How Running Shapes your Body

If you really want to see your body being shaped by the exercise you practice, you have to give it time, dedication, and hours of training. A while ago, for one of the boot camp classes I go to, we had to be in groups of four. I got my group and we all introduced each other, and when I finished saying my name a lady said to me right away, “Are you a runner? You run long distances don’t you?” I was kind of shocked by this comment and wondered how she knew (maybe she is a witch, I thought). So I asked her, “Yes I am. I run half marathons, but how do you know?” “By your legs” she said “you have runner’s legs.” And yes, I definitely do. I then started looking at runners’ legs. They are all well shaped, muscular but lean and I have to say, damn pretty. I realized that my legs were already like that (and I felt hot!), and I looked at my running buddies’ legs (those that have been running for a while like me), and they look the same.

I have seen lots of people that quit running, or stop doing it for a while, after joining a running clinic to train for a single race and this one is over. Even though they ran the race most of them are disappointed by the lack of results they see in their bodies. They definitely don’t have runner’s legs yet, and they don’t know why, after all, they have just run a half marathon race! You don’t get those legs by training for one race; you get those nice, lean, muscular legs when running is part of your life. At this point, running starts shaping your body (and of course your mind) in its unique way.

Being this said, I can assure you that the same process applies when following a plant-based diet. Some people try the vegan diet for a week, or even a month, and after going back to their old eating habits, they can’t tell the benefits of being vegan. This is such a short time for your body to fully assimilate the changes and let itself start being affected by them. What they get to experience during this time is nothing compare to what you experience when you have been vegan for years. After being vegan for so many years I can tell that not just my body but my mind and soul have changed because of this powerful life style.