For the past twenty years or more, running has been promoted as the one-size-fits-all panacea for a range of issues including increasing metabolism, losing weight or just the best way to achieve overall fitness. Alongside this, the running industry has grown year on year, with dedicated shops now selling running gear all across the country, running clubs in every town and more marathons springing up everywhere you look.

But is running all its cracked up to be? Personal trainer Greg Brookes believes that often it does more harm than good. In fact, he’s so against it, he has devised the seven deadly sins of running which are:

1. Decreases the size of your heart.

Small muscles use less energy and are more efficient. Consider the difference in energy consumption between a 50cc scooter and a huge V8 4×4 truck. Our heart is a muscle just like the rest of our muscles, if you force the heart to keep running for long periods of time it will naturally shrink to use less energy and become more efficient. If you want to increase the size of your heart then you must strength train your heart, not endurance train it!

2. Causes injury through repetitive movements.

When you run 2.5 times your bodyweight is transmitted through your joints. Now imagine this type of force being repeated over and over again, eventually your weakest joint will give out. Usually the ankles or the knees are the first to go, generally becasue of poor hip and core stability. Many runners then opt for some kind of support or brace which only exacerbates the problem by moving it on to the next weakest joint and still maintaining the old injury.

3. Slows down your metabolism.

The more muscle tone you can maintain, the higher your metabolism. Muscle is highly metabolically active and requires constant energy to survive, so the more muscle tone you have the more calories you will be burning at rest. Long distance running will often deplete your energy stores and then start breaking down your muscle tissue to use as energy. If you want some serious muscle wastage and to reduce your metabolic rate then keep running.

4. Produces more body fat.

Fat is one of our body’s favourite sources of energy. The more you run the more your body prepares itself for your next run. You will actually start to hold on to more fat so you can run for longer next time.

5. Boring and time consuming.

Some people run for fun, but lets face it most of us run to get in shape and lose that excess belly fat. The truth is running is very time consuming and there are better ways to get great results in a lot less time.

6. Cardiac distress and heart attacks.

Evolving from our hunter gatherer days we had no real necessity to run long distances, in fact the only running we ever did was in short bursts to avoid predators or to catch food. Our body simply isn’t designed to run long distances and the stresses you put your heart under during this time can set you up for a heart attack. It’s a fact that many long distance runners do die of heart attacks.

7. Fat burning slows right down.

The body is an amazing machine and will adapt to anything over time. The more time you spend running the better you become at running and the more efficient you get at using less energy. So what starts off as a great calorie burner quite quickly becomes almost useless at burning excess calories. Ultimately runners then have to run further and further to get the same calorie expenditure that they achieved when they first started.

If you have read all this and are thinking “OK, so what is the answer – what should I be doing?”. The answer is simple, high intensity training. Intensity training is like strength training but for your heart and lungs. It burns far more calories, strengthens your heart and joints and increases your metabolism – the best thing, it only takes 4 – 10 minutes max.

For a one-to-one workout with Greg Brookes or interview opportunities, please contact: suzanne@stunningpr.com or 07957 371840

Editors Note: Editor’s Note: GB Personal Training is run by Greg Brookes and offers results in the comfort of your own home or local park. No matter where you are based in London Greg can help offering individual training packages tailor made to suit his diverse range of clientele ranging from celebrities to busy City executives, housewives to high flyers. He offers a 30 day money-back guarantee on his weight loss programmes.