Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods of time. Performed over long distances, it is a form of aerobic endurance training.
Jogging is running at a gentle pace; [1] its definition, as compared with running, is not standard. In general, jogging speed is between 4 and 6 miles per hour (6.4 and 9.7 km/h). [2]
The word jog originated in England in the mid-16th century. [3] The etymology of the word is unknown, but it may be related to shog or have been a new invention. [4] In 1593, William Shakespeare wrote in Taming of the Shrew , "you may be jogging whiles your boots are green". At that point, it usually meant to leave. [5]
The term jog was often used in English and North American literature to describe short quick movements, either intentional or unintentional.[ citation needed ] It is also used to describe a quick, sharp shake or jar. [6] Richard Jefferies, an English naturalist, wrote of "joggers", describing them as quickly moving people who brushed others aside as they passed. [7] This usage became common throughout the British Empire, and in his 1884 novel My Run Home, the Australian author Rolf Boldrewood wrote, "Your bedroom curtains were still drawn as I passed on my morning jog."
In the United States jogging was called "roadwork" when athletes in training, such as boxers, customarily ran several miles each day as part of their conditioning.[ citation needed ] In New Zealand during the 1960s or 1970s, the word "roadwork" was mostly supplanted by the word "jogging", promoted by coach Arthur Lydiard, who is credited with popularizing jogging. The idea of jogging as an organised activity was mooted in a sports page article in The New Zealand Herald in February 1962, which told of a group of former athletes and fitness enthusiasts who would meet once a week to run for "fitness and sociability". Since they would be jogging, the newspaper suggested that the club "may be called the Auckland Joggers' Club"—which is thought to be the first use of the noun "jogger". University of Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman, after jogging with Lydiard in New Zealand in 1962, started a joggers' club in Eugene in early 1963. [8] He published the book Jogging in 1966, popularizing jogging in the United States.
Jogging may also be used as a warm up or cool down for runners, preceding or following a workout or race. It is often used by serious runners as a means of active recovery during interval training. For example, a runner who completes a fast 400 meter repetition at a sub-5-minute mile pace (3 minute km) may drop to an 8-minute mile jogging pace (5 minute km) for a recovery lap.
Jogging is an effective way to boost endurance and improve cardiovascular health while placing less stress on the joints and circulatory system compared to more intense exercises.
According to a study by Stanford University School of Medicine, jogging is effective in increasing human lifespan, and decreasing the effects of aging, [9] with benefits for the cardiovascular system. Jogging is useful for fighting obesity and staying healthy. [10] However, individuals who are moderately or extremely obese should exercise jogging with caution, as the risk of injury increases. [11]
The National Cancer Institute has performed studies that suggest jogging and other types of aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of lung, colon, breast and prostate cancers, among others. [12] It is suggested by the American Cancer Society that jogging for at least 30 minutes five days a week can help in cancer prevention. [13]
While jogging on a treadmill will provide health benefits such as cancer prevention, and aid in weight loss, a study published in BMC Public Health reports that jogging outdoors can have the additional benefits of increased energy and concentration. Jogging outdoors is a better way to improve energy levels and advance mood than using a treadmill at the gym. [14]
Jogging also prevents muscle and bone damage that often occurs with age, improves heart performance and blood circulation and assists in preserving a balanced weight gain.
A Danish study released in 2015 reported that "light" and "moderate" jogging were associated with reduced mortality compared to both non-jogging and "strenuous" jogging. The optimal amount per week was 1 to 2.4 hours, the optimal frequency was less than or equal to 3 times per week and the optimal speed was "slow" or "average". [15] A recent meta-analysis on running/jogging and mortality, including more than 230,000 participants found that runners were at 27% lower risk of death than non-runners, during 5.5-35 year follow-ups. [16]
Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion by which humans and other animals move rapidly on foot. Running is a gait with an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground. This is in contrast to walking, where one foot is always in contact with the ground, the legs are kept mostly straight, and the center of gravity vaults over the stance leg or legs in an inverted pendulum fashion. A feature of a running body from the viewpoint of spring-mass mechanics is that changes in kinetic and potential energy within a stride co-occur, with energy storage accomplished by springy tendons and passive muscle elasticity. The term "running" can refer to a variety of speeds ranging from jogging to sprinting.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D), formerly known as adult-onset diabetes, is a form of diabetes mellitus that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Common symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, fatigue and unexplained weight loss. Other symptoms include increased hunger, having a sensation of pins and needles, and sores (wounds) that heal slowly. Symptoms often develop slowly. Long-term complications from high blood sugar include heart disease, stroke, diabetic retinopathy, which can result in blindness, kidney failure, and poor blood flow in the lower-limbs, which may lead to amputations. The sudden onset of hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state may occur; however, ketoacidosis is uncommon.
James Fuller Fixx was an American who wrote the 1977 best-selling book The Complete Book of Running. He is credited with helping start America's fitness revolution by popularizing the sport of running and demonstrating the health benefits of regular jogging. He died of a heart attack while jogging at 52 years of age; his genetic predisposition for heart problems and other previous lifestyle factors may have caused his heart attack.
Exercise is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, prevent injuries, hone athletic skills, improve health, or simply for enjoyment. Many people choose to exercise outdoors where they can congregate in groups, socialize, and improve well-being as well as mental health.
