As a fitness concept, jogging was popularized in Western cultures by New Zealand running coach Arthur Lydiard in the 1960s. Then, it was rare to see people running as a form of aerobic exercise. Sixty years later, you’d be hard-pressed to spend an entire day in a major urban center without spotting at least a handful of joggers out and about.
While jogging is a concept that you are likely familiar with, how adept are you at defining it? Sure, it’s partially defined by running speed, and it’s certainly slower than sprinting. But what are the technical elements that differentiate jogging versus running?
Learning those variations can help you determine if jogging is the ideal cardiovascular tool for you, and when to best utilize it.
Jogging Vs. Running at a Glance
Colloquially, you’re probably familiar with jogging as a more leisurely version of running. It is a low-intensity exercise that will gives many of the health benefits of running with less stress on your joints and effort for your heart. In addition, jogging permits both feet to be in simultaneous contact with the ground — this is a feature typical of walking, but not in running.
“Jogging is essentially a slower version of running,” Ozan tells BarBend over email. “I think a huge comparison between jogging and running for beginners is heart rate. The higher your heart rate, the more likely it is you are running. So, in jogging, the speed and effort is generally slow, which will keep the heart rate low.”
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Because people’s resting heart rates and fitness levels are different — not to mention the length of someone’s legs — what’s jogging for you might be an all-out run for your less cardio-inclined gym buddy. Conversely, you might need to put your personal pedal down, running to keep up with another friend who seems to be having an easy jog.
In that way, jogging and running are both relative to who is doing the moving. Your fitness and experience level, as well as your limb length, all contribute to forming that unique difference between your jog and your run.
Form Differences and Similarities
When you’re traversing your neighborhood using a pace that is noticeably slower than that of runners moving at a faster pace, you might notice some differences in form. In general, your upper-body positioning will remain the same whether you’re running or jogging. The main distinction in your running form will be more evident in your limbs.
“When jogging, you are not exerting a lot of energy,” Ozan explains. “Your knees won’t go as high and your arms won’t swing as much. So the minimal movement will allow you to conserve energy and jog for a longer period of time.”
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Pacing
In general terms, jogging is faster than running, and running is faster than jogging. Jogging is often commences at a speed of around four miles per hour, which is at the high end of the average human walking speed. (1) If your traveling speed exceeds six miles an hour, you are moving too fast to consider it a jog — it will generally then transition into a run.
“Pace depends on the person, as does the increase in pace to become a run,” Ozan says. “As you jog more, you gain endurance. So if you are consistent with your jogging, the percentage of effort will not increase, but the pace will.”
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Effort
During training, increased endurance means that workouts that used to require a high-intensity effort can become moderate-intensity exercise as you increase strength and stamina. When you’re jogging, you’re supposed to keep your intensity level intentionally low. That way, you can enjoy the benefits of jogging without encountering the limitations of high-intensity running.
“Typically when you jog, breathing through your nose will be easier,” says Ozan. “You are not exerting very much energy. But, if it turns into a jog or a harder effort over the course of your run, breathing through both your nose and mouth can be very beneficial.”
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So if you’re wondering whether you’re running or jogging, do a quick check-in with your breath and/or your ability to string together a couple of sentences. If you’re breathing easily through your nose and can talk easily, you’re still jogging. If you’ve got to transition to some breaths through your mouth, you’ve increased intensity into a run.
When to Run Vs. Jog
According to some experts, jogging speed can be as slow as a 15-minute mile pace, which is at the high end of an average person’s walking speed. (1) This speed can be used to improve cardiovascular health and contribute to weight loss if that’s one of your fitness goals.
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However, it is not a pace that most running coaches would advise you to maintain if you ultimately want to become a faster runner.
“When you race, your heart rate will generally be high,” Ozan explains. “I would not advise an athlete to jog in a race. In fact, if I was working with an athlete on something specific in terms of technique, I might suggest running at a slower pace, but not to the point where they are jogging.”
Benefits of Running and Jogging
Because running and jogging are so mechanically similar, it should come as no surprise that they will grant you many of the same physiological benefits. In fact, there are several instances in which jogging may be preferential to running because of its ability to train your heart while applying less overall stress to the rest of your body.
Bookends to a Workout
Even if you’re heading into an upper body workout or working primarily with barbell exercises, you can use jogging as part of your dynamic warm-up or as a cool-down method.
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As such, jogging is a dependable means of elevating your heart rate prior to resistance training or more intense methods of cardio. Likewise, it is also a means of easing your body back into a relaxed posture.
Running at any Fitness Level
Because of the overlap between the speeds of slow running and fast walking, jogging offers many of the benefits of running, but with less wear-and-tear on your body. Your fast walk and slow jog may take the same amount of time and move you along at the same speed. But jogging may challenge you more than walking without putting as much pressure on your joints.
A Recovery Day for Trained Runners
Jogging offers an opportunity for distance runners to get in some additional miles on days when they don’t really feel like pushing it. This will also provide a chance to recover from heavy exertions.
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So if you’ve just given it your all during a marathon or a heavy sprint workout, a recovery run performed a few days later will help you maintain your training volume while still giving your body a chance to repair itself.
Injury Recovery
If you’ve endured an injury and have been cleared to return to this type of exercise, jogging can help you ease back into running. Moreover, approximating the motion of running can be beneficial to your mental health by preserving the sense that you are capable of doing something other than walking — even as you heal.
Heart Health
Running is often prescribed for improving heart health and countering high blood pressure. Jogging can be an excellent first step to upgrading your heart health while sparing your hamstrings, knees, and feet. Jogging for as little as 10 minutes per day has been correlated with lower all-cause mortality rate of test subjects. (2)
A Welcome Change of Pace
Unless you’re aiming to be a pro racer, your decision to walk, run, or jog is primarily a matter of personal preference. The battle of jogging versus running isn’t all that intense: the difference is simply in your pacing, which you can largely measure by your ability to breathe through your nose.
Jogging is a less-intense way to reap many of the same benefits as running — it’ll just be slower going. (Which can be great news for your joints.) Opt to jog when you need to recover from hard training or when you want to push your distance a little farther. When you need to up the ante, pick up the pace into a run. Either way, you can’t really go wrong.
FAQs
Are you wondering if jogging represents the change of pace that your workout needs? We can help you make your decision.
You can largely tell the difference between your jog and your run based on how you’re breathing. Can you breathe easily through your nose and talk? You’re likely jogging. When those things become difficult, you’re likely running.
For many runners, a 10-minute mile is a fast jog, as it is the equivalent of a six-mile-per-hour running pace. But for less experienced athletes, this pace may indeed qualify as a run.
And for very experienced runners, this pace may even feel like a slow jog.
Whether or not you are able to run every day is dependent on several factors, including your age and physical conditioning, as well as the duration and intensity of your runs. Because jogging enables exercisers to approximate running with less stress on their joints, many people will find that daily jogging is safe. Consult a doctor before beginning any exercise program.
Jogging is essentially a slower, lower-impact form of running. If jogging ever becomes physically challenging and you’re working harder to catch your breath, it has more than likely progressed into the realm of running.
References
- Rasmussen LJH, Caspi A, Ambler A, et al. Association of Neurocognitive and Physical Function With Gait Speed in Midlife. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(10):e1913123.
- Lee DC, Pate RR, Lavie CJ, Sui X, Church TS, Blair SN. Leisure-time running reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Aug 5;64(5):472-81.
Featured Image: djile / Shutterstock
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