Every Mile Matters- The Benefits of Buggy Running

For our very first blog post, we lay out why Buggy Running deserves a place in your week. From the physical and mental benefits, getting your little passengers along for the ride in the fresh air, and exercising without fitting together the childcare puzzle.

Physical Fitness of Buggy Running

Buggy running is genuinely excellent training. Pushing the extra weight increases the demands of your legs, glutes and core compared to running unloaded, building strength and cardiovascular fitness with every session. Regular running, buggy or otherwise, is linked to a stronger heart and lungs, improved bone density, better blood pressure and cholesterol and healthier long-term weight management.

For women in the post-natal period, a well-structured return to running, and eventually buggy running, can help rebuild core and pelvic floor strength when combine with the right conditioning work.

Mental Health Maintenance

The journey into parenthood can be overwhelming. The combination of an abrupt change in lifestyle, sleep deprivation and the stress on relationships can be tricky to navigate. Aswell as offering a part of your life pre-child to keep consistent, getting outdoors adds the benefit of daylight, fresh air and a change of scenery. For parents, that combination can be transformative. It offers a rare pocket of the day that belongs to you; a chance to reset and do something for yourself.

Getting outside for a run, even for 20 minutes is:

• Linked to lower stress (lower cortisol) and improved mood (increased endorphins and serotonin).

• Rhythmic aerobic exercise is linked to a reduction in anxiety and better sleep

• A regular routine, such as an allocated time to run, can bring a sense of structure and achievement, especially during a demanding time of parenting

Big Benefits for Little Ones

It's not just us as parents who benefit from buggy running. Time outdoors supports children's development that really add up over time. Exposure to natural light, a change of scenery from the home, new sounds and sights. They all provide rich sensory stimulation that's hard to replicate indoors. Outdoor time in infancy is associated with better sleep patterns and healthy early development.

There's something else happening too, something a little less measurable but just as important. Children are watching. They see you lace up your trainers, moving, working hard. They see you working towards your own goals and finishing what you started. Long before they it can be understood through words, they are absorbing a model of resilience, effort and self-care. The idea that looking after yourself, being disciplined and making time to accomplish your goals is simply a part of life. Not an indulgence squeezed in around the edges.

Exercise Without the Childcare Puzzle

Anyone who has tried to co-ordinate a gym session, a run or a class around naptimes, feeds or finding someone to watch young children knows the real barrier to exercise often isn't motivation- it's logistics. Buggy running removes that barrier entirely. There's no childcare to arrange, no guilt about time away, no session to squeeze in later once the little ones are asleep. You and your child can go together, and a run becomes a part of both your days. This accessibility that buggy running offers is a huge part of The Buggy Running Club. Parents that don't have to choose between family and fitness.

Community, Confidence, Challenge

Community

If you've ever been to Parkrun, passed a fellow runner, or run in a club, you know that doing that pushing a buggy opens up a whole new opportunity of connection. Connection to other parents running the same path, both metaphorically and physically. It is hard to leave Parkrun when running with a buggy without conversation striking up from volunteers and other runners. The opportunity to forge friendships with like-minded club members in the same season of life as you can be a game changer in what can sometimes feel an isolating time.

Confidence

Rebuilding fitness and maintaining a part of your life before children is a great way to build confidence and prove you are capable of showing up for yourself. This has a way of spilling over into parts of your life outside of running. Work, relationships, and self-esteem will reap the benefits of buggy running.

Challenge

Whether buggy running is the first time you're getting out in your trainers, or if it's a new chapter in a well-established running journey, buggy running is a great way to challenge yourself. From completing your first couch to 5k buggy style, post-partum personal bests or fastest buggy times, a whole new opportunity of achievements awaits!

Join the Movement

The Buggy Running Club is here to support you as you start or continue on your buggy running journey. Sign up to our monthly newsletter and follow our social media pages to join the movement and the community!