5 Minutes of Running

In a previous post, I suggested 30 minutes. 30 minutes a day to exercise.

Does that still seem like too long? Would you start with just 5 minutes?

5 Minute Benefits

Just last week, a new study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology with some pretty interesting finds related to running.

Of note, people who ran for just 5-10 minutes a day at a leisurely pace (of 10 min/mile or slower) lived just as long as those runners who ran 150 minutes or more/week.

Both groups of runners were less likely to die prematurely than non-runners, living about 3 years longer, according to this research sampling of over 55,000 people.

Three more years of life for 5 minutes of running a day? That doesn’t seem too bad!

Now don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t think your only exercise should come in the form of 5 minutes of running. But, it certainly is encouraging news if you need a little motivation.

5 Minute Physiology

But 5 minutes of running isn’t just about motivation. It’s also physiology!

How many of you have gone out for a jog, but given up within the first five minutes because it seemed too hard? I know the feeling! (Remember how much I used to hate running!?)

But there’s an explanation for it that comes straight from the exercise science textbooks.

Basically, it takes 2-4 minutes for your body to recognize that you’ve started exercising.

Your energy needs increase rapidly, therefore your oxygen uptake increases. But it can take almost 5 minutes before you find that “steady state”…”the zone”… “your happy place.” Your breathing levels out where aerobic energy production can take over — and running is possible!

This may have been one of the most significant things I learned in my journey of becoming a certified personal trainer.

I’ve found my motivation to run here; but once I understood the science, oh, even better! I can talk myself through those first 5 minutes knowing my body will find a steady state of aerobic energy production soon.

And really, the hardest part of the run is the first 5 minutes. If you can make it past that point, 30 isn’t really all that far away. 🙂