Ep #394: 7 reasons running is the ultimate life hack

Welcome to the Not Your Average Runner podcast. I’m Jill Angie, a certified running coach, and your running BFF here to help you start running. Feel confident and love the journey no matter your size. Now, if you’ve ever felt like you just weren’t meant to be a runner, think again. I believe that running is for all bodies, even yours.

This podcast is your warmup buddy, giving you tips, motivation, and the support you need to lace up and get moving. I’ve helped thousands of women become runners, and now I wanna help you. Let’s go.

Hey, hey runner, and welcome back to the only podcast for plus-size women who wanna start running without shame and diet culture. Today we’re gonna talk about a topic that I am so fired up about, and that is the real. Life-changing benefits of running that most people overlook. Now, before we dive in, I wanna take a minute to just set the scene because if you have ever Googled the benefits of running, what do you see?

It burns calories. It boosts your metabolism, it helps with weight loss, blah, blah, blah. It is always about shrinking your body and it is like the whole world has collectively forgotten that running is actually. I don’t know. Fun empowering and mental health boosting, and don’t even get me started on how every running ad still shows thin and, you know, fast, typical type of running bodies, making it look like it’s effortless.

And we’re done with that narrative. Okay. So if you’ve been waiting to start running until you lose weight, or if the only reason you are running is because you think it’s a fast track to weight loss, this episode is for you. Because by the end, you’re gonna see that running has been holding some powerful gifts for you this whole time, and that those gifts have been waiting for you and not the other way around.

Alright, so let’s break it down. Number one is the obvious one. You probably already know this, but in case you haven’t noticed, running is basically a full body exhale. Running is so good for stress relief. If you’ve had a shit day, you can go for a 10 minute run and you will switch your, your brain will change.

It is not about going fast. It’s not about going far. It is about. Processing anger, sadness, frustration, even joy. You move your body and your brain starts to shift. Your nervous system chills out. It is like giving yourself a timeout, but in a very, very good way. So this like stress relief is one of the best benefits of running, I think.

Um, and I think we often forget about it. We’re like, oh God, I’m too stressed out. I don’t have time to run. No, you don’t have time not to run when you’re stressed out because again, it’s basically a full body exhale. And one of my clients once told me, she’s like, Jill, I don’t run to burn calories. I run so I don’t murder my boss.

I was like, all right, good. Excellent. Keep on keeping on. Um, number two is confidence and. There is just something deeply empowering about doing something that you once thought was impossible. So even if you’re slow, even if you need walk breaks, I take walk breaks all the time. Um, even if your sports bra is doing the absolute bare minimum for you, every time you lace up your shoes and you get out there, you are building this little like reservoir of confidence.

And it’s not because you set a pr, it is because you showed up. It is that confidence and trust you are building because you are doing something that maybe you couldn’t do before. So you start saying, well, let’s see if I can do this. What else have I been telling myself that I can’t do? And that is. Uh, that is a dangerous question, but in the best possible way, because when you teach yourself through running that you can do things that you thought were impossible, your world opens up and you start to recognize that there are a lot of things that are possible for you, and you start chasing them down.

It’s super fun. Now, number three is body trust and appreciation. So when you have told. Yourself and when you’ve been told by others and the media and everything that your body is a problem to solve, right? That you have problem areas that you need to camouflage or you need to lose weight, or you need to look younger, whatever it is, when that’s the messaging that you’ve been getting running can give you a new perspective because it’s gonna start teaching you that your body, the one that you’re in right now.

Can carry you forward. It can sweat, it can breathe, it can adapt, it can do hard things. You start to appreciate your body, not for what it looks like, but for what it. Does, and that is a revolutionary shift. Running helps you build a relationship with your body, a level of trust and compassion that you cannot get from just repeating affirmations in a mirror, right?

You get that from doing something in your body and appreciating firsthand its strength and resilience. Now, number four is improved sleep. Who doesn’t want better sleep, right? So running regularly, even just 10 minutes, a few days a week, can drastically improve the quality of your sleep. And it’s because your body loves rhythm and movement and it, it helps you burn off the nervous energy and stress and anxiety that might otherwise keep you up at night.

So you don’t have to run marathons to get this benefit. You don’t have to run marathons or. Run every day to get any of these benefits, by the way, in fact, I advise against daily running. It’s a pathway to injury, but just getting your heart rate up a few times a week is enough to improve your sleep quality and help you feel more rested in the morning.

And guess what? When you sleep better, running feels better, life feels better. You’re less stressed, you’re less anxious. It’s a absolutely beautiful circle Now. Running three times a week for 10 minutes is not sexy. It is not gonna get you a six pack. But best sleep. Better Sleep is one of the most underrated superpowers out there, right?

