Running at a high weight?

JessicaS14

Hi everyone!

I've always dreamed of being a runner but never acted on it. I've been inspired lately by my little sister going to boot camp and her training beforehand. I don't want to wait anymore, I want to start running!

That being said, I'm 290 pounds (scary to write that out, I never do...). Despite my weight I'm active and don't really feel like I weigh as much as I do, it doesn't hold me back from doing things. I love to hike, walk, swim, etc. I've hiked 7-10 miles at a time and while it was hard, I didn't have any knee problems, etc. Despite my weight I'm pretty healthy - no diabetes, issues with feet, knees, or trouble doing daily activities.

Should I start running now or wait until I weigh less? I'd start out really slowly - mostly walking with a bit of running while I slowly add in more running.

Just looking for some opinions/experience. Thanks!

SmileCozYouCan

I think you should start with walking and see how that goes, if your knees start aching or you get any sort of pain, then its always better to take it easy and try again after you feel stronger. If your knees are okay then you can stay consistent with walking for a few weeks or as much as you prefer, then start jogging, keep at it, and then you can increase to running. But remember that your safety is important and you want to be careful when you run. If your feeling doubtful about something, its better to talk to your doctor You can do it!

EDollah

I began the c25k program when I weighed about 290, maybe 280. No problems for me fortunately. I think I was about 260 when i entered (and finished) a 5k.

Lacey_Cakes

I think it would be best just to start off slow then work up to running 1 minute at a time then slowly bump it up. Make sure to stretch and listen to your body! If you are sore take a couple days off. Good luck!!

hmjohnson25

I think if you're ready, you should go for it. Be sure to get good running shoes and insoles, if you need them. I started running at 250+ and it was tough. I learned quickly that I needed good shoes and went to a running store to get fitted properly. I used the NHS Couch to 5K podcast and that helped me get into the routine of running 3 times a week. I had to repeat weeks when I felt that I wasn't quite ready to move on, so it took me longer to be able to run that distance than the 9 weeks or so of that program. You do have to listen to your body when you start a new program like this, but the mental part of it can be even more challenging sometimes.
Go for it and good luck!

Ejourneys

Runner's World has beginner's guidelines that start with walking:
http://www.runnersworld.com/the-starting-line

One thing I can't emphasize enough: Get the right shoes. Speak with someone knowledgeable in foot gear for high-weight runners. The right (or wrong) shoes can make a tremendous difference.

tehboxingkitteh

I started with walking at a faster pace, and worked my way up to running in 1-2 minute spurts. I've been having some knee issues, so I've taken time off, but like others said, listen to your body. There's no magical weight that is better to begin running at.

cwaters120

I started working my way up to running when i was 252 lbs. I can honestly say it was hard but the rewards FAR outweigh the difficulties.

PLEASE start with walking. Not because you CAN'T run, but because you don't want to create knee problems by pushing too hard too fast. Walk as fast as you comfortably can, slowing down when you need to. THink of it as race walking intervals. Go as far as you would like, as far as you can, and keep building on the distance. I use MapMyFitness app on my smartphone and it tells me how far I've gone and my pace.

When you feel you've got a good interval set going, try moving your race walking intervals to jogging intervals. Do as many as you can, race walking when you don't feel you can jog. Eventually you'll get up to jogging all of the race walking intervals :bigsmile:

Then you can jog two sections of your intervals and walking one.. you get the idea - just build up :bigsmile:

At 208lbs, i am still a heavier runner and i'm slower than most, but i can do it and feel accomplished. You'll get there too - just build up :bigsmile: I am now an addict

_Zardoz_

I started running around 300 pounds. Just take it easy and start walking and add some short runs in.

tibby531

I lost somewhere around 50 lbs before I started running. I finally found it in me to quit smoking. I've never been a runner, either. so when I started, I could only "run" 2 miles an hour. but I stuck with it, and after a few months, I was up to being able to run 5 miles in an hour. I pushed myself too hard, and there were quite a few injuries along the way, so I recommend going at your own pace. keep it fun, and best of luck!

sanndandi

I was never obese to begin with. I was 30 pounds overweight though. I still started with just walking. Eventually I felt like I wanted to jog/run so I began the C25K app and it was one of the best things I did. At first I thought that the intervals were too easy but soon enough I realized that there's a reason they do it that way. Because it does become more challenging. But because I had built up some endurance during those "easy" weeks it helped me push through those weeks that were far from easy. It's incredibly rewarding though.

miz_ppyn

If you think your ready to run you should do it, im over 300 pounds, and have just started to run im starting out slow walk, fast walk, then short bursts of running, no doubt its hard at first but it slowly gets easier. I started running for 10 sec then 15 n so forth i can finally go for a minute now, so go for it, give it all you got, and have fun. good luck.

