Whether you’re looking for a brand-new fitness challenge or you’ve been thinking about progressing from walking to a more intense activity for some time now, there are many wonderful reasons as to why you should consider running.

Here are just 4 reasons that make running a worthy contender for the best workout routine.

Running Costs Nothing

Runners do not have to pay for costly gym membership or work out classes, neither do they have to pay to pound the streets. Therefore, each time you head out for a good run as your daily workout, you do so in the knowledge that it costs you absolutely nothing. Not many exercises or workouts can lay claim to this!

While you may have to pay for an excellent pair of running shoes to get your running adventures started, at the very beginning you do not need to invest in fancy running clothes. Though you can do so later on, if you’re just interested in giving running a go to see how you get on, the outfit need not cost you much at all.

 Running Is Hugely Sociable

You may decide to run on your own, and most people prefer this. However, if there are days, weeks or months whereby you feel you would do well with the company on your run, there are so many runners out there who you can connect with.

From online advertisements to running blogs and running clubs, you are bound to meet someone who can accompany you on your run who has the same stamina and fitness goals as you. There may even be a local group already who meet once a week in your area, which you can join and make like-minded friends with straight away.

Yet, running can also be social due to the routes you take. If you choose to run without your headphones in, particularly around a hustling neighborhood and on a regular course, you’ll soon find people saying hello to you or nodding their head as they get used to seeing your presence each day.

 Running Can Help You Lose Weight and Stay Physically Fit

There’s no doubt that when you are careful with what to eat to lose weight, you can get some incredible weight loss results from regular running sessions. In fact, running is perhaps one of the quickest ways to lose those extra pounds if you combine it with the right kind of healthy eating plan.

More so, if you combine a healthy long-term eating plan with a regular running routine, you will ensure a more robust and fitter body as a result and are therefore more likely to keep this weight off for good. As with all work out routines, a combination of healthy eating with regular ongoing exercise sessions is a perfect way of maintaining a recommended weight.

Regular running can improve muscle tone and strength and help you ward off many illnesses. Most importantly, it can reduce both blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which means great things for the overall health of your heart.

Running Can Be Done in All Sorts of Weather

One thing about running is that you have to be prepared to run in a variety of weather types! Whether it’s raining, sunny or windy, most runners quickly get used to the changing of seasons and work to accommodate their immediate environment.

With so many different ways of covering up, or reducing running kits available, it is easy for runners to dress to the occasion and wear the appropriate type of running shoes each time or the basic t-shirt and shorts to warm sweatpants and sweatshirts.

However, when it comes to the snow, there are limitations! Yet, for the most dedicated of runners, or those who just don’t feel that they should have to miss out on their regular run, there is always the possibility of continuing running, but indoors instead by merely investing in a treadmill.