total newbie
- Thread starter chris1
- Start date
hey chris
well how overweight are you?? it all depends...
Anyway, my advice to you, is get a good pair of Sneakers. Then find a good location to run/walk or a treadmill if that is what you prefer.
First thing is to get your blood flowing, do a small 1 min. jog in place, I like to do 30 Jumping jacks to get the blood flowing. Then you need to Stretch, check other threads here, they have some good advice and stretches on there. Stretching is key.
Then if I were you, depending on how over weight you are, I would give it a go...
if you are exteremely overweight I would begin with walking first, bring it up to speed walking, then jogging over time as you lose weight. If you are say 180 and want to get to 160 then I would do a 1/2 mile jog to a 1 mile jog, nice slow pace, just to get your heart rate up. Then as you get better you can increase.
I currently run a mile and a half, then walk "cool down" another half mile. That is all I need to burn off the calories I need to. people who run longer, LOVE to run. I enjoy it, but don't love it, My niece is #13 in the NCAA she runs like 9 miles no problem....I would die....LOL she loves it.
So, Go out get some sneaks, Warm up, do some stretching, try a lite run, I would say 1/4 mile do a cool down walk another 1/4 mile then do more stretching when you are done.
you will feel it the next day...but your body will adjust. Stay away from Hilly area's and poorly leveled roads/sidewalks. Find a nice area at a park to run around. You will find as you run, you will meet people and they will encourage you along. I talk to everyone I come in contact with at my lake.
best of luck and let us know your progress!
well how overweight are you?? it all depends...
Anyway, my advice to you, is get a good pair of Sneakers. Then find a good location to run/walk or a treadmill if that is what you prefer.
First thing is to get your blood flowing, do a small 1 min. jog in place, I like to do 30 Jumping jacks to get the blood flowing. Then you need to Stretch, check other threads here, they have some good advice and stretches on there. Stretching is key.
Then if I were you, depending on how over weight you are, I would give it a go...
if you are exteremely overweight I would begin with walking first, bring it up to speed walking, then jogging over time as you lose weight. If you are say 180 and want to get to 160 then I would do a 1/2 mile jog to a 1 mile jog, nice slow pace, just to get your heart rate up. Then as you get better you can increase.
I currently run a mile and a half, then walk "cool down" another half mile. That is all I need to burn off the calories I need to. people who run longer, LOVE to run. I enjoy it, but don't love it, My niece is #13 in the NCAA she runs like 9 miles no problem....I would die....LOL she loves it.
So, Go out get some sneaks, Warm up, do some stretching, try a lite run, I would say 1/4 mile do a cool down walk another 1/4 mile then do more stretching when you are done.
you will feel it the next day...but your body will adjust. Stay away from Hilly area's and poorly leveled roads/sidewalks. Find a nice area at a park to run around. You will find as you run, you will meet people and they will encourage you along. I talk to everyone I come in contact with at my lake.
best of luck and let us know your progress!
I started running last September and was in the same position you are in now. I am 6’2 and at the time weighed 230lbs. It’s good that you came looking for advice before you start running because many people make a lot of mistakes when trying to begin a running regiment and burn out after a few weeks. One of the worst mistakes that you can make is running too much too fast. Don’t go to the track and expect to run a five minute mile. The first night I ran, I was probably pushing a heart rate of 185. I didn’t even make it a quarter mile before having to walk. My pattern didn’t change for the entire two miles. Immediately after my embarrassing first attempt, I got on the internet and found some sound advice.
Depending on how overweight you are, you can probably do around a mile and a half within the first week. You just have to find a good solid pace that works you but doesn’t exhaust you within five minutes. One of the best ways to do this is to buy yourself a heart monitor, but because they can be relatively expensive, trial and error will work just fine. If you go at a nice slow pace, you would be surprised at how far you can make it. It may take you eleven or twelve minutes to complete a single mile but so what as long as you are working your body. You’ll start speeding up eventually as you get into shape. Within the first month I was running three miles. I looked a little goofy since I was going so slow, but I knew I had to start somewhere.
