Can't jog! Please help.

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hviola
hviola Posts: 8 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So, Ive been exercising all winter long. I can do 45 minutes of Tae Bo and barely get winded. I can walk 2 miles 38 minutes. And I can hike up and down hills in the snow for two hours before I get tired. But...I can't jog. I get too tired too quick. My throat starts burning and Im out of breath bad after less than 3 minutes at a slow jog. What the heck is wrong here? Any tips or help would be appreciated.

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  • Martha_VH
    Martha_VH Posts: 386 Member
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    Everybody is different. Some people just don't run.
    I can a little but not much.
    One of my friends is the healthiest person you could imagine. She's thin, she eats organic food, she works out every day, but she can't run. She'll hike, mountain climb and bike as well as anybody, but she can not run.
  • SuperMoniMonk
    SuperMoniMonk Posts: 467 Member
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    Same here :/ can't jog .
  • Jaedynmoon
    Jaedynmoon Posts: 280 Member
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    How is your breathing?? If your throat starts burning are you breathing in and out through your mouth?
  • sara_m83
    sara_m83 Posts: 545 Member
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    Yeah, you'd think jogging was something that should come naturally since we have legs right? Biologically we're meant to run. Well, I found it really hard when I started out as well. You'll get a lot of this response, so here it is: C25K or couch to 5km. It's a learn to run program that gets you to the point that you can run consistently without getting winded through the use of jog/walk intervals. Like you, when I started, I couldn't last more than 4 minutes and felt like I was going to die. Now I run 10km x 3 days a week.
  • Jaedynmoon
    Jaedynmoon Posts: 280 Member
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    My PE teacher in high school taught us how to breathe when running, as she was the cross country coach. In through your nose and out through your mouth at a steady and controlled pace! Try that next time if that's not how you are currently breathing when jogging!
  • LarryPGH
    LarryPGH Posts: 349 Member
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    Jaedynmoon hit it on the nail with her breathing advice -- I recall that, when I ran competitively (~30 years ago (ugh!)), breathing was particularly "fun" in the winter time, although in the summer it wasn't as rough.

    The other thing I was thinking was that there might be a biomechanical issue with your form -- see http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Check_your_form__Running_with_correct_biomechanics.htm for some direction on good form.

    Other than that, I'm curious -- do you do work on an elliptical machine? If so, do you see the same problem when you attempt to increase from ~3MPH (your walking pace) to ~5MPH (an easy jogging pace)? If so, then it might be a pace issue; if not, it would seem that it might be a biomechanical issue.

    Just thinking out loud here...

    Good luck!
  • KeepOnMoving
    KeepOnMoving Posts: 383 Member
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    Sounds mysterious. I had to give up running due to severe cartlidge degeneration of my knees. My last big run was in September. I since tried to keep up the exercise to maintain stamina because I did not want to get out shape. I do Billy Blank's This Is Tae Bo for 45 minutes. It doesn't put a lot of pressure on my knees and seems to be good workout.

    I am wondering how fast you go. Do you monitor your heart rate? This is something you might consider since you get winded easy by jogging. How fast do you jog? Are you going at a fast walking speed? Some walkers can actually walk faster than some beginning joggers.
  • maggieschuck
    maggieschuck Posts: 174
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    Im just starting to run. I can do the elliptical for over an hr and Im fine but I can only run at 5 mph for 8 mins max. Im taking it one min at a time. I would like to get a 10 min mile by next month.
  • emmaleigh47
    emmaleigh47 Posts: 1,670 Member
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    Not much else to add except - yes you can! You have to ease into it... and slow down and it will come.
    Check out C25K ... its a great program!
  • Ignotus
    Ignotus Posts: 31
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    Every person's respiratory system is different. You have been training your body for what sounds like tae bo and hiking. If you haven't been jogging very much it is no surprise you are getting winded and tired because that isn't what your respiratory system has been trained to do. Just keep training for jogging and soon you will find 3 minutes becomes simple and 5 is hard.. then 7.. then 10 and you get the picture. If you do laps try jogging one and walking the second at a pace that you can catch your breath with. Then maybe after a few workouts like those try doing two laps jogging one walking, then three and one. And eventually you will be jogging a mile!
    Just keep it up!
  • Christine1110
    Christine1110 Posts: 1,786 Member
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    Have you tried running/jogging using interval training.....and build up a little everyday until your ready to give it your all.
  • hviola
    hviola Posts: 8 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the excellent advice. I guess even if you are active you still need to 'learn to run'. I will see if theres an iphone app for those running programs, and I will pay more attention to my breathing. I wish I could use an elliptical, but I live in rural town and a gym is far away.

    :)
  • marialy21
    marialy21 Posts: 60 Member
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    C25k app!!!! It's worth every penny!!! And there is a bridge 210k if you want to push yourself!!
    You can listen to your music and the voice prompts tell you when to walk and when to run. It's absolutely amazing!!
  • shreddingit
    shreddingit Posts: 1,133 Member
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    I love running! it takes practice, learn from your body, try different things, every "healthy" person can run:wink: .
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    When I first tried running a few months ago I could barely go a minute before having to walk. I just started jogging for as long as I could go, whether it was 30 seconds or a minute, then I'd walk for awhile, then jog as long as I could again, then walk and so on. Eventually I could jog longer and longer each time,with less walking time in between each bit of jogging.

    Then I started a mental mantra "don't stop because you want to, only because you have to". Basically meaning that unless pain or a complete lack of breath was making it so that I really needed to stop and walk for a bit, I kept jogging.

    Tonight I ran a 5K in 41 min 22 seconds without stopping, slowing my pace or walking even once.

    It's all about listening to your body so you don't go too far, but also pushing yourself a little bit further each time you try. It's amazing, once I started that mental mantra, I was suddenly jogging for more time than I was walking almost instantly. I was giving in to what my brain wanted more so than what my body needed/wanted. As soon as I started working on pushing myself, it just happened.

    Everyone is different, but even when I was younger and did sports, I was never a runner/jogger, I hated it with a passion and never did it unless I had to. Now 2011 is the year of running for me and I'm loving it. I get annoyed if I can't get my run in on a given night. lol

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