Running while obese!?

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  • freefalling83
    freefalling83 Posts: 31 Member
    I started C25K at 270 and pushed too hard and injured myself and quit. I recently restarted, but I took a few weeks of walking, increasing my distance and pace first, then have slowly been adding in jogs (not runs!) I’ve been doing this and was able to jog 5 minutes without stopping the other day! I am slow, but I’d rather take it slow than injure myself again!
    Good luck!
  • quemalosuerte
    quemalosuerte Posts: 234 Member
    i'm 256, down 15 from May. I've been running all summer and can do about 1.5-2minutes at a time. My personal best is a half mile jog. I agree with most of what I've read above. Go slow. If you're going for time or distance, do a slow jog. Also, a couch to 5K program is great. Mine jumped me up from 30 second intervals to 1 minute intervals today (week 3). It is a slow process and if you try to push too hard you will actually slow your progress. The c25k keeps me focused and keeps me from overdoing it. (I found a Zombie! Run c25k training program. First 3 weeks are free, $2.99 for the remaining 5 weeks. There are plenty of free programs, look for one with a theme that interests you).
  • cbihatt
    cbihatt Posts: 319 Member
    I am actually not a fan of c25k. I did it years ago and hated every minute of it. I think the problem was that it just progressed too quickly for me. I actually prefer a similar plan by Jenny Hadfield. But, I would also highly recommend that if you do one of these beginner plans that you repeat each week at least once, maybe more than once. If you are still breathing harder than conversational pace after finishing the week, repeat it until you can talk while doing it.

    When I first started running, it took me about 3 years before I actually felt comfortable and started to enjoy it. But my issue was more about the impact on my legs than my breathing. Every person is different, so your progress won’t exactly mirror anyone else’s.

    As for whether you are “ready” to run, I think you are best suited to make that determination. There are more obese runners out there than you would think. So, don’t let that stop you.
  • missjck2
    missjck2 Posts: 146 Member
    Awesome job on your weight loss!

    I am 5’7” and was 256 lbs a good 2 months ago when I readjusted my weight loss “life change” of eating better and working out. In the beginning I nearly died trying to consistently jog, so I walked. Sometime 3-4 miles a day just to get my body comfortable with it. From there I’d jog a little, walk, jog, walk etc. Then I’d jog half a song, walk half a song. Once I was comfy with that I was jogging a full song, walking a full song. Present day, at 240 lbs, I’m now able to consistently jog 2 full songs (7 mins or so) comfortably.
    I’m still not able to jog a straight mile without stopping but I’m sure that’s not too far down the road. It gets easier with time, weight loss and routine.... for me anyways 🙂
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,154 Member
    As everyone else has said, you have to start slow. I was about 275 lbs when I started the C25k program back in January. I used to be a runner, but I fell into bad habits for five or six years and gained a lot of weight. The first workout is six sets of 1 minute jogging followed by 1.5 minutes walking. It was exhausting and humiliating, and I had to flop down on the sidewalk and gasp at the end of it. I took it a little slower the second workout and finished a little better. It's hard to make yourself go slow to begin with, but you need to build up your endurance first. Speed can come later. I ran my first 5k in a long time back in March, and it was pretty slow, even by my standards, but I've since done the bridge to 10k and am now doing the bridge to half marathon. One of my workouts recently was a fast 5k, and at the end, I discovered that I had taken 4 minutes off my 5k time just by slowly following the programs and running further slowly. It gets easier as you get used to it and as the weight starts to come off.

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