GAman gave some excellent advice: make sure you have a good pair of running shoes. They don’t have to be a $100 pair of Nike’s; in fact, I bought a very simple pair of Avias that were on sale for $30. Your body will feel the difference between shoes that were meant for running and shoes that were not. If you decide to run at a track and it has a grassy interior (that is, a track that circles a grassy field), you can combat shin splints by running on the grass instead of the hard surface. I have seen a few people do this at the track before. As GAman said, a good warm up will help you out a bit. Your heart won’t be so overwhelmed by the sudden shock of going from a heart rate of say 70 to 160 in a matter of ten seconds. I don’t know the effect on others, but this makes me feel winded and tired more quickly than I should. A few suggestions is to either walk at a pretty brisk pace, do a very light jog for a few minutes, or do something like jumping jacks. And DO NOT neglect stretching, especially if you decide to run in the morning since muscles tend to be about 10% tighter in the morning than during the day.
My goal to run for health has turned into a hobby. I hope you at least get your weight down, making sure to enjoy the journey. Best of luck!
Depending on how overweight you are, you can probably do around a mile and a half within the first week. You just have to find a good solid pace that works you but doesn’t exhaust you within five minutes. One of the best ways to do this is to buy yourself a heart monitor, but because they can be relatively expensive, trial and error will work just fine. If you go at a nice slow pace, you would be surprised at how far you can make it. It may take you eleven or twelve minutes to complete a single mile but so what as long as you are working your body. You’ll start speeding up eventually as you get into shape. Within the first month I was running three miles. I looked a little goofy since I was going so slow, but I knew I had to start somewhere.
GAman gave some excellent advice: make sure you have a good pair of running shoes. They don’t have to be a $100 pair of Nike’s; in fact, I bought a very simple pair of Avias that were on sale for $30. Your body will feel the difference between shoes that were meant for running and shoes that were not. If you decide to run at a track and it has a grassy interior (that is, a track that circles a grassy field), you can combat shin splints by running on the grass instead of the hard surface. I have seen a few people do this at the track before. As GAman said, a good warm up will help you out a bit. Your heart won’t be so overwhelmed by the sudden shock of going from a heart rate of say 70 to 160 in a matter of ten seconds. I don’t know the effect on others, but this makes me feel winded and tired more quickly than I should. A few suggestions is to either walk at a pretty brisk pace, do a very light jog for a few minutes, or do something like jumping jacks. And DO NOT neglect stretching, especially if you decide to run in the morning since muscles tend to be about 10% tighter in the morning than during the day.
My goal to run for health has turned into a hobby. I hope you at least get your weight down, making sure to enjoy the journey. Best of luck!
Hi Chris,
Congrats on your decision to run. If you have been a complete couch potato I would suggest you start out with walking first.
Do what you can building up speed and distance. Once you have a level of fitness that will allow you to walk several miles at 3 1/2 to 4 mile per hour pace (a mile in about 15 minutes or less) you can then start to jog slowly.
Start with intervals where you jog slowly for 30 seconds to 1 minute and walk a few minutes to recover then repeat. As you become more fit you can run faster or longer or both and also walk less.
A typical beginner interval workout might be 30 second jogging/ 3 minute walking, repeat 5 times. Each week you can add 15-30 seconds more to your running time and/ or lessen your walking time or add 1 more interval.
If you have suffered from shin splits in the past as I have I would suggest you start out slowly with SLOW jogging. Most beginner runners make the same mistake, trying to run to fast and /or trying to run to much to quickly.
If it takes you 3 months to build up enough endurance to complete 1 mile it is much better then going gang busters and injuring yourself and unable to even walk for several months. Fitness can improve but not as quickly as we would like sometimes.
When I first started running I could actually walk faster then I could run lol. Running, even slowly is very strenous, especially on one's joints.
Work on improving your fitness and eating more healthy and you'll get where you want to go eventually. I read an article in I think a prevention special that said running burns more belly fat then walking. Belly fat, especially the kind that builds up around your organs is the worst kind so anything you can do to reduce it will improve your health.
If you don't truly enjoy running though, you might want to try other types of exercise too. You want something that you can look forward to doing. When I first started exercising again, maybe 5 years ago I hated everything. Everything made me feel tired. I would start an exercise program and stop one each month or so. Eventually I started to enjoy certain kinds like walking.
