Adding This to Your Usual Jogs Can Boost the Health Benefits of Running

Sprinting in short bursts during runs enhances endurance, metabolism, and fat loss. These gains come faster than with continuous exercise.

Running provides a wide range of health advantages. This simple activity can lower the risk of disease, support mental wellbeing, and even help slow the effects of biological aging.

Yet about 31% of people still fail to engage in enough physical activity, such as running. The reason most often given for this shortfall is a lack of available time.

So, what if it were possible to capture the rewards of running in far less time? This is exactly what interval running offers.

What is interval running

Interval running is a style of high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Although HIIT has been practiced for nearly 100 years, it became especially well known in the 1990s and 2000s with training methods such as Tabata (20 seconds of vigorous effort followed by ten seconds of rest) and CrossFit (a demanding program that blends weightlifting, gymnastics, and cardio).

The defining principle of HIIT is alternating between short periods of very strenuous activity and intervals of rest or lighter movement. For example, a typical HIIT workout might involve performing burpees at maximum effort for 30 seconds, resting for 30 seconds, and then repeating the sequence several times.

HIIT principles can also easily be applied to your regular runs if you’re looking to reap the benefits of this workout but in a shorter time-frame.

Methods to try

For instance, with the “10-20-30 method”, runners start with 30 seconds of jogging or walking, followed by 20 seconds of running at a moderate pace – then finishing with a ten second sprint.

Or, the “fartlek” method (Swedish for “speed play”) is another easy way to get into interval running. This involves mixing in a few sprints during your jog instead of just keeping a steady pace.

Cardiovascular and metabolic benefits

Interval running HIIT workouts can have numerous benefits – including for your cardiovascular system, your metabolism and your body composition (how much fat you have and where it’s stored).

For instance, research has shown that in overweight and obese people, sprints provided even greater gains in a specific aspect of cardiovascular fitness when compared with those who did a regular, steady pace run. The participants who performed sprints saw greater improvements in their V̇O₂ max – the amount of oxygen the body is able to use to fuel intense exercise.

In those who already run regularly, a 12-week trial found that adding HIIT workouts to a weekly endurance run for 12 weeks improved V̇O₂ peak to a greater extent than when they did longer continuous runs. V̇O₂ peak is a measure of cardiovascular fitness which shows your cardiovascular capacity. A bigger V̇O₂ peak is helpful for performance and also reduces the risk of death from any cause.

Blood sugar and cellular health

Research has also shown that interval walking and running has a more potent effect on your metabolic health – specifically the regulation of blood glucose levels, which can help lower risk of type 2 diabetes – than a continuous walk does.

HIIT workouts such as the 10-20-30 method have a greater effect on the energy-producing parts of our cells (known as the mitochondria) than continuous exercise. This means greater stamina and lower risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The 10-20-30 method also has the benefit of reducing our “bad cholesterol” and blood pressure more than continuous running does. This means reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

Finally, while both continuous running and HIIT can reduce visceral fat levels – the dangerous fat stored around our organs – HIIT can do this in a more time-efficient way.

In each of these instances, the benefits are accrued in a fraction of the time it would take with a conventional run. As little as 18 minutes of sprint interval runs three times a week can lead to health benefits.

How to get started

If you’re keen to give interval running a try, there are a few different ways you can get started.

If you normally run outdoors, you can try sprinting from one lamp post to the next – then recovering by walking or jogging to the next lamppost before sprinting again. This is a form of fartlek training.

In a gym setting, this can be done using both a non-motorized treadmill or a traditional motorized treadmill. The latter usually has interval training programs that you can select – allowing for sprints then recovery. This can also be done with walking.

Sprints can be completed for just a few seconds to a couple of minutes. The key with interval running is to get your heart rate towards 90% of your maximum during the “intense” part to get the most benefits. Ensure you recover sufficiently between sprints.

Like with any exercise program, it’s important to build up your activity levels over time.

If you’ve been sedentary for a few years, jumping immediately into interval running probably isn’t a good idea.

It’s also sensible to consult with your GP before starting new exercise regimes, particularly if you have any medical conditions. For instance, HIIT can actually increase blood sugar levels, resulting in hyperglycaemia in those with diabetes, so they should definitely speak to their doctor before giving this a try.

Small changes, big benefits

A good rule of thumb is try adding in a few sprints during your next run – be that for a few seconds to a minute. In two to three months, you’ll probably start to see the benefits.

Or, if you don’t care to try sprints, you could do the “10-20-30” method during your runs, or try “Jeffing” (the run a bit, walk a bit method).

Increasing the intensity even just a little bit occasionally during your runs can lead to numerous benefits for your health and fitness.

Written by Christopher Gaffney, Senior Lecturer in Integrative Physiology, Lancaster University.

Adapted from an article originally published in The Conversation.

Christopher Gaffney receives funding from UKRI, NIHR, North West Cancer Research, and the Ministry of Defence.

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