1ZenGirl

I did couch to 5K when I was 253 and have never looked back. It is doable. Just make sure to take your time and start SLOW. Focus on distance rather than speed. Speed will come. Walk/jog may be a great place to start after you spend some time just walking to get your body used to moving.

33Freya

Look up Couch to 5k. Aka C25K. You stsrt out walking and end up running. It's free and a great track to follow. Adjust it as you need but GO FOR IT!!!! (wiggles hips and shakes pompoms over head)
:flowerforyou:

MYhealthyjourney70

if you feel ready go for it. do like you said some walking and incorporate running. I did this last Friday. I never had a goal of running but as I was walking the track at my recreation center an older gentleman with oxygen passed and he started to jog and I thought to myself if he can do it I can do it. so I decided to try it. I jogged 1 lap. small steps turn into big steps.....

great job and good luck on your journey

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

Hi everyone!

I've always dreamed of being a runner but never acted on it. I've been inspired lately by my little sister going to boot camp and her training beforehand. I don't want to wait anymore, I want to start running!

That being said, I'm 290 pounds (scary to write that out, I never do...). Despite my weight I'm active and don't really feel like I weigh as much as I do, it doesn't hold me back from doing things. I love to hike, walk, swim, etc. I've hiked 7-10 miles at a time and while it was hard, I didn't have any knee problems, etc. Despite my weight I'm pretty healthy - no diabetes, issues with feet, knees, or trouble doing daily activities.

Should I start running now or wait until I weigh less? I'd start out really slowly - mostly walking with a bit of running while I slowly add in more running.

Just looking for some opinions/experience. Thanks!

Hi Jessica. Well I can't see how tall you are on your profile, and I was never quite your weight, but assuming you are shorter than me at almost 6', I would not recommend just starting running. I did not start running first myself to conserve my knees, and I was always in relatively good shape, even at my highest weight I was definitely stronger than average and I had no history of knee problems. The reason is, getting a repetitive stress injury (or worse) when you have no knee problems to start with is relatively easy for a starting runner at high weight. You *can* do it, but its not really worth the risk in my opinion, knee injuries are tough to deal with, especially if you are trying to lose weight at the same time! If you do start, be very moderate and listen to your body: its better to take longer to get there than get an injury and go backwards.

You said you hike? That is what I would focus on if I were you: walking and hiking. You can easily hike and get the same calorie burn rates hiking up a mountain as you can running, but without quite the same impact of running (if you are hiking on trails, not bushwhacking your own trail). Not only this but you can actually burn more calories in a day walking and hiking than you can running: your endurance will run out faster while running, so much so you can only do a small fraction of the time that you can while hiking, and you could walk most of the day if you had the willpower to do it. It just takes more time. You wanted personal experience: I started hiking 3x per week months back and dropped pounds like crazy. If you do this, once you drop a significant amount of weight you can start right into running after having developed more muscles from the hiking and this reduces your chance of injury too. I wouldnt start running on the trails though, as this is likely to cause injury and I did hurt my knee doing this.

JessicaS14

[/quote]

Hi Jessica. Well I can't see how tall you are on your profile, and I was never quite your weight, but assuming you are shorter than me at almost 6', I would not recommend just starting running. I did not start running first myself to conserve my knees, and I was always in relatively good shape, even at my highest weight I was definitely stronger than average and I had no history of knee problems. The reason is, getting a repetitive stress injury (or worse) when you have no knee problems to start with is relatively easy for a starting runner at high weight. You *can* do it, but its not really worth the risk in my opinion, knee injuries are tough to deal with, especially if you are trying to lose weight at the same time! If you do start, be very moderate and listen to your body: its better to take longer to get there than get an injury and go backwards.

