When you’re trying to lose weight, running is one of the best exercises for weight loss. It’s a simple, low-impact activity that can be done anywhere and doesn’t require any special equipment or training.
But if you’re new to running or not used to it, it can feel overwhelming at first. We’ll walk you through the basics of how to start running for weight loss, so you can get started right away.
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Best Exercise For Weight Loss Running
Running is a great exercise to burn calories quickly, and the average person burns around 100 calories from just 10 minutes of running. The simple formula for losing weight is to burn more calories than you consume (we need to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of weight), so keep in mind that these running workouts will give you great results when balanced with healthy eating.
Losing weight is not an easy task, as we can see from the number of people who are classified as overweight and obese in the U.S. According to weight statistics, over two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. In addition, many people gained weight during the pandemic from reduced physical activity and mental health issues.
If you are one of the many people who are overweight, don’t feel bad — you are not alone. And there are many things you can do to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way. The good news is that it is never too late to make healthy changes and lose excess weight. And if you are a runner, that is even better, as you have access to the best running workouts to lose weight, which I am offering here.
After training runners for over 10 years in NYC, many of whom have weight loss goals, I have found the best workouts to help runners with their fitness goals. Now I am sharing these best running workouts to lose weight to help you succeed in your weight loss goals too.
Beginning Running
If you are just getting started running, I recommend running regularly for at least six weeks before you begin any of these workouts. This will build up your fitness level and you will see noticeable fitness results. If you have been relatively sedentary, you will start to see changes in your body in the first month of training and even more results after six weeks.
After you reach a certain fitness level, once you are six to eight weeks into running regularly, it is common to plateau and not see much more improvement in fitness. These 6 best running workouts to lose weight will help you get over the hump and continue to make progress.
Tabata Running for Weight Loss
Tabata running workouts are a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that burns more calories than regular, slow running. These workouts are short and intense and will give your metabolism a big boost. Tabata running workouts are great for all levels of runners. The Tabata running workout offers an easy-to-follow first speed workout for beginning runners. Here’s how to do a Tabata running workout to lose weight:
TABATA RUNNING WORKOUT
- Warm-up 5 minutes relaxed pace run. Do dynamic stretches.
- Fast Intervals 20 seconds sprinting, at an 80-percent effort level
- Active Recovery 10 seconds slow jog for recovery
- Fast Intervals 20 seconds sprinting, at an 80-percent effort level
- Active Recovery 10 seconds rest, slow jog
- Repeat for a total of 8 fast bursts and 4 minutes of Tabata time
- Cooldown 5 minutes slow run. Stretch.
- Total Workout Time: 14 minutes
Circuit Training Running Workout
Circuit training with running is one of the best running workouts to lose weight. Chances are you are familiar with circuit training workouts from school P.E. classes or playing sports. Circuit training is a combination of aerobic exercise (in this case, running) and strength training in a high calorie-burning, endurance- and strength-boosting workout. It is one of the most efficient workouts and offers the added benefit of strength training. Strength training improves lean muscle mass, helps with burning fat, and boosts your metabolism long-term so your body continues to burn more calories even when you are resting.
Here is a simple bodyweight running circuit workout that you can do to get started with circuit training:
RUNNING CIRCUIT WORKOUT
- Warm-up Run for 5 minutes at a relaxed pace. Do dynamic stretches.
- Strength Circuit Do push-ups for 30 seconds.
- Running Recovery Run for 3 minutes at a relaxed pace.
- Strength Circuit Do planks for 30 seconds.
- Running Recovery Run for 3 minutes at a relaxed pace.
- Strength Circuit Do reverse crunches for 30 seconds.
- Running Recovery Run for 3 minutes at a relaxed pace.
- Strength Circuit Do bodyweight squats for 30 seconds.
- Running Recovery Run for 3 minutes at a relaxed pace.
- Strength Circuit Do side lunges for 30 seconds on each side.
- Running Recovery Run for 3 minutes at a relaxed pace.
- Repeat for a total of 2 circuits so you do each strength exercise twice.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of slow running. Stretch.
