Assistance with running.

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iandrew124
iandrew124 Posts: 170 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Salutations everyone!
I have been going to my universities gym for the last three weeks and I've typically been walking at a speed of 3 -3.5 and an incline of 4-5. Just this week I've began jogging on the treadmill for a minute, resting two minutes and then jogging again for a minute and repeat til about 30 minutes. Whenever I run I feel as though I wobble side to side with my feet. Is this due to poor form ? If so then what's the proper form and proper breathing? My left or right side tends to hurt after I do a couple of these "sets". I'm guessing this is just cramping. I'm a big guy who played football in highschool so most of my job was having explosive energy on my tackle and not letting anyone pass me or to get a good short sprint to tackle the quarter back so I'm not use to running for periods of time longer than a minute which is pretty much a sprint. So if there's any advice you can give me, it would be greatly appreciated to help me get in shape. Thank you for taking time to read this and thank you if you responded to it. Have a wonderful day and keep trying your best to be the best you, you can be! c:

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    For the wobbly feet, it could be an issue with your shoes. If possible, go to a good running store in your area and get fitted. Or least make sure you've got a relatively new pair that fit your feet well and offer some support.

    As for the cramping, could be a hydration issue - are you drinking plenty of water throughout the day? Or a breathing issue.

    A good program to build up your running is the c25k program, which stands for couch to 5k. It's great for taking someone with no running experience to running a 5k distance, or about 30 minutes, straight without stopping. It's an 8-9 week program, and there are many free apps for it, or you can find it online with a Google search.

    Good luck!
  • shelleyphant
    shelleyphant Posts: 21 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Hi Andrew.

    I fully agree with Amy above. Shoes are so important. My ankles turn in (overpronate) when I run and when I was first fitted for corrective shoes it was a game changer. It can be expensive but specialist shops usually understand this and will pick shoes in your price range if you let them know.

    C25k apps are awesome there are so many good ones. I have the app by Zen labs (which is even available on my crappy amazon phone) which also has 10k, half marathon and marathon versions should the running bug bite you.

    One thing I would suggest is trying the first c25k session outdoors. I weave all over the place on a treadmill and I don't feel as in control of my gait when I am on one. See if running outside causes you the same issues. If not then you need to check your posture while running on the treadmill.
  • chemlabdoc
    chemlabdoc Posts: 30 Member
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    I agree with seeing how you feel running outside. When you are just getting started you don't want to run too fast for a long time. Jogging will help your body figure out what it needs to do to be efficient. For jogging on the treadmill set the incline to 0 or 1. Give your body some time and see if the wobble and side ache go away. I think they will.
  • iandrew124
    iandrew124 Posts: 170 Member
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    AmyRhubarb wrote: »
    For the wobbly feet, it could be an issue with your shoes. If possible, go to a good running store in your area and get fitted. Or least make sure you've got a relatively new pair that fit your feet well and offer some support.

    As for the cramping, could be a hydration issue - are you drinking plenty of water throughout the day? Or a breathing issue.

    A good program to build up your running is the c25k program, which stands for couch to 5k. It's great for taking someone with no running experience to running a 5k distance, or about 30 minutes, straight without stopping. It's an 8-9 week program, and there are many free apps for it, or you can find it online with a Google search.

    Good luck!

    I'm going to have to sew if I have a shoe store like that around where I live then. If not are there other places I may check?

    For cramping I have no idea, I'm guessing it my breathing? I sometimes feel as though I have trouble breathing so I may need to learn how to breath. I usually drink tons of water a day so it couldn't be that unless I over estimate how much I drink.

    I've heard about those seems very interesting, going to have to check them out now. Any you would recommend?
  • iandrew124
    iandrew124 Posts: 170 Member
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    shelleyphant wrote: »
    Hi Andrew.

    I fully agree with Amy above. Shoes are so important. My ankles turn in (overpronate) when I run and when I was first fitted for corrective shoes it was a game changer. It can be expensive but specialist shops usually understand this and will pick shoes in your price range if you let them know.

    C25k apps are awesome there are so many good ones. I have the app by Zen labs (which is even available on my crappy amazon phone) which also has 10k, half marathon and marathon versions should the running bug bite you.

    One thing I would suggest is trying the first c25k session outdoors. I weave all over the place on a treadmill and I don't feel as in control of my gait when I am on one. See if running outside causes you the same issues. If not then you need to check your posture while running on the treadmill.