You said you hike? That is what I would focus on if I were you: walking and hiking. You can easily hike and get the same calorie burn rates hiking up a mountain as you can running, but without quite the same impact of running (if you are hiking on trails, not bushwhacking your own trail). Not only this but you can actually burn more calories in a day walking and hiking than you can running: your endurance will run out faster while running, so much so you can only do a small fraction of the time that you can while hiking, and you could walk most of the day if you had the willpower to do it. It just takes more time. You wanted personal experience: I started hiking 3x per week months back and dropped pounds like crazy. If you do this, once you drop a significant amount of weight you can start right into running after having developed more muscles from the hiking and this reduces your chance of injury too. I wouldnt start running on the trails though, as this is likely to cause injury and I did hurt my knee doing this.
[/quote]

Thanks for your comment. I'm 5'8" - I'll have to add that to my profile

I do plan to hike but not sure how much longer I'll be able to do that. I live in Minnesota and many of the hiking trails I use will be covered in snow soon. Some are maintained but most are not. I do enjoy hiking so I'll be doing it til the snow keeps me from it!

JessicaS14

I also need to learn how to do the quote box when I reply to someone!

Thanks for all the comments. I'm going to start with just walking for a week and then possibly add small amounts of running.

Samenamenewlook

Like the others say, look into Couch to 5K or the Galloway method. Not because of your weight at all, but because when anyone starts running they can hurt themselves by going too fast or adding mileage to quickly. Both of these methods use a walk-run method to build you up. Also get fitted for shoes by a professional ... VERY important. Good luck!

zanne54

I did other, lower-impact exercises until I lost enough weight to move from "obese" to "overweight" in BMI before I started the C25K program. My knees are too important to me to risk further damage by placing them under additional stress.

Rai007

u will enjoy running at a lower weight i guess.
the good part is you can come from obese to overweight with low impact exercises and then you can join c25k

but if you think you will be fine then go with it.

RachelN76

I started the Couch to 5K and a bit of running etc when I was about 160lb, and a BMI of about 32. So I'd already lost a bit (the last time I lost weight that is?).

But the pain! Oh my word, I can't tell you about the pain. Not my knees, not my breathing, not my feet. All fine. But my shins. Started within about 30 seconds of starting to run, and never ever got any better. I tried running on grass, treadmills, roads, off road, everywhere. I bought cheap shoes, expensive shoes, and I ran barefoot. All that happened is I had sore shins.

I do intend to try again when I get my weight down again, because I would like to enjoy running, but I think I may have to accept that it's not for me.

Good luck with it though. Take it easy, give it a go with one of the walk to run programmes, and all you can do is see how you take to it!

MuseofSong

I would echo what everyone said about getting the right shoes. Shoes Shoes Shoes! They're so important, especially when you're a high weight. There's so much more stress on our joints and feet.

That said, I would suggest low-impact, moderately paced cardio as you shed weight, and then begin running when you feel up to it. It can and will beat the hell out of your knees, ankles, and feet.

Personally, I do walking, at slow to fast rates of walking speed. I enjoy step aerobics, but I do not over-emphasize the movements. jump up on my step, or bounce on my leg lifts since that's just unnecessary impact. Some ladies bounce and twist around a lot during step aerobics thinking they're getting a better burn, but they're more likely to pull something or land wrong and roll or twist an ankle. Also, I only used a beginner's step 4" when I started. And I do t'ai chi. None of these, because I started slow, have caused me injuries.

But if you love running, work up to it. Just listen to your body and pay attention and ease up on your joints if they hurt.

I mean, you wouldn't expect a healthy weight athlete to strap an extra 150 lbs all over their body and have a long-distance cardio run, would you? That's more than most soldiers have to lug around (estimate based on battle-rattle @ ~35lbs & rucksack @ ~55-85lbs).

Once you lose some weight, you're going to have that extra spring in your step. Especially when you exercise moderately while cutting calories. Exercising gets noticeably easier every couple weeks.

momofGD

I run at 291 lbs. Granted it is not a sprinting pace or a marathon distance. I do intervals 3 to 3.5 mph walking and 5-6mph running. I usually do a warm up walk with incline. Then do 1:30 intervals for a certain distance or time depending on the day. Usually on my distance days I do a slower speed and on the timed days I do like 20 or 25 minutes at 3.5 and 6 mph. I like you even at my highest weight hiked, biked, swam etc. I have also done half marathons walking. If you do notice any knee pain etc though back off a bit. Good luck!

