Shocking before and after photographs of a British man who ran five kilometres every day for a month reveal the astonishing impact the fitness challenge can have on the body.
YouTuber Luke Longden, who lives near Doncaster, described himself as a novice runner, but embarked on the task to see if he could inspire others to get running.
At the beginning of the month, his physique appears relatively undefined, with a small but protruding belly and little tone on his pectoral muscles.
However images taken at the end show an impressive transformation. The young man models far broader shoulders, flatter stomach and more defined musculature in his chest and arms.
His first run, which saw him complete a 5km (3.1 mile) circuit near his home, took him 33 minutes and he noted he had to stop to catch his breath on several occasions.
‘You don’t realise how unfit you actually are until you first start running and you’ve got to come to a stop after barely two minutes,’ he said.
But a week later he was running the same distance without stopping, completing his daily goal in about 26 minutes.
Remarkably, he didn’t experience any significant injuries or pain apart from some muscle soreness in his legs and back and, at one point, a ‘nasty stich’.
Youtuber Luke Longden, who lives near Doncaster, described himself a complete novice runner but embarked on the challenge to see if he could inspire others to take up a new fitness goal
‘I can run for ages and ages now without stopping,’ he said on day 17.
On the final day of the challenge, he completed the 5km in 21 minutes and 40 seconds, more than 10 minutes faster than his first run.
Research suggests that the average time men under 35 complete a 5K run is between 30 and 35 minutes.
In general, the average time is between 30-40 minutes, depending on age, gender and incline.
Mr Longden said the experience had left him inspired and was ‘definitely worth it’.
‘I’d never ran before,’ he said. ‘If I can do it…then you can do it as well.’
By the end of the challenge, Mr Longden had run a total of 150km (93.2 miles), about the distance between London and Coventry, or three and a half marathons.
Mr Longden’s challenge was extreme for a beginner.
Experts and the NHS advise people to slowly build themselves up to running 5km over the course of about nine weeks, and only run on alternate days.
This is general advice for adults of all ages and fitness levels and aims to prevent injuries that result from challenging the muscles too quickly, which can also lead people to give up the effort entirely.
This image shows Mr Longden’s body shape before he started his month long challenge
And this shows the result after running 5km for 30 days, the equivalent of running 3,5 marathons
Exercise physiologist Biara Webster told the website LiveStrong.com that people new to running should take it slow.
‘If you are a beginner runner, setting a target such as running 5km everyday can feel very motivating – it gives you a big target to work towards. However, while your ambition is great, it is important to be realistic,’ she wrote.
‘If your body isn’t used to frequent running, there is a high chance of doing yourself a damage.
‘Rather than overexerting yourself and getting an injury, you might want to consider gradually building up.’
Regular running is considered an effective way to improve the health of your heart and lungs and can also help with weight loss when combined with a healthy diet.
There’s also evidence it can help improve bone density in some people, which can help combat problems like osteoporosis, and, like other forms of exercise, boost mental health.
The NHS advises most adults to do 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week to keep healthy. Running is classified as a vigorous activity.
