Starting running on the treadmill

cheekymonkeyface

At my last gym review i told the instructor that i wanted to start running, it's been a ambition of mine for many years as a morbidly obese person. Now my fitness is getting better i want this to be my goal. Anyway she suggested 20 minutes to start with 1 minutes jogging then 2-3 minutes walking. However patience was never my strong point so i more or less went straigh onto 1:1 walking:running. In honesty now do i wait till i start getting to the end of the 20 minutes and feeling like i want to run longer before i increase how much of it is spent running then walking?

My current gym routine is this:

15 minutes on the cross trainer (only started this in the last 2 weeks as when i used it 50lb heavier i damaged my knee and was scared to go on it again)
1500m on the rowing machine
20 minutes treadmill

then i spend about 10 minutes on weights finishing off with variety of crunches

All in all i spend just over an hour in there...

All advice appreciated (by the way i am 43, female, 5ft 8'', and around 208lb)

Julie x

chevy88grl

Move up slowly. Trying to increase your speed or distance too soon can result in injury. I would slowly increase your jog to walking ratio and let your body adjust to it. Last fall, I pushed myself too hard running and ended up with bursitis in my right hip. I ignored it and kept pushing and ended up with a fatigue stress fracture in the hip.

Patience is key to being successful at running.

epj78

I use C25k and repeat weeks as necessary.

Your trainer is right on with the 1 minute jogging 2-3 minutes walking. Do that for AT LEAST a week. The last thing you want to do is push yourself too fast or before your body is conditioned.

coolrunning.com for additional couch to 5k info.

cougs12

C25K is a good program to help with starting out on the treadmill. its a gradual increase so your body gets used to it.

vim_n_vigor

If running on the treadmill doesn't work for you, try running outside. I can run outside but absolutely despise the treadmill and my legs hurt more on the treadmill than outside. I know others have the opposite problem, but something to keep in mind.

NoExcuseTina

I had a runner tell me once not to attempt to increase more than 10% per week
...that is either speed or time....but not both
BUT...that would mean only going from 10 to 11 minutes between this and next week
so...check out some of the online instruction for beginners
--->>> couch to 5 k
--->>> Jeff Galloway run/walk program
from my experience, the benefit to easing into the running is to prevent injuries...if you are like me and never ran...to just start running is a shock to your body
when I started running earlier this year I was fine...then when I started running over 3 miles more than 4 days a week...my hip started hurting and the only thing to help was to back off...I am easing back into it now!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

traviscolby

Take it one step at a time. Slowly increase speed, time, and intervals. That's what I did, and I went from 325 pounds to a marathon runner in less than a year. Check out my blog (http://finallyairborne.blogspot.com) and look at the first posts in January of 2010, maybe you can find some of them useful to your journey!

-Travis

cheekymonkeyface

Thanks Travis and everyone else for your valuable input.

Travis i had a quick look at your blog and found it inspirational. Loved it so much i thought i'd start my own journey, more for me than anyone else. I hope i have some of the success you've had.

RissaDean

....my legs hurt more on the treadmill than outside...

Mine too!!! I can walk/run on uneven, crappy sidewalks and I'm A-OK. Walking/running on the treadmill makes my lower legs hurt. Not really shinsplints (I've had those, and I stretch to prevent them) but around my knees and the backs of my calves. I don't know if I have a different gait or something on the treadmill, or what.