At what weight did you start jogging/running?

Brooks088
Brooks088 Posts: 44
in Health and Weight Loss
I have about 65 pounds to lose yet....I have attempted a few times to start jogging/running but the pain in my legs the couple days afterwards sets me back (to the point I can't even go to the gym). I have read to start small...such as even a minute/then walk for a couple minutes....if you had alot of weight to lose-what was the weight you tried jogging? Any helpful hints on pain afterwards or how you did it are welcomed!

Replies

  • Grognit
    Grognit Posts: 50
    First thing is to make sure you have the proper shoe. It is amazing how a good running shoe can help. I started with the Couch25K program which starts you off with a combination of walking running.

    Stretch well before you run and I always had a nice bath with some epson salts when my calves were sore.
  • jasonheyd
    jasonheyd Posts: 524 Member
    Here's something I posted a while back for a similar question:
    1. Buy good shoes.
    2. Start slow.
    3. Mix in some strength training.
    4. Do intervals.


    Go to a good running store & get some help buying the right shoes. It might turn out that the shoes you have are fine but, if not, you'll save yourself a lot of pain. :)

    Don't worry about how fast you're going. What worked for me was finding the speed that I couldn't maintain a fast-paced walk... at that point, it felt more natural to jog (although it took a while before it felt natural to jog for any length of time).

    If you're not already lifting some weights, I really think it's a help. Building the muscles that support the joints makes a big difference. Some pretty basic resistance dumbbell exercises work wonders.

    Go with intervals... C25k seems to be pretty popular, and how I started out, although I switched over to my own intervals pretty quickly. C25k just wasn't working for me, although I'm still not sure why.

    In the end, I didn't have an exact routine, but I basically did something like 5m walking, 2m jogging for starters. Then every week I'd jog a bit more until I was doing 5m of each, then I'd go longer, starting 10m walking, 5m jogging and week to week reduced the walking minutes while increasing the jogging minutes. Pretty much just pushed myself to jog a bit more, but I always kept 2-3 minutes of walking mixed in between the jogging intervals.

    I ran my first 5k on a treadmill about 10 weeks after I switched from C25k to my own interval mix, and I've done a few treadmill & road 5ks since. Even now, I really only go for 30-60 minute runs, and I'm still slow as molasses -- but it's quite a stretch from where I was a few months ago. ;-)

    To answer your original question, I think I started feeling more comfortable at around 200 lbs (I'm about 5'8").
  • stackhsc
    stackhsc Posts: 439 Member
    i was around 270, had lost around 75 at that point. i started with the walking programs with slow and fast walks and worked my way through the different pre programed settings until i found them easy and kept pushing it from there,

    Agreed, good shoes, take it easy, go slow speed and long time rather than fast speed and short time. Also try to have some incline on the treadmill 2-4 percent.
  • jenna762001
    jenna762001 Posts: 27 Member
    i was about 30-40 pounds heavier than ideal when I started. I did not have soreness, but my lack of cardio conditioning nearly killed me! is there a specific location for the pain? there are many resources online that can help you with very conservative approaches to starting out and you can also find a local shop that will offer a runners biomechanical evaluation which may be more help in discovering why youre sore where youre sore and what you can do for yourself to help. whatever you do, take things slow!
  • Brooks088
    Brooks088 Posts: 44
    Thank you ALL for your responses. I will go for better shoes to begin with....mine aren't bad but don't believe they are a "running sneaker"....I have recently (within three weeks) been adding in weights and squats/lunges in hopes of building my leg muscles (I do alot of cardio). The pain in my thighs the few days after I run/jog is enough to keep me out of the gym for a few days which isn't benefiting me at all. It is the front of the thighs that really kill. Was wondering if I am still just too heavy. (Started 259--now 214)..not embarassed to say weight I have come a long way! Thanks again
  • ba502
    ba502 Posts: 54 Member
    I started trying to run at 214lbs and I also suffered from extreme pain in my quad muscles. I gave up and did lots and lots of walking to get my legs more toned. I also did lots of quad stretching. When I got to 195 lbs I tried running again with C25K and had total success. I've been running 5k 2x/week for the past 2 yrs with no problems.
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    I started C25K at 215 pounds, and have been running off and on ever since. It took some time to actually get through it, I had to repeat a lot of weeks, but I loved jogging/running from the start, seeing how many miles I was moving, etc, really motivated me and I love the feeling I get from that!
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
    I started trying to run at 214lbs and I also suffered from extreme pain in my quad muscles. I gave up and did lots and lots of walking to get my legs more toned. I also did lots of quad stretching. When I got to 195 lbs I tried running again with C25K and had total success. I've been running 5k 2x/week for the past 2 yrs with no problems.