Several years ago I signed up for a running group. Stuck with it for the program but wasn't long before I stopped it. I started running myself several other times but didn't stick with it.
Finally this year I decided that I would run and bought myself a beginner's running book and journal. I run a lot slower then I tried to in the past and enjoy it a lot more. First time I ran a mile (which took me almost 16 minutes) I felt like a runner. Runners run miles so once I could run a mile I felt like I was a real runner.
I started out on the treadmill which you can switch speeds pretty easy and note your milage and pace. I just started running outside recently and it was a lot harder. Its harder to pace yourself outside and you have to run against wind and slight grade differences. It has taken me several weeks before I could run outside without having to walk for a while.
Often beginner runner's programs are to hard for many beginner runners especially those of us who aren't 20 anymore. You might have to split it in half. If it tells you to run for 2 minutes at 4.5 miles per hour you might have to run for 1 minute at 4 miles per hour and build up to two minutes. Listen to your body because if you don't it will speak louder until you do!!!!!!
Also., don't forget to have fun. Running can be fun as can other activities. Find something you enjoy and stick with it. Don't worry about how slow you might be or how you look to others. I never wanted to run outside because I didn't want others to see me.
I ran last Thursday on a track where my son was nearby playing tennis with his friends and coaches. Everyone could see me including several ladies who were walking the track pushing strollers.
I realized that who cares whos watching. I'm not running to impress anyone, I'm running because I actually like it and its good for me to boot
I used to look like those ladies pushing the strollers but now I wear a size 8 instead of a very tight 14. I lost 15 pounds 2 years ago and went down 1 size to a size 12. I probably was a 16 but refused to buy them because then I'd be in the WOMEN"S department eek
However, I have gained about 3 pounds back this year but wear a size 8. This is all due from eating healthy to maintain my weightloss and exercising. Exercising has truly changed my body, much more then the weightloss did. Especially weight training. Once I consistently started to weight train my body just kept getting slimmer. I didn't even know it until I went to buy a new pair of jeans.
I had been wearing mostly stretchy elastic wastebands and thought I was still a 12 until I bought a size 8. I bought it for inpiration. I was going to try it on each week or two until it fit me. I read that even when the scale doesn't move your body changes with the weight training and having a pair of pants too small and trying them on every couple of weeks and seeing how closely you get to zipping them helps keep you motivated. When I tried them on when I got home they actually fit me. I was shocked so I pulled out a pair of pants that were too small several months before and they fit me too.
I thought it was a fluke so I went to another store and tried on several other brands of pants and their size 8's fit me too. I ended up buying myself a lot of new pants (with real waistbands) in a short period of time at many different stores lol. I hadn't been a size 8 since I was in my early 20's. Everyone told me how thin I looked in them and I have to admit I did look pretty good. That has motivated me to keep weight training even though I don't particularily enjoy it.
I loved running the track passing those ladies several times and realizing that my body may not be perfect (not that it ever was) but I look pretty darn good now; like a runner in fact!!!!!!! Especially for a mother of four and a grandma of 2. The ladies I lapped many times are 10-15 years younger then me but I can now beat em in a race
Never give up Chris and you will get where you want to eventually. Sometimes it even sneaks up on ya
Take care hun
Dawn
Congrats on your decision to run. If you have been a complete couch potato I would suggest you start out with walking first.
Do what you can building up speed and distance. Once you have a level of fitness that will allow you to walk several miles at 3 1/2 to 4 mile per hour pace (a mile in about 15 minutes or less) you can then start to jog slowly.
Start with intervals where you jog slowly for 30 seconds to 1 minute and walk a few minutes to recover then repeat. As you become more fit you can run faster or longer or both and also walk less.
A typical beginner interval workout might be 30 second jogging/ 3 minute walking, repeat 5 times. Each week you can add 15-30 seconds more to your running time and/ or lessen your walking time or add 1 more interval.
If you have suffered from shin splits in the past as I have I would suggest you start out slowly with SLOW jogging. Most beginner runners make the same mistake, trying to run to fast and /or trying to run to much to quickly.
