The slow-running movement, in which people meet for unhurried jogs, is booming – but don't be fooled into thinking that if there's no pain, there's no gain.
For many runners, going fast is the whole point of pulling on their kit. But recently, the opposite approach has been booming: the slow-running movement, in which people meet for social, unhurried jaunts. This might be fun, but surely if there’s no pain, there’s no gain?
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Not so fast, says a growing body of research. In fact, going at a more leisurely pace can bring a range of health benefits, from heart function to mental well-being, while avoiding the downsides of pushing your body to the max. It might even help you live longer – and, ironically, ultimately improve your personal best.
Slow running isn’t about a set speed, it is about going at a pace that is slow for you – one that raises your heart rate, but leaves you able to chat. Technically speaking, your heart rate will be at 60 to 70 per cent of your maximum, says Rebecca Robinson, a private consultant in sports and exercise medicine and a keen runner.
This level of exertion – also known as zone 2 training – is meant to be fairly easy, so does it really count as a workout?
“Yes,” says Steve Haake at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. Energy expenditure increases linearly with running speed, so the total energy you use covering a fixed distance is generally the same, regardless of how fast you cover the ground, he says. “With slow jogging, it just takes longer.”
This is why you can get many of the same benefits from walking as you can from running, if you have the time, such as a slower rate of biological ageing and a mental health boost. It is the cumulative energy expenditure that counts for many of the physiological effects of exercise, rather than the intensity of effort.
Burning fat
But the unhurried pace of slow running means it can provide things that high-intensity exercise doesn’t. The speed at which you run affects what your body uses as fuel. If you are taking it slowly, your body can use aerobic metabolism, which depends on a good supply of oxygen from your lungs. This means you break down stored fat to supply most of your energy. “If I want to burn fat, then running slower is best,” says Haake. At high energy intensities, when you are gasping for breath, the body flips to anaerobic processes and mainly breaks down carbohydrates and protein.
By metabolising fats better, zone 2 training can help us manage weight and insulin levels, says Robinson. Slower jogging can also help our cardiovascular system operate more efficiently, she says, by encouraging the heart muscle to develop, increasing the amount of blood it can pump, reducing resting heart rate and cutting blood pressure and cardiac stress.
In fact, some studies show that it might be more beneficial for your cardiovascular system if you exercise moderately, rather than pushing yourself to the max. For instance, a 2022 study of the long-term health of more than 116,000 US adults found that the benefits of vigorous physical activity for cardiovascular health tailed off at high levels, unlike for moderate-intensity activity (see “Tortoise vs the hare” graph, below) – though the health benefits or otherwise of high-intensity exercise are still much debated.
Likewise, a 2020 study of 138 first-time marathon runners found that training for and completing the race, even at a slow pace, is equivalent to a four-year reduction in the biological age of the cardiovascular system, with slower running times associated with a greater reduction in age-related stiffening of the aorta, the large artery that carries blood from the heart.
There are mental boosts from taking things slowly too. While high-intensity training is renowned for the “buzz” of endorphin release, says Robinson, slow exercise outside provides its own kind of buzz. “We can be more mindful of our own feelings and of nature around us if we choose to exercise slowly outdoors,” she says. “Because we can exercise at a conversational pace, it can be an important time to connect with the friends we work out with – helping our and their mental well-being.”
Zone 2 training
But how might slow running fit into the life of someone whose goal is to clock up fast times? In fact, the practice is relied on by elite athletes. Many long-distance runners spend about 80 per cent of their training in zone 2, rather than at faster paces.
“As a runner myself, I love to run hard, high-intensity efforts, but I know that slow running is an important part of my programme,” says Robinson. “It has specific physiological benefits for training and also enables recovery between harder workouts – trying to run hard every day ultimately overloads the body’s ability to adapt and recover.”
A varied training programme of low and high-intensity workouts and rest days allows runners to adapt until they can tolerate the high forces through their muscles, joints and tendons that allow strength and speed to develop, says Robinson. In other words, slow running can give you a suitable fitness base and body condition to allow you to raise the bar, if you want to.
The bottom line is that going slow can help you go fast – and might help you live longer too.