    I'm going to have to try to find some time to run outside because most of my exercising is done at 6-8/9 in the night due to college classes. I live in a shadey city so I have to be super careful when running outside.
  • iandrew124
    iandrew124 Posts: 170 Member
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    chemlabdoc wrote: »
    I agree with seeing how you feel running outside. When you are just getting started you don't want to run too fast for a long time. Jogging will help your body figure out what it needs to do to be efficient. For jogging on the treadmill set the incline to 0 or 1. Give your body some time and see if the wobble and side ache go away. I think they will.

    Ahh, sounds like good advice. I'll do it next time I do cardio at the gym. Which will most likely be Thursday.
  • iandrew124
    iandrew124 Posts: 170 Member
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    chrisskellinton wrote: »
    iandrew124 wrote: »
    AmyRhubarb wrote: »
    For the wobbly feet, it could be an issue with your shoes. If possible, go to a good running store in your area and get fitted. Or least make sure you've got a relatively new pair that fit your feet well and offer some support.

    As for the cramping, could be a hydration issue - are you drinking plenty of water throughout the day? Or a breathing issue.

    A good program to build up your running is the c25k program, which stands for couch to 5k. It's great for taking someone with no running experience to running a 5k distance, or about 30 minutes, straight without stopping. It's an 8-9 week program, and there are many free apps for it, or you can find it online with a Google search.

    Good luck!

    I'm going to have to sew if I have a shoe store like that around where I live then. If not are there other places I may check?

    For cramping I have no idea, I'm guessing it my breathing? I sometimes feel as though I have trouble breathing so I may need to learn how to breath. I usually drink tons of water a day so it couldn't be that unless I over estimate how much I drink.

    I've heard about those seems very interesting, going to have to check them out now. Any you would recommend?

    everyone has shoe stores like that.......I live in the boonies.

    I hope so, I haven't seen a store like that anywhere where I live but it may be hiding at the edge of the city I never go to so who knows. Just finished writing up a synthesis paper so I'm going to take a power nap before getting up and going to class. xD
  • shelleyphant
    shelleyphant Posts: 21 Member
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    I use these. However there may be others which are just as good that I have not tried. You can find them on apple, android and amazon app stores.

    https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/zen-labs/id485971738?mt=8&uo=4&at=10I4CL


  • JustWant2Run
    JustWant2Run Posts: 286 Member
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    I always am ''wobbly'' the couple of first times I run on a treadmill. Then it gets better.

    I don't think you are going too fast or doing too much.
  • debubbie
    debubbie Posts: 767 Member
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    I would definitely try to set the incline to a lower number while jogging until your breathing, cramping, and wobbling go away. You may be pushing your body to do a little too much too soon, running on an incline is not easy! I would work on making sure my posture and gait are better before upping the incline again on the jog portion. Good luck in school and with your weight loss goals.
  • Timorous_Beastie
    Timorous_Beastie Posts: 595 Member
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    Be sure you're running slow. So slow you could almost walk at the same pace. Speed will come later.

    I also suggest trying to run outside. Or trying a different treadmill if you can. I know when I went to a gym, there were some treadmills that just sucked and I felt like I was running during an earthquake.
  • tiffanylindenmuth
    tiffanylindenmuth Posts: 15 Member
    edited February 2015
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    As stated above, start slow. At a conversational pace. You should be able to talk without getting too winded. After you get better you will be able to go faster. Also, as stated above do not put the treadmill on any incline in the beginning. Although it is good to be able to run hills that will come in time and is best done outdoors. BTW, I hate the treadmill. I call it the dreadmill. It makes me significantly slower. If it is dark when you plan on running maybe look for a local track that is lit or some parks have indoor tracks open to public. Dick's Sporting Goods can usually help you find the right pair of shoes. Find one with a good employee in the shoe department. They will also let you run in store to see how it feels and you can always return the shoes and try another if you have issues. The cramping is most likely a side stitch which is still a mystery but is believed to be the diaphragm spasming. Make sure you are doing at least 10 minutes of core strengthening exercises. This will help. Also, make sure you warm up for around 5 minutes before you run and don't eat much prior to your run. Avoid gas forming food especially prior to. Lastly, breathing. Focus on it. Find a way to not take shalow quick breathes. Do a count. Sometimes I place my middly finger on my thumbs and make circular motions. Like when you meditate. This helps sometimes. Start a program as was stated above. There are so many apps you can download. I used runkeeper. It helped me so much. I seriously started the way you are. I couldn't even run a full minute when I started and I weighed 256lbs! The farthest distance I have ran so far without stopping is 10 miles! I am planning to run my first half this year. Just trying is the beginning. If you keep it up and get hooked, you won't regret it...

    Good luck and enjoy yourself.

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