You have to muster the strength and energy to get to the top of that never-ending ascent, even if you walk it. The more fun it is, the more likely we are to do it. Switching up your usual road or park run for a trail run provides a plethora of mental and physical advantages: everything from lowering anxiety to using more muscle groups. The mental benefits of trail running are, for me, as good as any therapy session, if not better! But they don’t back out. You’ll be skyrunning before you know it! But this is 2020, and times have changed. To top it all off, the increased strength and power you develop from trail running means more stable muscles and joints, which means less rolled ankles, less twisted knees, and more secure movements as you navigate the trails.
Fresh air, babbling brooks, quiet, calm, green spaces. If I had my way, I’d love to run on the trails every single day. Besides, I can’t be bothered looking at my watch while trail running. Studies have also shown that even just looking at nature, like a plant on your desk, can improve well-being. Many running injuries are the result of overuse due to certain muscles, tendons, or ligaments getting stressed over and over again beyond their ability to recover; with trail running, the constantly changing terrain and varying direction of forces helps to avoid overloading any one area on the body as you run, protecting vulnerable areas from overuse. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 6 great trail mix ingredients for runners, 6 of the best ways to fuel your winter running.
I came out of that smiling. Due to the high mental demands of trail running, it boasts mental benefits in addition to its positive health and fitness effects.
Studies have also shown that even just looking at nature, like a plant on your desk, can improve well-being.
You’re also working on balance as you run over and around these obstacles, causing you to use smaller, lesser-used muscles in your legs, core and arms. Heading out on a trail run feels like a real adventure. You are leaving the everyday hustle and bustle of life behind you as you head into the wilderness. Here’s How to Keep Up with Training During a Heatwave, New Balance 860v11 Review: Give Your Daily Training a Kick in the You-Know-What. Hit the trails. Drinks anyone? I just gain so much more from trail running than I do from road running. Like you said the softer surface makes it easier to handle mileage and trail running makes you strong!
I am an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist (CES). Trail running not only boasts all the known benefits of running — increased fitness, calorie burn, stress relief — but it also has its own unique benefits. Heat Training: Unbearably Hot Out?