Admit it, you often have a good excuse to avoid going out for a run: the weather is too hot, you don't have enough time, your feet ache, you just had your dinner etc. But this time, let's do it right. Let’s stop procrastinating and start running regularly by making it a part of your daily routine.
In theory, being regular means completing or accomplishing something at regular intervals. So, you may argue that you are running on a regular basis if you always run at the same time, once a month? In reality, if you do not practise your sport at least once a week, it is unlikely that you will see any benefit or observe any progress.
It may never have occurred to you to run a marathon or try to shave off a few seconds on your route. However, you probably would like to learn how to run for longer, feel less out of breath, improve your speed or even feel better while running. This is what running regularly can do for you.
Running is an endurance sport. So it requires frequent exercise in order to see results. It's better to run once a week, each week, than to run three times one week and not run at all the following week. It's only through repeated exercise that your body will be able to cope with the effort made. Improving also means challenging yourself sometimes by driving your body to surpass itself.
You have decided to lose weight by running. Great, that's a good start! However, bear in mind that running is not sufficient in and of itself. Your primary objective must be to maintain a good state of health by combining your training with a balanced diet. This will help you to lose weight effectively in the long-term.
As for the frequency, if you want to see results, running 3 times a week is ideal, i.e. almost every other day, in order to give your body time to recover. Avoid running on several successive days, as your runs will be more effective if you space them out (e.g. 2 times on weekdays and once at the weekend).
Your everyday life is already very busy and, clearly, running is not a priority. And what if it became essential for ensuring your well-being? When seen from this point of view, it is highly likely that you will devote some time to running.
The ideal solution is to make a note of your jogging outings in your diary in advance. This forces you to set yourself a challenging running schedule, choose the most suitable days for running and stick to it.
Another idea is to find a regular running companion for your outings. This will force you to stick to a schedule while also benefiting from the motivation that you can give each other.