Types of Jogging Exercises
Jogging in and of itself is a superior form of aerobic exercise. It burns as much as 1,000 calories per hour, making it ideal for weight loss and weight control, and it also tones up your lower body and develops your cardiovascular system to the max. There are a number of different jogging exercises you can do that accomplish physiologically distinct things.
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Long Slow Distance
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If you jog daily or almost every day, the majority of your workouts should consist of traditional easy-to-moderate distance runs, performed at about 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. These jogs build basic endurance and burn chiefly fat rather than glycogen, the body's storage form of blood sugar. If you have a goal of, say, finishing a marathon, you can do long slow distance runs at the expense of more intense jogs and be very well prepared.
Tempo Runs
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Tempo runs, also called lactate-threshold runs or anaerobic threshold runs, train your system to tolerate the build-up of lactic acid, as you run these at an intensity level corresponding to the pace at which you begin to accumulate lactate faster than your body can metabolize it. This pace is approximately that which you could hold for one hour going all-out. You should do tempo runs lasting about 20 minutes and limit them to one per week, at most.
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Fartlek
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Fartlek, a bizarre-sounding word that in Swedish translates to "speed play," bridges the gap between a traditional jogging speed workout and everyday running. Normally done in off-road settings such as hilly trails or golf courses, fartlek involves bursts of running at around 5K race pace or so and lasting two to five minutes, with recovery jogging at an easy pace. You get to pick the points at which you start and stop the faster sections. This kind of running gets you used to changing gears and prepares you for the rigors of racing, should you be so inclined.
Interval Workouts
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Intervals are the bread and butter of seasoned track athletes, and they have a significant role in the jogging of everyday shlubs, too. While the structure of interval workouts varies greatly and depends on your target distance, you should aim to do repetitions of 400 to 1,600 meters at 5K to 10K race pace interspersed with walking or easy jogging lasting about 50 to 75 percent of the duration of the faster running. Do these no more than once a week and you should see your race times plummet in short order.
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References
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