Running is incredibly underrated, people buy incredibly high priced gym memberships at David Lloyds or elsewhere thinking the key to fitness is what you pay, whereas you can actually get just as fit for free locally to you.
Running has an incredible number of benefits that no one really thinks about. It’s one of the best things for your body that you can do, and one of the best things for the mind too.
The benefits of running include:
- Better mental health
- Better physical health
- Actively fights depression
- Actively fights negative thoughts
- Helps to extend lifespan
- Keeps your organs healthy
Running isn’t just a solo sport, it’s a social activity made for people to do together, and it brings whole communities together too. In the UK there are so many running events and competitions along with the free UK event called Parkrun, which is a fully timed and organised 5k every saturday morning at 9am.
Another benefit of running is it makes you more health conscious about what you’re putting into your body, you want to fuel yourself properly so you feel great while you run, you cut down on your alcohol so you’re clearer on run day, there’s so many benefits to it.
Conclusion
Running is great for the mind and body, it changes you all round to feel better, feel stronger and feel positive. If you’re going through depression and you can’t get up in the morning, it fuels your desire to progress and it really helps you out of bed. It helps you book that next run, to breathe that next breath and to better yourself physically and mentally, and if you’re like me, to help others through their battles too.
If you have a story from when you fought through your depression through running, I would absolutely love to hear it, drop me a mail with your story and I’d love to know how it’s made you feel!