Jogging is Not Enough

I see an older lady down the street out jogging most days of the week.  She seems to be moving very slowly and doesn't appear to be in good shape.  I wonder, is she doing anything else for her fitness besides jogging?

There is a lot about misinformation on jogging and its effects.  Many people reject jogging all together, believing it has zero health benefits.  I don't feel this way, and I think jogging can be an effective part a fitness program. 

Jogging is just another name for easy running.  And in general, running is a great way to improve aerobic capacity.  A good running program mixes in easy, medium, and hard running.  Therefore, easy running (jogging) is one component of a plan that can increase maximum aerobic capacity.

Where people are mistaken is when they design a fitness plan that includes jogging only.  A program with only jogging does not contain enough intensity, and therefore aerobic fitness will decline over time.  This may be the case of the lady I see - she is always running slow, I have never seen her running fast.  The idea with running is to get faster: the faster you become, the more your aerobic capacity has improved.