    ^This. I second the recommendation for C25k and good shoes from the poster a few posts above, but also recommend you start with walking. I started at 180 lbs and walked first for about 30 minutes 4-5 days a week for a couple months first. I feel like that really helped my muscles get stronger to get ready for running. Also be sure you are going pretty slow. Sometimes your legs are weaker than your cardio, sometimes your cardio is weaker than your legs. Only way to deal is just go slow enough for whichever it is that needs it. Good luck and have fun!
  • toniRAD
    toniRAD Posts: 196 Member
    I've been in love with running for 6 years now, & I SUCKED at first! I never used any apps or anything, I just did what you wrote. A trainer I knew had me walk for a few minutes on the treadmill, run for as long as I could (few minutes) & then I'd walk again for a minute or 2, ran again.. & just repeated that for about 25-30 minutes and always ended it with walking at least 5 minutes. Every few workouts I would increase the amount of time I ran those intervals. I believe I weighed in the 160's then. It really did work great for me because I could run without stopping for a while after only a few weeks of doing that. Now I run outside and it's a great feeling. :D That's also what I did last summer outside to retrain myself, because I had to take a lot of time off due to a leg injury. So just keep trying, & if you start to hurt like that, just rest until a day where you're feeling much better. (: But just checking, what exactly does this leg pain you get feel like?
  • LovinDaNewLiz14
    LovinDaNewLiz14 Posts: 217 Member
    my starting weight 280 pounds

    I ran for one minute walked for 5 minutes until I was too tired,and after a few weeks added 2 minutes more until I can now run for about 45 minutes than I need a break...lol...baby steps:)
  • Sunny_fit4life
    Sunny_fit4life Posts: 157 Member
    240 lbs
    Granted, I was on 22 year old joints.
    That was jogging & running in short bursts between walking... and the longer I did it the more I jogged and the less I walked. Then the more I ran and the less I jogged.
    I was able to run a mile straight without stopping at around 205. I was 24 when that happened, and although I wasn't working at it the whole 2 years it still took a long time. I never tried C25K or anything similar.
    I never had any pain or injuries.
    Not advice, just personal experience.
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    It was my reward to myself once I got under 200. I have a bad back (had surgery on it a few years ago) and wanted to try to up my fitness before running.

    I immediately hurt myself because I didn't get proper shoes first. I used my old sneakers I'd had forever and had been using for other workouts, even though I knew they didn't give me proper support and were very old.

    So then I took another 2 weeks off (pulled hamstring) and got proper shoes and that was that!
  • shadowfeet33
    shadowfeet33 Posts: 45 Member
    215....good shoes a MUST.
  • Kannu55
    Kannu55 Posts: 11 Member
    90 kg --- 198 lb for the first time in my life of 46 years I jogged. :-)
  • Brooks088
    Brooks088 Posts: 44
    I would like to thank everyone for all of your advice....I am off to buy a good pair of running sneakers tonight. I did try in the past like one minute then a couple walking....but it seems maybe like most of you that posted said a very slow jog as well. Maybe I was trying too hard to be closer to a run instead of a slow jog? It seems I am close to others in weight as far as a starting weight to jog so it doesn't seem like it would be impossible at my current weight.
    For the ones that asked about the pain in my thighs...I can only describe it as a very deep pain...starting a few inches above the knee and was whole front of my thigh. Very painful to walk after that for 2-3 days. I have been walking on treadmill--doing elliptical for a while now and added some squats/lunges to also help build muscle in my legs...just wanting to start some jogging to change up my cardio a bit....and hopefully move some weight as well....so glad I asked this question! Thank you to everyone!!
  • Brooks088
    Brooks088 Posts: 44
    I just want to thank you all again....I went out and bought those running shoes! I did warm up for 5 minutes......then the next 30 minutes one minute jog /two minutes walk.....I have done it twice now and NO leg pain!!! I am setting my jogging pace slower as well...think the combination of not proper shoes/maybe going to fast was knocking me out! You guys are great!!!
  • stackhsc
    stackhsc Posts: 439 Member
    Awesome, take it easy and slowly raise the bar a bit at a time and enjoy the results and the burn :)

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