Training Benefits from running – how long does it take?

 

This is based on a minimum of doing three 30-minutes workouts each week. 

After 1 Week

Fitness:
You will feel more energized with the 1% boost of endurance.  Resting heart rate can drop by 1 beat per minute.  This means your heart is getting stronger.
Weight:
If 25% overweight; people on a reasonable diet will start losing weight – others, nothing discernible yet.

After 1 Month

Fitness:

4% increase in aerobic capacity (less out of breath).  Resting heart rate may drop by 4 beats per minute. A fit heart rate is between 50 and 70 bpm.
Weight:
Muscle tone is improved.  If 25% overweight; another 4 – 6 lbs will come off -  others, perhaps 1-2 lbs. 
Blood Pressure:
If a person started with higher than normal blood pressure and/or weight, the systolic pressure should drop by 5-7 points and the diastolic pressure should drop by 1-2 points.  This means that blood is flowing more easily to your muscles and organs.
Systolic is the top number measuring the maximum pressure produced in the large arteries by each heartbeat.
Diastolic is the bottom number measuring the constant pressure maintained in the arteries between heartbeats.

After 3 Months

Healthy changes start to become more obvious at this point!

Fitness:

10 – 15% total increase in aerobic capacity.  Resting heart rate, on average, drops another 5 – 7 beats.

Weight:

Muscles will be a bit larger and more toned.  If overweight, 12 – 17 lbs could go; others may start seeing a 5 – 10 lbs drop.

Blood Pressure:

Systolic pressure could be up to a 7 – 12 point drop and diastolic pressure could drop 3 – 8 points.

Cholesterol:

At this point there will be a change in cholesterol levels.  There may be a slight reduction in total levels but a definite rise in 'good' HDL cholesterol.  Every 1% rise in HDL lowers the risk of heart disease by 3%!

 

After 6 Months

Fitness:

15-20% total improvement in aerobic capacity.  Resting heart rate may have dropped a total of 10 – 15 bpm.  A bonus: Recovery after a workout is significantly shorter needing perhaps only 3 or 4 minutes.  This means oxygen is used more efficiently within your body.         

Weight:

The former overweight may have dropped up to 30 lbs.  OR if the scale shows

no change

- Fat tissue is approximately 20% less dense than muscle, so it takes up 20% more space.  Muscle burns 19 times more calories than fat. So a pound of muscle takes less space and burns more calories then a pound of fat.   If that isn't enough – here is a picture I found.  http://www.onemorebite-weightloss.com/muscle-to-fat.html

Blood Pressure:

8 -15 points total reduction in systolic pressure and 4-10 points in diastolic pressure.

Cholesterol:

At this point if the reading were 'abnormal' the change should be enough to make them 'normal'  YEAH!

After 1 Year

Fitness:

18 – 25% better at burning oxygen than when you started!!  To improve this even more-add in those long runs or run more than 3 times per week.

Weight:

It takes fewer calories to maintain your body weight so it will remain about the same.  To lose weight, increase exercise or decrease calories.   Note: I have never lost weight during marathon training – you have to eat to maintain that much intensity in training!

Blood Pressure:

A total drop of 8 – 18 points in systolic pressure and up to 10 points diastolic pressure.

Cholesterol:

Cholesterol levels have improved enough at this point to extend your life expectancy! 

Just when you wondered if all that running was worth it . .

 

Summary

The bottom line – life - and more of it!

I RUN FOR LIFE!

 

 

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