Interval Workouts for Weight Loss
Interval workouts are a form of speed training that improves your overall fitness level while burning a high amount of calories in a short time. Intervals are one of the best running workouts to lose weight because the workouts are intense and build lean muscle mass while burning more calories than regular, relaxed pace running.
There are many forms of interval workouts, ranging from short sprints to 1-mile repeats. My go-to speed workout for beginners and anyone starting out with speed training is 400-meter intervals. A 400-meter interval is one lap around a standard outdoor track, which is equal to one-fourth of a mile.
Here is a sample 400-meter interval workout that you can use to get started. For advanced runners, you can add more intervals, up to 10 x 400s.
400-METER INTERVAL WORKOUT
- Warm-up – Run for 800 meters (one-half mile) at a relaxed pace. Do dynamic stretches.
- Intervals – Run 400 meters (.25 mile) fast, at 80 percent effort level.
- Active recovery – Run for 400 meters at a slow, relaxed pace.
- Repeat to run a total of 6 fast intervals and 6 recovery intervals.
- Cool down with 800 meters (.5 mile) of relaxed pace running. Stretch.
- Total Run Distance – 4 miles
Fartleks Workout
Fartleks are a beginner-friendly speed workout that will give your calorie-burning a boost. Fartleks is Swedish for “speed play” and the workout is indeed like a running game. To do a fartlek workout, you run at your regular, relaxed base run pace and then sprinkle in periods of fast running. Fartleks are more informal than interval running and often times the exact distance of the speed bursts is not measured.
Here is a fartleks workout to get you started:
FARTLEKS WORKOUT
- Warm-up by running at a relaxed, slow pace for 10 minutes. Do dynamic stretches.
- Run fast for one minute, at an 80-percent effort level.
- Run at your regular base run pace for 3 minutes.
- Repeat for a total of 8 fast intervals and 8 relaxed pace segments.
- Cool down with 6 minutes of relaxed running. Stretch.
- Total Run Time – 48 minutes
Note that you can adjust your interval amount based on your fitness level. If you are just starting out, you may want to do 4 interval cycles, for instance, and build up to doing more over time. For advanced runners or those training for long races such as a marathon, you can add more distance to the warm-up and cooldown to increase your total mileage.
Long Runs for Weight Loss
Long runs are one of the best running workouts to lose weight because the extended workout time burns fat. During a long run, your body will use up all your carbohydrate stores and then will start burning fat for energy. You will also burn a high amount of total calories during a long run. After about an hour of running, your body will begin burning fat for fuel as the carbs are depleted.
LONG RUN WORKOUT
I recommend doing one long run per week of at least an hour of running (or build up to an hour). Follow your long run with some stretching and a rest day to allow your body to recover fully.
Also note that for extended long runs of 70 minutes or more, you should take some fuel on the run to prevent your body’s energy levels from crashing. See our running fuel guide for more recommendations on fueling during long runs.
Treadmill + Weights Circuit Workout
The treadmill is a great tool for circuit workouts and a convenient place to do circuit workouts with weights. To do this workout, grab a pair of medium dumbbells and place them by your treadmill. You will also want to have a bottle of water handy for small drink breaks.
Here is a treadmill and weights circuit workout to get you started:
TREADMILL STRENGTH CIRCUIT WORKOUT
- Warm-up with 5 minutes of running at a relaxed pace. Do dynamic stretches.
- Strength Circuit. Do two circuits for a total of two of each strength exercise. Use medium-weight dumbbells for every exercise except push-ups. Do 30 seconds of the following exercises for a circuit: push-ups, bicep curls, triceps extensions, squats, back lunges, and dumbbell deadlifts.
- Run for 2 minutes between each 30-second strength training exercise. Run at a relaxed pace.
- Cool down with 5 minutes of running at a slow pace. Stretch.
Training Tips
When you do speed or strength workouts, take a rest or active recovery day the next day to allow your body time to recuperate. Drink plenty of water throughout the day and during your workout take small sips of water as needed.
