Work It Wednesday! My Love/Hate Relationship With Running

Hi Darlings,

I apologize for not sharing any fabulous OOTD's or DIY's in the last two days, but I have a pinched nerve under my shoulder blade that has kept me in bed and in pain. It is a reminder that I am doing too much and need to take it easy but, unfortunately, I am under deadlines, and I must keep moving. I did, however, take it easy yesterday and today but as soon as I can I am going to take a mini staycation.

It's odd as a blogger to take time off because even on our off days we tend to record and share our days, it's a sickness I tell ya! lol. So, although I am bed bound for the next 24hrs I thought I would at the very least do a "Work It Wednesday" post.

I thought I would talk about my love/hate relationship with running and why I do it ANYWAY. A few years back you couldn't get me to run unless I was running out of a burning building or to a shoe sale, but earlier this year I found that running has its benefits. I started running to mix it up and get out of my gym routine. I found that being outside made me feel better and I looked forward to being outside more than walking on a treadmill or elliptical machine.

I listed my top four reasons for running four days a week, and I hope you give it a try. You can also just do a brisk walk if you are not up to running just yet. I started out doing a walk/run combo; I walked for 2 min and ran for 1min. I slowly increased my run time and decreased my walk time.

Mental Health: Running helps me clear my head. I may not feel like it when I start but once I warm up and get into a rhythm my mind starts to clear and suddenly I start to feel better. It's as if every step I take releases a little bit of stress. I have also learned that I get most of my great ideas when I run because my mind is free and clear.

Weight Loss: The more muscle I gain, the more fat I burn and running is said to help the breakdown of fat. The up and down movement breaks the fat into manageable portions for the body to burn. Now I am not fitness or health expert but I can say that I found my weight loss to happen much faster when I included running as my form of cardio (outside of the gym) Now here is an odd thing...I did not notice the same weight loss when I was doing my running on the treadmill.

Cardiovascular Health: Running helps to build my heart muscles and as you run the amount of blood your heart pumps increases. Running also works out your arteries as they expand and contract while you run.

Lower Body Strength: Running helps build the largest muscles in your body and, therefore, also helping to strengthen your ligaments and tendons. Since I have such a bad right knee I must strengthen the ligaments surrounding my knee, and running has helped me do that. Since jumping is not an option for my knees, I found running has given me another way of working out my lower body without causing myself more knee pain.

I have one tip to get you started, make it fun! Chances are if you drive by during my run you will see me dancing like no one is watching and skipping like an 8 year old.

Now I can't tell you that I love running and I jump out of bed every day ready to hit the asphalt, because I would be lying. BUT I do love the feeling I get while running and certainly the feeling of accomplishment when I am done.

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