Running and general exercise

fit4travels
fit4travels Posts: 109
edited October 3 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I'm new to this site and I really want to start running but I've always been hopeless at it. I can't run very far at all. Do you have any tips that will help me get started and help me run a further distance?

Also, I'm teaching English in China at the moment and because of the language barrier I can't join a gym. Does anyone have any good exercise ideas I can do at home? I've started running and walking up the stairs in my building (19 floors high) but I'd like more variety.

Ideally I'd like to lose about 2 stone, I've heard that doing crunches are useless for fat burning, just for toning up so I'm guessing it would be best to lose the fat before I start doing crunches.

Thanks for reading :smile:

Replies

  • megarooni
    megarooni Posts: 50 Member
    I would try to do Couch to 5 K to start running. I'm currently on week three and it is crazy how much of a difference I've seen in three weeks. Other exercises I do at home I normally will stream off of Netflix and keep the variety there. Hope this helped a little. Good luck!
  • YMTaylor
    YMTaylor Posts: 230 Member
    For the running I would google 'C25K'. It's a program that takes you from the couch to a 5K by doing intervals, some running/some walking and increasing your running times over several weeks.

    Don't abandon all strength training. It's true that some exercises will build muscle while others burn fat but the more muscle you have the more calories you burn all the time. The best is a combo of the two. If you can get some handweights you can look up different exercises online. If you can't get handweights, you can use soup cans or other items around your house. Lunges, squats and crunches plus yoga and pilates are easy to look up online and don't require any extra equipment.

    Good luck, if you stick with it and watch your calories you will see results.
  • irishseven
    irishseven Posts: 35 Member
    1st. get a shuffle, download some crazy running music, start w/power walking and slight running, then build your endurance..good luck!!! Try to run daily, to build-the-love-for-it!!!
  • ErinInFL
    ErinInFL Posts: 2
    I third the C25K program. It's a great program that you can modify to your own pace if you need to. I've had to repeat 2 weeks due to illness and injury but I am currently in my 8th week doing it (on week 6 of the program) and I'm loving it. I have the app on my phone and that helps especially if you do it outside (I an currently doing it on a treadmill). Right now I have the treadmill in front of the TV and I watch On Demand but I also have a treadmill platlist on my iPod that I shuffle and that always helps get me moving if I am not near a TV.
  • killerqueen17
    killerqueen17 Posts: 536 Member
    That is so cool that you're teaching in China! What city are you in? Do you teach at a language school, or at a university? (I'm currently getting my M.A. in Linguistics/TESOL, and I've definitely thought about spending a year in China!)

    As far as exercises, there are some good DVD's you could order... the 30 Day Shred is a popular and inexpensive one, but really there are lots to choose from! :)
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    I started running about 5 months ago. I ran track in high school, but hadn't run AT ALL in 30 years. I couldn't make it to the neighbor's house, right next door, when I started 5 months ago.

    So what I did was start out at a track. The alternative would be to go to Mapmyrun.com and map set distances in your running area. Anyway, one lap around the track was 1/4 mile. So at first, I would run the long sides of the track and walk around the ends. I could only do two and had to rest in between them. I tried sprinting the long sides from time to time. Slowly, during my daughter's soccer season, I got up to 4 laps, or 1 mile. I would make myself go further before I walked, walk only once per 1/4 mile, etc. to improve my distance and endurance.

    I bought a pair of running shoes and a stopwatch.

    Then I mapped out a section of road near my house in 1/4 mile increments, as well as a few 1 mile sections. I would try to increase my distance just a little, each time I went out. I walked if I needed to, but tried to go further and further between walking intervals. Sometimes, I would do short distances, but sprint/walk/sprint/walk in 1/2/1/2 minute intervals. On September 13th, I did a full 5k, some walking, but mostly running. I run ever other night, and really enjoy it once I'm out there doing it.

    You can do it, just go at your own pace and do the best you can!
  • fit4travels
    fit4travels Posts: 109
    Thank you so much everyone - I've looked into it and it looks perfect for me. And I'll have basically finished the 9 weeks by the time I move to Australia for a year so I can start jogging along the beaches!

    Killerqueen17 - I'm teaching in a language school in Luoyang, it's not a great city. If you do work in China I recommend working in Beijing or Shanghai.

    Thanks again everyone!
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