1. Allows You to Increase Your Workout Intensity Gradually
If walking isn’t challenging enough for you, but you are not quite ready to hit the ground running, jogging is an option that allows you to increase your workout intensity gradually.
Start with jogging intervals. Walk for four minutes and jog for one minute. You are ready to increase your distance once you can jog for 30 minutes straight.
Add no more than 10% to your distance each week to help reduce the risk of injury.1
2. Improves Cardiovascular Fitness
Jogging strengthens your heart muscle and improves your cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels) health. Physical activity increases your heart rate, which, over time, strengthens your heart. When jogging, your heart needs to work harder to pump more blood to your legs. Blood vessels open wider, and additional oxygen is delivered from your heart to your muscles.
Jogging’s other cardiovascular benefits include:2
- Decreased risk of heart disease, including heart attack
- Increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol—”good” cholesterol
- Lower blood pressure
3. Builds Muscle Strength
Jogging strengthens muscles throughout your legs.
Muscles targeted with jogging include:3
- Gastrocnemius (calf)
- Gluteus maximus (buttocks)
- Hamstrings (back of the thighs)
- Quadriceps (front of the thighs)
- Soleus (calf)
- Tibialis anterior (front of the lower leg)
4. Leads to Stronger Bones
Jogging can build stronger bones. High-impact activities put stress on bones that support your body weight as you exercise. These types of activities stimulate bones to deposit more calcium and activate the cells that build new bone tissue.4
Weight-bearing exercise is important for reducing your risk of osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones as you age.
5. Strengthens the Immune System
Moderate-intensity exercise, such as jogging, can benefit your immune system. Physical activity boosts the immune system by increasing the amount of immune cells in your circulating blood and boosting the activity of cells that fight infection.5
6. May Help You Lose Weight
Many factors affect weight loss, and physical activity plays a role. Weight loss occurs when calories burned throughout the day exceed the amount taken in.
When combined with a healthy diet, jogging can help contribute to a calorie deficit. The exact amount of calories burned during your jogging workout depends on your body weight, speed, and distance.
The American Council on Exercise provides the following information for calories burned per minute of jogging at specific body weights:6
- 120 pounds = 9.3 calories per minute
- 140 pounds = 10.8 calories per minute
- 160 pounds = 12.4 calories per minute
- 180 pounds = 13.9 calories per minute
7. Decreases Insulin Resistance
Insulin is a hormone that helps control blood sugar by turning food into energy. Insulin resistance occurs when the body doesn’t respond as it should to the blood sugar–regulating hormone insulin, causing blood sugar levels to rise. Over time, chronically high blood sugar levels can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, can improve insulin sensitivity in the short and long term. Insulin sensitivity has been shown to improve for up to 72 hours after one exercise session.7 With consistency, baseline blood sugar levels can also decrease over time.
8. Improves Sleep Quality
Jogging has the potential to improve your sleep. Research shows that physical activity increases the time spent in deep sleep, helps people fall asleep faster, and reduces the chances of waking up throughout the night.8
However, the timing of your jogging workouts also plays a role. Jogging activates the sympathetic nervous system, increasing your heart rate and making you more alert. Exercising too close to bedtime can make it more difficult to fall asleep.
Physical activity can also improve sleep disorders such as insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (a partial blocking of the upper airway during sleep that can interfere with breathing).9
9. Protects You From Stress Side Effects
Exercise, such as jogging, decreases stress hormones—such as adrenaline and cortisol—in your bloodstream. It also helps ward off adverse side effects of chronic stress, such as high blood pressure (hypertension), heart disease, forgetfulness, and a weakened immune system.10
American Heart Association