Tykk

Kudos to those who are doing this, but OP, I think there is a serious chance of destroying your knees. Do something low-impact first like cycling, elliptical or swimming, and come back to running in a bit. Really good luck!

davert123

I started out at 255 and started to run. I ended up going to long to quick - my cardio system improved quicker than the weight dropped off and the tendons etc. got strong. I ended up with really bad tendentious in my Achilles. That was a couple of years ago. This time I've decided to refocus (and this is just a suggestion I'll throw to you too) Why not train for a tri :-) I felt quite embarrassed getting in the pool to start with but after a while I released that no one really cared. I go running a bit (2 x a week) and I also bike ride (just started this). I've also done loads of walking (walking before running lol) to straighten my legs up. Did it for about 3 months before running and then gradually phased running in and now and everything is going really well. Doing so much variety is really good, the weight is coming off, I'm not getting bored and I am not constantly pounding one set of muscles and tendons so I haven't been injured. I am going to enter running races as well for sure. I'm going to do this on my way to my first tri and then afterwards as well because I do love running now. I think the biggest thing I can say though is if you decide to just run really really take it easy, stretch out after each run and make sure you are hitting your macros (have a look on line to get a better idea of the protein content you will need in your diet because MFP does a crap job of estimating it for us. Whatever you decide though I think you are an absolute star for deciding to do this. Endurance activities changes our focus and the only way is up once you get into it. But if you feel any niggles that don't go away I would get them checked out - I wish I had, instead it took me 2 years to get back :-) Good luck

MyChocolateDiet

I also need to learn how to do the quote box when I reply to someone!

Thanks for all the comments. I'm going to start with just walking for a week and then possibly add small amounts of running.

Report Post Quote Reply


You click ........ ^ that blue word right there and it opens a window with a bunch of words and computer language telling you it's gonna make a box around those words when you answer. You click to AFTER all those words and put your answer because that's just standard form and how people are used to reading it top to bottom. Good luck with quoting but ESPECIALLY with running as I think all the Couch to 5K suggestions from people around your weight or higher sound SO encouraging. :flowerforyou:

JessicaS14

I started out at 255 and started to run. I ended up going to long to quick - my cardio system improved quicker than the weight dropped off and the tendons etc. got strong. I ended up with really bad tendentious in my Achilles. That was a couple of years ago. This time I've decided to refocus (and this is just a suggestion I'll throw to you too) Why not train for a tri :-) I felt quite embarrassed getting in the pool to start with but after a while I released that no one really cared. I go running a bit (2 x a week) and I also bike ride (just started this). I've also done loads of walking (walking before running lol) to straighten my legs up. Did it for about 3 months before running and then gradually phased running in and now and everything is going really well. Doing so much variety is really good, the weight is coming off, I'm not getting bored and I am not constantly pounding one set of muscles and tendons so I haven't been injured. I am going to enter running races as well for sure. I'm going to do this on my way to my first tri and then afterwards as well because I do love running now. I think the biggest thing I can say though is if you decide to just run really really take it easy, stretch out after each run and make sure you are hitting your macros (have a look on line to get a better idea of the protein content you will need in your diet because MFP does a crap job of estimating it for us. Whatever you decide though I think you are an absolute star for deciding to do this. Endurance activities changes our focus and the only way is up once you get into it. But if you feel any niggles that don't go away I would get them checked out - I wish I had, instead it took me 2 years to get back :-) Good luck

Thanks so much for the comment and advice! I love the idea of training for a tri! I was a swimmer in high school and loved it. Sounds like a great thing to do with biking/running to give the knees, feet, etc a break. Thanks again!

JessicaS14

I also need to learn how to do the quote box when I reply to someone!

Thanks for all the comments. I'm going to start with just walking for a week and then possibly add small amounts of running.

Report Post Quote Reply


You click ........ ^ that blue word right there and it opens a window with a bunch of words and computer language telling you it's gonna make a box around those words when you answer. You click to AFTER all those words and put your answer because that's just standard form and how people are used to reading it top to bottom. Good luck with quoting but ESPECIALLY with running as I think all the Couch to 5K suggestions from people around your weight or higher sound SO encouraging. :flowerforyou:

Thank you!

glreim21

I started at 263 lbs, I say why wait. Follow a run walk program, I used the Galloway program, listen to your body, don't push it if you are not ready. I repeated some of the weeks several times before I felt ready to advance. But first, make sure you get fitted for proper running shoes from a specialty running store !!!! I only started running 5 years ago but have since done 5 half marathons, a sprint triathlon, and countless 5 and 10km races. Running has literally changed my life:)

Trechechus

Go for it! I got into running by just going out and doing it. At first it really sucked, but it got easier.