Jogging a Mile Every Day

You can reap numerous health benefits from getting a mile-long jog in each day. MayoClinic.com reports that regular exercise helps control body weight, reduces disease risks, boosts your energy, promotes better sleep and can even improve your mood. However, jogging more than 1 mile daily may provide you with some additional benefits.

  1. Calories Burned

    • The number of calories you’ll burn jogging a mile a day is based on your body weight. A larger body exerts more energy jogging the same distance than a smaller individual. Harvard Health Publications reports that if you weigh 125 pounds you’ll burn 96 calories, if you weigh 155 pounds you’ll expend 119 calories and if you weigh 185 pounds you’ll burn 142 calories jogging 1 mile at a pace of 5 miles per hour – which is equivalent to a 12-minute mile.

    Weight Loss

    • Jogging 1 mile per day can help you lose weight when combined with a reduced-calorie diet. Weight-Control Information Network reports low-calorie diets often contain 1,000 to 1,200 calories for women and 1,200 to 1,600 calories daily for men. However, increasing your mileage boosts your chance for weight-loss success. A review published in 2009 in “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise” notes getting more than 250 minutes of exercise weekly is often effective for weight loss.

    Disease Risks

    • Compared with being sedentary, jogging 1 mile daily reduces your chronic disease risks -- such as heart disease and diabetes. However, boosting your exercise duration offers the most protection from chronic diseases. The 2008 Physical Fitness Guidelines for Americans recommends adults participate in at least 150 minutes, but ideally 300 minutes, of moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise – such as jogging – each week and strength train at least two days per week.

    Alternatives

    • Jogging is a high-impact exercise. Therefore, jogging every day can take a toll on your muscles and joints. Alternate jogging with other forms of cardiovascular exercises to avoid muscle fatigue and reduce your risk for jogging-related injuries. Choose from cycling, swimming, walking, rowing or using an elliptical machine as alternate forms of exercise during your non-jogging days. According to Harvard Health Publications, you can burn just as many calories biking at a pace of 12 to 13.9 miles per hour, rock climbing, cross-country skiing or swimming the backstroke as you can jogging at a pace of 5 miles per hour.