Shocking before and after photos of a British jogger Five kilometers a day for a month reveal the surprising impact that the fitness challenge can have on the body.
YouTuber Luke Longden, who lives near Doncaster, described himself as a novice runner, but embarked on the task to see if he could inspire others to take up running.
At the beginning of the month, your physique seems relatively undefined, with a small but prominent belly and little tone in your pectoral muscles.
However, the images taken at the end show an impressive transformation. the young man shapes much wider shoulders, a flatter stomach and more defined muscles in the chest and arms.
His first run, in which he completed a 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) loop near his home, took him 33 minutes and he noted that he had to stop to catch his breath several times.
“You don’t realize how unfit you are until you start running and have to stop after just two minutes,” he said.
But a week later he was running the same distance non-stop, completing his daily goal in about 26 minutes.
Surprisingly, he did not experience any significant injuries or pain, other than some muscle aches in his legs and back and, at one point, a “nasty spot.”
YouTuber Luke Longden, who lives near Doncaster, described himself as a complete newbie runner, but embarked on the challenge to see if he could inspire others to adopt a new fitness goal.
“Now I can run for many years without stopping,” he said on the 17th.
On the final day of the challenge, he completed the 5K in 21 minutes and 40 seconds, more than 10 minutes faster than his first race.
Research suggests that the average time men under 35 complete a 5K is between 30 and 35 minutes.
In general, the average time ranges between 30 and 40 minutes, depending on age, sex and inclination.
Longden said he had been inspired by the experience and was “definitely worth it”.
“I’d never run before,” he said. “If I can do it…then you can do it too.”
By the end of the challenge, Longden had run a total of 150 kilometers (93.2 mi), roughly the distance between London and Coventry, or three and a half marathons.
Mr Longden’s challenge was extreme for a beginner.
Experts and the NHS advise people to slowly start running 5km over the course of around nine weeks and only run every other day.
This is general advice for adults of all ages and fitness levels and is intended to prevent injuries that result from challenging the muscles too quickly, which can also lead people to abandon the effort altogether.
This image shows Mr Longden’s body shape before starting his month-long challenge.
And this is what the result looks like after running 5km for 30 days, the equivalent of running 3.5 marathons
exercise physiologist Biara Webster told the website LiveStrong.com that people new to running should take it easy.
‘If you’re a beginner runner, setting a goal like running 5km every day can be very motivating – it gives you a great goal to work towards. However, even if your ambition is great, it is important to be realistic,” he wrote.
‘If your body is not used to running frequently, there is a high probability of hurting yourself.
“Rather than pushing yourself too hard and injuring yourself, you may want to consider gradually building up.”
Regular running is considered an effective way to improve heart and lung health and can also help with weight loss when combined with a healthy diet.
There is also evidence that it can help improve bone density in some people, which can help combat problems such as osteoporosis and, like other forms of exercise, improve mental health.
The NHS advises most adults to do 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week to stay healthy. Running is classified as a vigorous activity.