Running Transforms Body and Brain: Argumentative Essay

You’ve probably heard the saying: ‘Exercise is the cure.’ Well, this is not just a saying; It’s true. Scientific studies show that regular exercise (150 minutes a week, that is, approximately 30 minutes, five times a week) and running, have health benefits that go far beyond any pill a doctor can prescribe. Studies have shown that running can help prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, some types of cancer, and many other unpleasant conditions. In addition, scientists have shown that running also significantly improves the quality of their emotional and mental lives. It even helps live longer (Runner World, 2018).

History of Running

Running was officially born in 776 B.C.E, in ancient Greece, in the city of Olympia. The first event of the first organized Olympic Games was a race. In fact, from its inception until 724 B.C.E, the races in the stadium were the only competition organized at the Olympic Games. Before that, running was primarily used as a resource, a tool that people had to help them find food and avoid dangers. But it took several centuries for its modern forms to work (Yash, 2019).

People started running and running about 4 to 6 million years ago when we evolved and got up on all fours. Ten thousand years ago, hunters and gatherers, like the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico, hunted 15 to 75 miles a day. But it was Pheidippides (490 BC), a former ‘day runner’ who put the race on the map. Pheidippides is believed to have traveled 149 miles to provide news of the Persian landing at the Sparta marathon and to receive help for the battle. Scholars believe that the history of the Pheidippides can be a myth (if the Athenians wanted to send an urgent message to Athens, there was no reason why they couldn’t send a messenger on horseback), but the myth had legs (no pun intended) and it was the birth of the modern marathon. It was the first marathon race (26 miles 385 yards) at the Modern Olympics of 1896 in Athens to commemorate the Pheidippides’ historic run. During the last half of the nineteenth century, athletics, including athletics, had a prominent place in the field of sports. In the late 1800s, children participated in careers in school. In the twentieth century, it was the famous black sprinter Jesse Owens who, during Nazi Germany’s 1936 Olympic Games, demonstrated Hitler’s dream of demonstrating the superiority of Aryan races by winning gold medals at 100 meters and 200 meters, and the 400-meter relay. In the days of Jesse Owens, more Americans were spectators than attendees, but that has changed in the past 35 years. Runners like George Sheehan, Bill Rodgers, Jeff Galloway, Alberto Salazar and Grete Waitz (winner of nine marathons in New York from 1978 to 1988 and inspiration for all women to run!) Through their athletic success and now it’s a popular activity for exercise and sport (Weil, n.d.).

Health Benefits of Running

The benefits of intense physical activity are well described. One of the main points of the position indication is that there is a dose-response to the movement; In other words, the more you do it, the more you will gain from it (Endeavor Athletic, 2017; Wright, n.d.). There are a lot of things we do every day without thinking about the benefits, but maybe it’s time to start.

Disease prevention

Daily running can help prevent obesity, associated with various diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and certain types of cancer. Running has also been shown to improve the quality of life of cancer patients.

Weight loss and fitness

The trick to losing weight is to burn more calories than human eat. Running helps do this during and after workout, a phenomenon known as ‘burning.”. Just run at a faster pace than is easy. A typical one hour run burns about 600 calories. Running is one of the best ways to build muscle, and runners usually have a lower BMI and less abdominal fat than non-runners.

Strengthens joints and knees

You may have heard that running is bad for knees, maybe because runners sometimes have knee injuries, but it’s a myth. The truth is that running can help prevent age-related bone loss. Arthritis Care and Research researchers found that runners who ran the most experienced the least knee pain over time. In the study, only a small percentage of the runners taking part described themselves as competitive runners and concluded that a career in their free time can have a significant impact on the health of the knees and joints. Another report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that running reduces the risk of osteoarthritis because it improves the flow of nutrients to the cartilage in the knees.

Increase longevity

Doctors and health experts recommend getting 30 minutes of exercise at least five times a week for maximum benefit. This is not just talking. A major study by The Public Library of Science (PLOS) Medicine journal, indicates that people who exercise live longer. Non-smokers gained three years, smokers and those with heart disease added four years and cancer survivors extended their lifespan by more than five years. In another study by the Archives of Internal Medicine, where they followed 1,000 participants 50 and older, 85 percent of runners were still alive after 20 years, compared to only 66 percent of nonrunners (Endeavor Athletic, 2017).

