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Faizan
Hitting the track, treadmill or trails every day for a long, steady jog is a surefire way to improve cardiovascular fitness and overall health, but it's not the only way to go. In fact, you could use a quality over quantity argument when introducing an incline into the equation. Running on an incline increases the effort of your run and can give you fitness results faster than distance running.
Cardiovascular Adaptations
No matter which type of running you do, you're primarily going to be improving your cardiovascular system in both distance and incline workouts. Over time, you can improve your overall health and fitness by strengthening your heart and increasing the oxygen content of your blood, which improves cardio efficiency. Additionally, you'll burn calories, reduce stress and lower high blood pressure and cholesterol.
Weight Loss
You will burn calories running distance or on an incline, but how many calories you burn depends on your overall effort. Since running on an incline is harder, you'll burn more calories running the same distance on an incline. A 155-pound person who runs two miles on level ground can burn 230 calories, while the same person can burn 291 calories running the same distance at a 5-percent incline.
Effort
According to U.K. track coach Brian Mackenzie, running on an incline can force your body to recruit up to three times as many muscle fibers as running on flat ground. More muscular recruitment translates to more cardiovascular effort, as you need to consume more oxygen to fuel your working muscles. Because your muscles have to work harder during incline running, you will build and tone more muscle in your legs and glutes than you will with distance running. In fact, running long distances can actually release adrenal hormones that break down muscle tissue. Your heart rate will increase over time when you run distance due to a phenomenon known as cardiac drift, but muscular effort will remain largely unchanged.
Considerations
Although incline training has some advantages over distance running, it also has a few drawbacks. Increased muscular effort means increased difficulty and intensity. You can't sustain an incline workout as long as you can running on flat ground. If you run on a sharp incline, your muscles will need rest to recover after the workout, meaning you can say goodbye to incline workouts on consecutive days. Which type of running you choose depends on your personal fitness goals. Incline training gives you more bang for your buck, but distance running allows you to control your effort and spread your workout over a longer time period.
Cardiovascular Adaptations
No matter which type of running you do, you're primarily going to be improving your cardiovascular system in both distance and incline workouts. Over time, you can improve your overall health and fitness by strengthening your heart and increasing the oxygen content of your blood, which improves cardio efficiency. Additionally, you'll burn calories, reduce stress and lower high blood pressure and cholesterol.
Weight Loss
You will burn calories running distance or on an incline, but how many calories you burn depends on your overall effort. Since running on an incline is harder, you'll burn more calories running the same distance on an incline. A 155-pound person who runs two miles on level ground can burn 230 calories, while the same person can burn 291 calories running the same distance at a 5-percent incline.
Effort
According to U.K. track coach Brian Mackenzie, running on an incline can force your body to recruit up to three times as many muscle fibers as running on flat ground. More muscular recruitment translates to more cardiovascular effort, as you need to consume more oxygen to fuel your working muscles. Because your muscles have to work harder during incline running, you will build and tone more muscle in your legs and glutes than you will with distance running. In fact, running long distances can actually release adrenal hormones that break down muscle tissue. Your heart rate will increase over time when you run distance due to a phenomenon known as cardiac drift, but muscular effort will remain largely unchanged.
Considerations
Although incline training has some advantages over distance running, it also has a few drawbacks. Increased muscular effort means increased difficulty and intensity. You can't sustain an incline workout as long as you can running on flat ground. If you run on a sharp incline, your muscles will need rest to recover after the workout, meaning you can say goodbye to incline workouts on consecutive days. Which type of running you choose depends on your personal fitness goals. Incline training gives you more bang for your buck, but distance running allows you to control your effort and spread your workout over a longer time period.
Posted in: Running
