What Running a Mile Every Day for a Month Did to This Guy's Body

Fitness YouTuber Stan Browney tracked the impact on his weight and gains.

YouTuber and calisthenics enthusiast Stan Browney has taken on all kinds of fitness challenges before, usually revolving around churning out vast numbers of reps on bodyweight exercises like pushups and situps—but in his most recent video, he admits that he can be guilty of skipping cardio, so for his new month-long challenge he decides to run a mile every day for 30 days. Not only that, but with each run, he has to try and hit a mile in the fastest time possible. And if he misses a day for any reason, the next day he has to run double the distance.

"I hope I learn a lot about running, and I hope my form improves, but also my time," he says, and he ropes in his brother Jorg and "crazy fit" friend Arjen to join him.

On day one, Stan completes his first mile in 5:27. Jorg takes 7:12, while Arjen manages it in just 4:58. However, contrary to their belief that their performance will naturally improve with practice, by the time they get to day 15 the three guys actually all have worse times than when they started, possibly due to the cumulative fatigue of running every day. Even though it is a relatively short distance, they're not allowing their bodies sufficient rest or recovery time.

On day 30, all three have improved on their original times: Jorg can now run a 6:23 mile, Stan's new time is 5 minutes exactly, and Arjen hits a new PR of 4:53.

At the start of the challenge, Stan weighed 174.6 pounds, Jorg weighed 202.4 pounds, and Arjen weighed 162 pounds. After a month of running every single day, Jorg has lost 4 pounds and is now 198.4, while Stan has maintained his weight, and Arjen has actually gained a pound in the form of muscle. "That's interesting, because I thought the running would make you lose gains," he says. 

posted Sunday January 1st
by Men’s Health