Boosts immune system

The British Journal of Sports Medicine conducted a study that found that running and other forms of aerobics resulted in fewer respiratory infections. Those in the study who had a cold showed less severe symptoms (Endeavor Athletic, 2017).

Mental Benefits of Running

Regular exercise, especially running, makes every individual feel better. Fresh air can help improve mood, improve sleep, and increase concentration.

Protects against anxiety and depression

Even after training, the benefits of accommodation can last all day. A study of physiology and behavior has shown that running causes the same type of neurochemical brain response as addictive substances. This is sometimes called ‘Runner’s High’ and is real.

Mental sharpness is improved

Regular exercise and running improve overall brain function. Older people who are in better physical shape than their peers always get better results with mental tests. This is especially true when subjects are assessed based on factors such as attention and memory. In fact, stroke patients who exercise regularly have made significant progress in terms of language, focus, judgment, and reasoning.

Running has meditative qualities

Running are mostly done with a friend or in a group, but there is also the peace of mind that comes from running alone. With or without headphones, tuning out the world and become one with thoughts.

Lesser known but True Benefits of Running

• Running can make humans commute easier.
• Exercising before work make human happier and more relaxed.
• Helps increase vitamin D supply.
• The biggest supplier of vitamin D is the sun, but humans are now spending an amazing amount of time indoors. Going outside during the day for run exposes every individual to more sunlight.
• Running saves money.
• Unlike many other forms of exercise, running requires very little equipment. Does not need weights, special machines, or extensive training (after all, we’ve known how to run since we were a little kid).
• Running has no boundaries or limits.
• Anyone can literally run anytime and anywhere, no matter the fitness level.
• Running makes every individual more goal oriented.
• Most runners strive to beat their personal best in time and endurance each time, which takes dedication and consistency. This attitude can spill over into other areas of life, such as career and personal relationships.

Basic Types of Runs

Figure 1. 7 Different Types of Running Workouts, by Emily Trinh, 2018, https://www.strava.com/clubs/492219/posts/4267118?_branch_match_id=619539919667095868

Recovery Run

A recovery cycle is a relatively short cycle that is done at a simple pace. Recreational racing is designed to improve a runner’s training a bit without sacrificing performance in the most difficult and important workouts that precede and follow it. Recovery runs are best performed as the next run after strenuous training, such as interval running. Carry out recovery careers as slowly as necessary to feel relatively comfortable with previous career despite continued fatigue.

Base Run

A base race is a relatively short to medium-length race that is run at the natural pace of a runner. While individual grass root races are not difficult, they must be performed frequently and generally promote major improvements in aerobic capacity, endurance, and economy of the race. The basic races make up a large part of weekly training kilometers.

Long Run

In general, the long run is a basic run that lasts long enough to make a runner moderately tired. The function of the long term is to increase the raw resistance. The distance or time required to achieve this effect will, of course, depend on individual current resistance.

Progression Run

A progression race is a race that starts at a runner’s natural pace and ends with a faster marathon segment 10 km away. These designs are said to be moderately difficult, more difficult than basic designs, but simpler than most threshold and interval designs. Since this is a medium-effort training, the recovery time is shorter than in the most intensive sessions.

Fartlek

A Fartlek workout is a basic race that mixes at intervals of different duration or distances. It is a good way to start developing efficiency and fatigue resistance at higher speeds at the start of the training cycle or to get a moderate dose of fast running later in the training cycle, in addition to the higher doses provided by Tempo.

Hill Repeats

Mountain repetitions are short sections of difficult uphill climbing. They increase aerobic power, fatigue resistance at high intensity, pain tolerance, and specific running power. The ideal hill for hill repetitions has a constant and moderate gradient of 4 to 6 percent. Mountain tests are generally carried out at the end of the basic construction period in order to offer a relatively safe possibility to introduce more intensive and intensive training into the program.

Tempo Run

A rhythmic race is a sustained effort in the intensity of the lactic threshold. This is the fastest pace that can be maintained for one hour in high-adjustment lanes and the fastest pace that can be maintained in 20 minutes for low-adjustment lanes. Tempo or threshold executions are used to increase the speed that can be maintained for a longer period and to extend the time that can be maintained for this relatively fast rhythm. These races should cool warming kilometers, the biggest effort in the middle of the race and at the end of the kilometers. These races can only be 3 miles.

Intervals

Interval training consists of short and repeated sections of fast running, separated by slow jogging or foot recovery. This format enables the runner to pack faster in a single workout than with a single quick effort that reaches exhaustion.