A couple of questions from a newbie

Twelve8momma
Twelve8momma Posts: 6 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all. I have gone from 294 to 268 from Novemeber 2015 to today :smile: YAY! I have done all of this with the help of my migraine medication which completely altered my eating and perspective on food. Weird side effect, eh? Anyways, a couple of questions. I am intimidated by any gym, but I know I need to build muscle as I lose weight. Is there an amount of weight that I should lose before starting at a gym? I do DDP yoga at home, and I love it. I also walk about 2 miles 3 times a week.
The next question's a little weird: I've had 3 kids, one set of twins, so I have a lot of fat on my abdomen, plus my muscles at the moment have no tightness to them. I am 5'10 and large framed. I would like to jog, but the force is really hard on my joints. Would it be wrong/bad to wear compression gear or a girdle while jogging? I have the C25K app on my phone, and I want to start using it, but I've tried jogging and the bounce is really a bit much.

Replies

  • drachfit
    drachfit Posts: 217 Member
    I would consider walking until you are at a lower weight. Find some hilly areas - you can get just as good of a cardio workout walking on a hill without the damaging impact to your joints.
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    Walking can be an awesome exercise; at the right intensity and incline, it can help you work out your lower body while you also get some cardio in.

    I wouldn't push running too fast until you know your body can handle the impact. I was 220 at 5'4 and gave myself several stress fractures by trying to run too hard, too quickly. Believe me, that injury set me back quite a bit.

    If you ever make it into STL, give Forest Park a try! Art Hill is a great challenge and there's plenty of room for a great burn while walking.
  • Twelve8momma
    Twelve8momma Posts: 6 Member
    LOL I live in OFallon Mo :) Forest Park is great. laumeier sculpture park is also pretty awesome, plus there are the great sculptures to check out during exercise
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
    Increase your walking to 5 days a week before you start jogging. It will help build a good muscle base for your running.

    Yes wear compression garments-but not the really tight ones-just tight enough to stop the bouncing and then YOU GO GIRL!
  • KathyApplebaum
    KathyApplebaum Posts: 188 Member
    I started walk/running when I weighed 268, but I couldn't run for more than about 30 seconds at a time until I got to about 190. (I weigh 175 now, and am running my first half marathon next week.) That said, if you can walk at a fast enough pace so that you can say a 6 word sentence but not much more before you need a breath, stay with the walking because you're working at a great pace for fitness. If you can do more, gradually move into running -- 15 or 30 seconds at a time is a great place to start, with a 30 second recovery. Gradually up the run portion until you can run non stop. It doesn't matter how fast or slow that running portion is, as long as you can say 6 words easily. Speed will come with time. (Going up hills is a great alternative to running, and much easier on the joints, so think about that as well.)

    Compression gear has never done much for me, but YMMV. Focusing on improving my running form (striking mid foot, equally balanced left-right side on each foot) did way more to help my joints, as did learning how to properly stretch and use a foam roller after my runs. Make sure you have a really good sports bra, too -- that's really essential. Go to your local running store that has a sports bra fit specialist and get fitted, because any chaffing will be agonizing. :/ The butt and tummy jiggle was solve with just some well-fitting running tights.

    You can certainly go to the gym right now. By going to the gym, do you mean strength training? If so, it's a great alternate day exercise and complements running well. I've been doing strength two days a week and running 4 days, and I've seen a LOT of improvement in both. Give it a try!
  • kdtesoriero
    kdtesoriero Posts: 141 Member
    If you don't like gyms, you can do some stomach exercises at home like squats and crunches. I was told to stay away from jogging for a while until I lost more weight so I walk on a treadmill on a random setting so it mixes inclines for me. I also do elliptical and then some weight machines. Using low weights with high reps will help build some muscle. The more muscle the more calories you will burn even doing normal activities when not working out.

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