Aerobic exercise, also known as cardio, is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. "Aerobic" is defined as "relating to, involving, or requiring oxygen", and refers to the use of oxygen to meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism adequately. Aerobic exercise is performed by repeating sequences of light-to-moderate intensity activities for extended periods of time. According to the World Health Organization, over 31% of adults and 80% of adolescents fail to maintain the recommended levels of physical activity. Examples of cardiovascular or aerobic exercise are medium- to long-distance running or jogging, swimming, cycling, stair climbing and walking.
Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations, and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical exercise, and sufficient rest along with a formal recovery plan.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thromboembolic disease, and venous thrombosis.
Weight cycling, also known as yo-yo dieting, is the repeated loss and gain of weight, resembling the up-down motion of a yo-yo. The purpose of the temporary weight loss the yo-yo diet delivers is to lure the dieting into the illusion of success, but due to the nature of the diet, they are impossible to sustain, therefore the dieter gives up, often due to hunger or discomfort, and gains the weight back. The dieter then seeks to lose the regained weight, and the cycle begins again. Other individuals cycle weight deliberately in service of bodybuilding or athletic goals. Weight cycling contributes to increased risk of later obesity, due to repeated signals being sent to the body signalling that it's in starvation mode; therefore it learns to be better and better at storing fat, and increases the strain on vital organs, likely promoting cardiometabolic disease.
Arthur Leslie Lydiard was a New Zealand runner and athletics coach. He has been lauded as one of the outstanding athletics coaches of all time and is credited with popularising the sport of running and making it commonplace across the sporting world. His training methods are based on a strong endurance base and periodisation.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a training protocol alternating short periods of intense or explosive anaerobic exercise with brief recovery periods until the point of exhaustion. HIIT involves exercises performed in repeated quick bursts at maximum or near maximal effort with periods of rest or low activity between bouts. The very high level of intensity, the interval duration, and number of bouts distinguish it from aerobic (cardiovascular) activity, because the body significantly recruits anaerobic energy systems. The method thereby relies on "the anaerobic energy releasing system almost maximally".
Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) refers to the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to skeletal muscles during sustained physical activity. Scientists and researchers use CRF to assess the functional capacity of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. These functions include ventilation, perfusion, gas exchange, vasodilation, and delivery of oxygen to the body's tissues. As these body's functions are vital to an individual's health, CRF allows observers to quantify an individual's morbidity and mortality risk as a function of cardiorespiratory health.
Interval training is a type of training exercise that involves a series of high-intensity workouts interspersed with rest or break periods. The high-intensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods involve activity of lower intensity. Varying the intensity of effort exercises the heart muscle, providing a cardiovascular workout, improving aerobic capacity and permitting the person to exercise for longer and/or at more intense levels.
Long slow distance (LSD) is a form of aerobic endurance training used in sports including running, rowing, skiing and cycling. It is also known as aerobic endurance training, base training and Zone 2 training. Physiological adaptations to LSD training include improved cardiovascular function, improved thermoregulatory function, improved mitochondrial energy production, increased oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle, and increased utilization of fat for fuel. Ernst van Aaken, a German physician and coach, is generally recognized as the founder of the LSD method of endurance training.
The obesity paradox is the finding in some studies of a lower mortality rate for overweight or obese people within certain subpopulations. The paradox has been observed in people with cardiovascular disease and cancer. Explanations for the paradox range from excess weight being protective to the statistical association being caused by methodological flaws such as confounding, detection bias, reverse causality, or selection bias.
Management of obesity can include lifestyle changes, medications, or surgery. Although many studies have sought effective interventions, there is currently no evidence-based, well-defined, and efficient intervention to prevent obesity.
Cardiovascular fitness is a component of physical fitness, which refers to a person's ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles, including the heart. Cardiovascular fitness is improved by sustained physical activity (see also Endurance Training) and is affected by many physiological parameters, including cardiac output (determined by heart rate multiplied by stroke volume), vascular patency, and maximal oxygen consumption (i.e. VO2 max).
The running boom of the 1970s occurred in high- and middle-income countries. It was particularly pronounced in the United States and occurred in other countries including the United Kingdom and other European countries, Australia and New Zealand.
Preventive Nutrition is a branch of nutrition science with the goal of preventing, delaying, and/or reducing the impacts of disease and disease-related complications. It is concerned with a high level of personal well-being, disease prevention, and diagnosis of recurring health problems or symptoms of discomfort which are often precursors to health issues. The overweight and obese population numbers have increased over the last 40 years and numerous chronic diseases are associated with obesity. Preventive nutrition may assist in prolonging the onset of non-communicable diseases and may allow adults to experience more "healthy living years." There are various ways of educating the public about preventive nutrition. Information regarding preventive nutrition is often communicated through public health forums, government programs and policies, or nutritional education. For example, in the United States, preventive nutrition is taught to the public through the use of the food pyramid or MyPlate initiatives.
The benefits of physical activity range widely. Most types of physical activity improve health and well-being.
Exercise medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the prevention and treatment of injuries and illness with exercise. In some countries, Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) is a recognized medical specialty. Exercise medicine is therefore an emerging physician (non-surgical) specialty, but there is also a belief that exercise is treatment of such fundamental benefit that it should be incorporated into all medical specialties. Allied health practitioners also can specialize in exercise such as exercise physiologists, physiotherapists, athletic trainers and podiatrists.