Fitness beginner ran 5km a day for a month and was amazed at the effect on his body shape

Shocking before and after photos of British man running away Running three miles every day for a month reveals the amazing impact the fitness challenge can have on the body.

YouTuber Luke Longden, who lives near Doncaster, described himself as a novice runner but took up the task to see if he could inspire others to take up running.

At the start of the month, his physique appears relatively undefined, with a small but protruding abdomen and little tone in his pecs.

However, the images at the end show an impressive transformation. The young mothern models have much broader shoulders, flatter stomachs and more defined muscles in his chest and arms.

His first run, which involved a 5km circuit near his home, took him 33 minutes and he found himself stopping several times to catch his breath.

“You don’t realize how unfit you really are until you first start running and have to stop after just two minutes,” he said.

But a week later he ran the same distance without stopping, completing his daily goal in about 26 minutes.

Remarkably, he experienced no significant injuries or pain, apart from some muscle pain in his legs and back and at one point a ‘nasty twinge’.

“I can run for ages now without stopping,” he said on Day 17.

On the final day of the challenge, he completed the 5K in 21 minutes and 40 seconds, more than 10 minutes faster than his first run.

Research shows that the average time for men under the age of 35 to 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 inspired him and was ‘well worth it’.

“I had never run before,” he said. “If I can do it… then you can do it too.”

By the end of the challenge, Mr Longden had run a total of 150km (93.2 miles), roughly 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 start running 5km over around nine weeks, and only run on alternate days.

This is general advice for adults of all ages and fitness levels and is intended to prevent injuries resulting from challenging the muscles too quickly, which can also lead to people giving up on effort altogether.

This image shows Mr Longden’s body shape before he started his month-long challenge

And this shows the result after 30 days of running 5 km, the equivalent of running 3.5 marathons

Exercise physiologist Biara Webster told the website LiveStrong.com that people new to running should take it easy.

‘If you’re a novice runner, setting a goal such as running 5km every day can be really motivating – it gives you a big target to work towards. But while your ambition is great, it is important to be realistic,” she wrote.

‘If your body isn’t used to frequent running, you’re likely to harm yourself.

“Rather than overexerting yourself and risking an injury, consider building up gradually.”

Regular running is considered an effective way to improve the health of your heart and lungs and can also aid weight loss when combined with a healthy diet.

There is also some evidence that it can help improve bone density in some people, which can help combat problems such as osteoporosis and, like other forms of exercise, improve mental health.

The NHS recommends that most adults do 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week to stay healthy. Running is classified as a vigorous activity.