It takes a calorie deficit of 3,500 to lose one pound of weight. If you burn 500 more calories than you consume every day for a week, you will lose 1 pound of body weight. If you are following a calorie tracking plan, I recommend following a program that includes plenty of fresh foods and very few processed foods. I do not advise fasting for runners or anyone who is physically active because your body needs enough calories to perform exercises.
Body Image Issues
It is not uncommon for people to become obsessed with exercising to lose weight and develop unhealthy eating habits or disordered eating. If you think you may be experiencing body dysmorphia or unhealthy body image issues, please reach out to a trained professional mental health therapist.
The Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation offers additional tools and resources for help.
Strength Training for Weight Loss
Running is an excellent way to burn calories, and when paired with a healthy eating plan, can help you lose weight and meet your fitness goals. As a personal trainer, I would also like to add that including strength training in your running program will give you weight loss results more quickly. Strength training offers many benefits to runners — from improving body composition to boosting metabolism and preventing injuries.
Best Interval Running For Weight Loss
Most of the time when we start running in order to lose weight, we think we have to spend hours jogging on the treadmill – being bored out of our minds.
Interval training is a unique type of workout that alternates periods of intense activity with periods of rest. Even though it sounds simple, the results speak for themselves.
In fact, research shows that interval training is overall the best way to burn fat – way better than steady-state cardio.
A study from Canada’s McMaster University showed that three-minute intervals on a stationary bike (30 seconds of intense pedaling followed by a short rest) repeated five or six times produced the same muscle and cell adaptations as a bike ride lasting between 90 minutes to 2 hours.
What type of adaptations exactly?
First, an increase in fat-burning proteins that push your body to use more fat as a fuel source, as well as an increase in growth hormone and fatty acid mobilization.
Another study compared interval training to aerobics, and found that interval training was more efficient at fat burning than conventional aerobics.
Out of the two groups in the study, the aerobics group burned 48 percent more calories per session than the HIIT group, but the HIIT group burned an amazing 900 percent more fat over the 15 weeks than the first group burned in 20 weeks.
How awesome is that?
Feel the (After)Burn
How is this possible? The key lies in a term referred to as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) or “afterburn” – the amount of calories you burn after a workout.
After you work out, your body is busy trying to return all of your body systems back to normal – your oxygen levels, blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, etc. – plus repair damaged muscle tissues, fuel your muscles, and shuttle out lactic acid, among other things.
All of this “busyness” involves using energy (calories), which equals more calories burned after your workout.
The thing is, EPOC is higher following shorter, higher-intensity workouts than after longer, steady-state “chronic cardio” style workouts.
Although how much afterburn you experience is unique to you, studies have shown a 4.2 percent elevation in metabolism following high-intensity workouts that resulted in increased fat oxidation over a 16-hour period (4).
Another study showed this “afterburn” can last for up to 24 hours following your workout (5). Talk about getting more bang for your buck!
So basically, it’s like this:
Working out for a shorter amount of time at a higher intensity actually burns more fat over the long term than working out for longer periods.
Now, unless you’re a treadmill hugger, this is very good news!
Now, lets take a look at the elements of interval running for weight loss that make it so powerful.
The 5 Elements of Interval Training
1. Work Interval Intensity
Intensity is the most important aspect of interval training. Without it, you’re in steady-state cardio mode, which shows zero to negligible results when it comes to fat loss.
A study from the University of New South Wales Medical Sciences found that high-intensity intermittent exercise burned three times more body fat than steady-state cardio.
Researchers reported that a group that sprinted on a bike for 8 seconds, followed by 12 seconds of light exercise – for a total of 20 minutes – lost 2.5 kg of subcutaneous fat, while another group that did 40 minutes of continuous steady-state exercise had no loss of fat.
How does this work?
Instead of tapping into the aerobic system, which is “on” during longer, low-intensity cardio sessions, when you do intervals you’re switching on the anaerobic system.
The anaerobic system (which is what fuels you during sprints and similar activities) produces lactic acid: a signal that the body is rapidly consuming energy to the point where it no longer has sufficient oxygen for the muscles to function.
