There’s lots of different variables that have to be taken into account when working out how many calories, on average, you can burn when running. The average person will burn around 100 calories per mile, but this doesn’t take into account your weight, pace, incline and time already spent running.
But can you increase your calories burnt during a run, and if so, how?
Do you know your daily calorie target?
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Run uphill or on varied terrain
Yes, running uphill is harder, but this where you can burn even more calories! Running uphill is harder on the body, meaning that your heart rate increases quicker, and more calories are burnt.
The amount of extra calories burnt depends on the speed you run up the hill, and the gradient incline but you can expect to burn a fair few extra calories, which will help with fat-burning and weight loss.
Running on different terrain will also help to burn more calories, depending on which terrain you pick – running on sand will burn 30% more calories than running on tarmac for instance. Running on trails or hilly ground can also help burn more calories but be careful! There’s lots of trip hazards running on trails, so it can be difficult to get a good run going.
Run in a race
When training, you’re often running slightly slower than your race pace to help build up stamina and ensure you don’t get injured. On race day, the adrenaline, atmosphere and thrill of beating the man dressed as a rhino means you’ll run at a much quicker pace which will help with burning calories.
During training runs, keep an eye on your calories and see if you can up your pace slightly during those runs and then see the difference on race day!
Take fewer rest periods during a run
During a run, it is natural to take a break to refuel or have a walking rest – this can reduce the number of calories burnt as your body starts to slow down. Keeping rests to a minimum (unless it is extremely warm weather) will mean your body is in the heart rate zones it needs to be constantly to keep up the calorie burn rate. Instead of stopping dead, or slowing down to a walk, try and slowly jog or power walk to make sure your heart rate is still in exercise mode.
Running exercises
Hill reps, intervals, pyramids are all great exercises to help burn more calories and you can increase the intensity throughout the exercises to increase your fat-burning potential.
You can also increase the number of calories burnt during your workout by remembering to warm up before your run – do jumping exercises like jump squats, lunges and jogging on the spot to get your body warmed up enough.
To make the most of your running workout – it’s important to understand your calorie burn rate and how your running can impact this. Having a smartwatch that can display the amount of calories burnt can be really helpful to keep you updated and give you an accurate look at the fat-burning potential of your workout. Calories burnt really does depend on a variety of things but doing different exercises throughout your training can really help with increasing this number.
Want to find out more about how running can help you lose weight and get fit? Head on over to our other blogs here.
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