Like. Who needs a six pack when you are well rested. So my friends, think about that short amount of running that you can do as a way to help you sleep better, which again is a life hack for feeling better every single day. Now, number five, mental focus, productivity boost. Okay, so a 10 minute run, 15 minute run.

Is going to, I, I can’t even explain how great it is.

All right. Now number five is the mental focus and productivity boost that you get from running. So if you have ever noticed how your brain just feels a little bit clearer after a run, it’s not a coincidence. It is because movement. Moving your muscles, getting your lungs going, improves circulation and oxygen flow to your brain.

You are literally able to think better after you move your body because you are giving your brain what it needs. So a quick run can help you brainstorm ideas, solve a problem, or just simply interrupt the doom strolling spiral that we all are familiar with. Um, but it really, it just kind of like takes your brain.

To the next level. And some of my best ideas for podcasts, um, coaching programs, even book plots have come during runs. I have solved so many problems in my life by just letting my mind go when I’m running and that extra oxygen, um, and blood flow is like, ah, it’s like rocket fuel for my brain. Running helps you access that part of your brain that is creative and open.

And again, you don’t have to run hard to get this. Just get out there and get your body moving. Alright, number six is. Community and connection, and this is where I get a little bit, you know, woo woo. But one of the most beautiful surprises about running is the people that you meet. Running is such a great and easy way to connect with others who are like you, whether it is in local running clubs or online groups, like run your best life or just smiling at another runner on the trail.

Like just that eye contact, smile connection can be very powerful. And for plus size runners, finding community around athleticism can be especially healing because we have been told that we don’t belong in fitness spaces. I, I mean. I can’t believe it’s been, I’ve been doing this for 12 years now. Right.

Just coaching runners, putting the message out there that you can be plus size, you can be fat and you can be, uh, you can do athletic things and you would think, you know, between myself and the literal thousands and thousands of other people that are. Putting the same message out there that we wouldn’t be hearing this anymore, but a woman just went viral on TikTok a few weeks ago for saying that people over 200 pounds don’t belong in Pilates classes.

I’m like, can we not? Can we be done with this already? But. It’s still out there. Right? And that is why finding community when you are a plus-size runner is so helpful. Because when you meet somebody who sees you, who gets you, who understands you, who has the same lived experience as you, it’s magic. Okay?

And your community doesn’t have to be big. Just one person cheering you on can make the whole journey feel a lot less lonely. Alright, number seven. This is our last one. This is my most favorite because it’s not just about what you do in running. It is about who are you, who you are becoming. It is your identity.

Expansion. Running has this very sneaky way of changing how you see yourself, because you start off thinking, I’m not a runner. I’m not athletic. I’m just trying to survive this whole couch to 5K thing, right? But then you finish a run and maybe it’s 10 seconds of running, followed by five minutes of walking.

Or maybe it’s your first mile, maybe it’s your first 5K, but deep down, somewhere inside you, something shifts. You start thinking, wait a second, I, I did that. I did that. I ran. And over time, your identity starts to change and you go from, I hate exercise to. I am somebody who moves her body on purpose. Um, from, oh, I never finished what I start to, I just followed a training plan for four weeks in a row.

So you become somebody who shows up, somebody who does hard things, somebody who keeps promises to herself, and that shift right there ripples into everything. You start asking for the raise. You speak up in the meeting, you finally plan that trip, or you leave that relationship, or you start that business, or you write that book because now you believe if I can run, I can do anything and none of it.

None of it has to do with how much you weigh or how fast you go or how far you go. This is about reclaiming your power, expanding what’s possible for you, and letting running be the proof that you are more than what you were told you could be. This is why I say that running is radical because it doesn’t just change your body, it changes your mind and it changes your life.

Okay, my friend. Now, if this resonated with you and you’re thinking. Uh, I want all of those things in my life. Yes, please. I do wanna personally invite you to join, run Your Best Life. This is my coaching community for plus-size women who wanna run on their own terms with zero shame or diet culture. We’ve got training plans, we’ve got weekly coaching calls, and we have got the most.

Supportive, hype you up on a bad day kind of community that you will ever find. So if you wanna learn more, head on over to run your best life.com to learn more and join us. All right? That’s run your Best life.com, or you can go to the link in the show notes. I’ve made it easy for you and we would love to have you there.

Alright, my friend, that is it for today. I hope you lace up this week and take that first or that next step just for you. Okay? Remember, you are already a runner. All you gotta do is go out and prove it to yourself. I’ll see you next week.

Real quick before you go, I’ve got a fun challenge for you. Take my exerciser personality quiz to find out exactly what kind of exerciser you are and how to make running feel easier and more enjoyable.

Just head over to not your average runner.com/quiz to take it and get your results. That’s not your average runner.com/quiz.