This leads to the fat-burn effect we spoke of earlier.
So how hard should you work out during the “hard” part of the intervals? You should be hustling at about 85 to 100 percent of all-out effort/sprinting.
2. Work Interval Duration
How long should you work at that high level?
A lot of that depends on your current fitness level and workout history.
You’ll quickly find it’s almost impossible to maintain an all-out sprint for more than 30 seconds. That’s why when you first get started with interval training, you have to take into account your current condition and then, as your fitness improves, ramp up how long your “work” intervals are and how many of them you complete during a workout.
We’ll discuss this more below, with examples of workouts for beginners and intermediate/advanced levels.
3. Recovery Interval Intensity
Even though the recovery period of interval training is termed “recovery,” it’s basically simply lowering your work intensity to a pace that lets your body “reset” for a brief period of time so that your body is ready to go again for another period of intense work.
Depending on your fitness level, the recovery interval could be a brisk walk, light jog, all the way to a faster run (but not a sprint).
4. Recovery Interval Duration
How long you stay in recovery mode between working intervals is pretty important. That’s because we want to take just enough recovery so we can go hard again, but not so long that we lose the intensity of our workout.
Limiting the recovery period helps maintain “cardiovascular drift,” which is when your heart rate steadily increases during a workout, regardless of a change in workload.
Maintaining this drift allows us to stay at a higher heart rate for longer – boosting metabolic output and fat burn.
5. Number of Intervals
The number of intervals depends on a few factors, such as how much time you have for your workout and also your level of fitness.
For instance, the fitter you are, the more intervals you will get through during your workout, as your recovery intervals are shorter.
Beginners Guide to Interval Running for Weight Loss
I usually recommend beginners start with a 1:4 work-to-rest ratio, where your rest period is four times longer than the work period.
Here are a few examples:
- 30 seconds of sprinting (80 to 90 percent max effort) followed by 2 minutes recovery
(jogging/walking). Repeat 5 times. - 10 seconds sprinting at 100 percent effort followed 40 seconds of recovery (jogging). Repeat 6 times.
Intermediate and Advanced Interval Running for Weight Loss
The great thing about interval running is its scalability. There are so many ratios available it would be hard not to find one that suits your current fitness level.
The one thing to remember as you become more advanced, you will want to reduce your work-to-rest ratio.
For instance, say you began with a ratio of 1:4. As you get fitter, you can slightly scale back your rest time – and then as you get even more fit, you could ramp up your work time.
Some samples:
- 1:3 Work 30 seconds, recover 90 seconds
- 1:2 Work 30 seconds, recover 60 seconds
- 1:1 Work 30 seconds, recover 30 seconds.
- 2:1 Work 30 seconds, rest 15 seconds
- 3:1 Work 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds
Or for an intense 1:1 work-to-rest ratio you also could do 10 seconds at 100 percent effort : 10 seconds of recovery, repeated for 10 minutes
Basically, the harder or longer you work during the intensity bursts, the shorter the workout, as you will be taxing your body systems.
How Often Should You Practice Interval Running?
Another beautiful aspect of interval running is that you only need to do it 2 to 3 times per week to see results.
This may not seem like enough at first glance. But a study from the Journal of Applied Physiology that showed just seven interval training sessions over two weeks lead to an increase in fat burn by 36 percent.
Another study found that performing high-intensity interval training just three times per week reduced body weight by 2.3 kg, while also increasing VO2 max (an important measure of cardiovascular fitness) by 26 percent.
Treadmill Note
Note that treadmills aren’t always the best option for interval running, as they usually take more than 10 seconds to reach full speed (which lengthens your recovery period).
It’s best to perform these intervals outside on a level surface to see maximum results.
Beat Boredom, Blast Fat
Nothing beats interval training for fat loss.
Incorporating this style of training into a running routine will not only turn you into a fat-burning furnace, but cut out endless treadmill boredom, increase your performance in sports, and boost your overall fitness and endurance.
