.

Jogging in the Evening

Jogging in the evening can prove to be an excellent way of relaxing after a hectic day. A low-intensity jogging session can help you blow off the stress from working throughout the day. Moreover, an evening jogging session accelerates the fat-burning process during the night.

Compared to the mornings, joggers need not have a warm-up session for jogging in the evening as their bodies still stay in ‘performance mode’.

Walking comes with a number of benefits which are similar to that of jogging. That said, in terms of calories, jogging allows you to burn double the number of calories burnt by walking. 

For example, an individual weighing about 70 kilos will burn 606 calories by jogging at 5 miles per hour. However, brisk walking at a pace of 3.5 miles per hour for the same time interval would burn about 314 calories.

Moreover, in order to shed 1 pound, around 3500 calories need to be burned. Hence, when it comes to losing weight, jogging is clearly a better alternative to walking.

Listed below are the things which joggers must avoid while jogging for weight loss:

Do Not Jog in a Wrong Posture

Jogging with an incorrect posture will hinder your weight loss journey, in addition to increasing the risk of injuries. Therefore, professionals recommend that you maintain a proper posture while jogging by keeping the head, neck, and back straight and eyes in the forward direction.

Do Not Forget to Warm Up

A warm-up is essential before jogging, especially if you are doing it during the mornings. After warming up for about 5-10 minutes, you shall be ready to start jogging. Warming up can include running small steps in place or rotating the joints of hands, feet, and ankles.

Do Not Rush

Making a sudden stop after a jogging session of around 30-40 minutes might result in an injury in one’s joints. So, during the last 100 metres, it is better to lower the pace gradually and slow down. Then, you can begin walking for the last few metres.

Alternatively, you can opt for gentle exercises during the last 10 minutes. Doing so will slowly reduce the strain on your joints, thereby allowing the body to relax.

With this article coming to an end, we hope that you now know the answer to “Is jogging good for weight loss?”

Make sure to take note of all the safety parameters and factors to avoid before starting your jogging session. Along with this, ensure to plan out your schedule for jogging for weight loss properly.