I’m not the biggest fan of long distance running unless it is in the name of competition. I can tolerate it a lot more when I am outside where the ground isn’t always the same and other factors can at least surprise you. Hamster running on a treadmill is by far my most hated gym activity. With that being the case, you can probably guess that I don’t do much of it.

Instead of long marathonesque running, I always prefer interval sprints or what is more popularly known as High Intensity Interval Training–HIIT. The idea behind HIIT is that you put light-pace work in between short sprints where you go as hard as you can. My usual HIIT treadmill routine is a light two minute jog followed by loops of a 30 second sprint and a one minute 30 second light jog resting period until I hit 20 minutes. I also raise the incline of the treadmill to better mimic real outdoors running.

I haven’t used my treadmill routine in a while because I’ve been running outdoors–the weather is nice so why not go outside? I happen to live in an somewhat hilly area. My general route leads me going mostly downhill in the beginning and then mostly uphill the rest of the way. I use the same HIIT concept except I do the sprints when I am going uphill. The hills keep the running interesting and challenging.

Now only recently, I’ve started sprinting up this rather steep hill. I don’t know exactly how steep it is but, when I drive my car up it, I can feel the car really trying–I drive a Nissan Altima. From my perspective, sprinting up relatively steep hills is a lot more satisfying than a couple mile run with small hill sprints throughout.

It is known that HIIT is a better way to torch fat because it creates a similar effect as weight lifting: increased caloric usage throughout the day regardless of what you are doing. Taking the concept of HIIT and nature’s landscape will help you lose fat faster and be a lot more fun than time spent on the human hamster wheel.

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The closest thing we have to the Fountain of Youth is exercise. Scientific research has found that running eases the aches of aging. This study tracked people over the age of 50 and found that those who ran about 4 hours a week were able to delay the effects of aging by about 16 years.

I believe the best form of exercise to keep you young is weight training. It’ll help maintain muscle mass and bone density as we get older. Running and cardio exercise is great but, hitting the weights is probably the best bet for staying young. Of course, you can lift weights and do cardio. In that case, you might live forever.

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