If it takes you 3 months to build up enough endurance to complete 1 mile it is much better then going gang busters and injuring yourself and unable to even walk for several months. Fitness can improve but not as quickly as we would like sometimes.
When I first started running I could actually walk faster then I could run lol. Running, even slowly is very strenous, especially on one's joints.
Work on improving your fitness and eating more healthy and you'll get where you want to go eventually. I read an article in I think a prevention special that said running burns more belly fat then walking. Belly fat, especially the kind that builds up around your organs is the worst kind so anything you can do to reduce it will improve your health.
If you don't truly enjoy running though, you might want to try other types of exercise too. You want something that you can look forward to doing. When I first started exercising again, maybe 5 years ago I hated everything. Everything made me feel tired. I would start an exercise program and stop one each month or so. Eventually I started to enjoy certain kinds like walking.
Several years ago I signed up for a running group. Stuck with it for the program but wasn't long before I stopped it. I started running myself several other times but didn't stick with it.
Finally this year I decided that I would run and bought myself a beginner's running book and journal. I run a lot slower then I tried to in the past and enjoy it a lot more. First time I ran a mile (which took me almost 16 minutes) I felt like a runner. Runners run miles so once I could run a mile I felt like I was a real runner.
I started out on the treadmill which you can switch speeds pretty easy and note your milage and pace. I just started running outside recently and it was a lot harder. Its harder to pace yourself outside and you have to run against wind and slight grade differences. It has taken me several weeks before I could run outside without having to walk for a while.
Often beginner runner's programs are to hard for many beginner runners especially those of us who aren't 20 anymore. You might have to split it in half. If it tells you to run for 2 minutes at 4.5 miles per hour you might have to run for 1 minute at 4 miles per hour and build up to two minutes. Listen to your body because if you don't it will speak louder until you do!!!!!!
Also., don't forget to have fun. Running can be fun as can other activities. Find something you enjoy and stick with it. Don't worry about how slow you might be or how you look to others. I never wanted to run outside because I didn't want others to see me.
I ran last Thursday on a track where my son was nearby playing tennis with his friends and coaches. Everyone could see me including several ladies who were walking the track pushing strollers.
I realized that who cares whos watching. I'm not running to impress anyone, I'm running because I actually like it and its good for me to boot
I used to look like those ladies pushing the strollers but now I wear a size 8 instead of a very tight 14. I lost 15 pounds 2 years ago and went down 1 size to a size 12. I probably was a 16 but refused to buy them because then I'd be in the WOMEN"S department eek However, I have gained about 3 pounds back this year but wear a size 8. This is all due from eating healthy to maintain my weightloss and exercising. Exercising has truly changed my body, much more then the weightloss did. Especially weight training. Once I consistently started to weight train my body just kept getting slimmer. I didn't even know it until I went to buy a new pair of jeans.
I had been wearing mostly stretchy elastic wastebands and thought I was still a 12 until I bought a size 8. I bought it for inpiration. I was going to try it on each week or two until it fit me. I read that even when the scale doesn't move your body changes with the weight training and having a pair of pants too small and trying them on every couple of weeks and seeing how closely you get to zipping them helps keep you motivated. When I tried them on when I got home they actually fit me. I was shocked so I pulled out a pair of pants that were too small several months before and they fit me too.
I thought it was a fluke so I went to another store and tried on several other brands of pants and their size 8's fit me too. I ended up buying myself a lot of new pants (with real waistbands) in a short period of time at many different stores lol. I hadn't been a size 8 since I was in my early 20's. Everyone told me how thin I looked in them and I have to admit I did look pretty good. That has motivated me to keep weight training even though I don't particularily enjoy it.
I loved running the track passing those ladies several times and realizing that my body may not be perfect (not that it ever was) but I look pretty darn good now; like a runner in fact!!!!!!! Especially for a mother of four and a grandma of 2. The ladies I lapped many times are 10-15 years younger then me but I can now beat em in a race
Never give up Chris and you will get where you want to eventually. Sometimes it even sneaks up on ya
Take care hun
Dawn