Run For Your Life!

Or at least for your health. Running offers such tremendous health benefits that if you were really disciplined and the weather were always nice, there’d be no reason to spend money on a gym membership, or aerobics classes, or a home-gym machine, or really on any sort of workout.

Here are 5 reasons why you should get off that lazy butt and start running now:

1. It’s free. You may have a few one time expenses, like good running shoes, a supportive sports bra (if you’ve got bigger boobs), and an ipod, but otherwise, you won’t need to spend a dime and you’ll get all the exercise you need. Think of all the money you’ll save on gas if you don’t need to drive to the gym.
2. Running has no learning curve, or at least a small one. How do you run? That’s like asking how you breathe. You just do. I guess there are a few running tips from the pros, about how to breathe while you run or how to pump your arms, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly.
3. It’s so easy (see above), and yet it’ll give you a full body workout. If you’re not used to running, you’ll be pooped and Charlie horsed after just a few minutes of this rigorous activity. Fully exerting yourself on a run burns between 600-700 calories in an hour-that’s more than almost any other activity you can think of.
4. It’s good for your heart. Blood pumps through your whole body fast and efficiently, supplying your entire body with fresh blood and a good heart workout in just a short amount of time.
5. Running will help reduce stress. Don’t you think it would be great if you de-stressed by going for a run rather than by sitting on the couch with a spoon, Ben, and Jerry? Well if you work up to it, running can be so enjoyable and can release so much tension in your body that when things in your life go a bit astray, the first thought you’ll have is: When can get out of here so I can run this off?