Jogging while overweight...

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Stephanie198907
Stephanie198907 Posts: 163 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I started the C25K running program a week ago and tonight was suppose to be the start of my second week only i couldn't physically jog. There is dull pain in the center of my left knee. I read somewhere that jogging while heavily overweight is bad for the joints but I started on the program anyway. Is this pain in my knee the result of my weight or is this something a lot of amateur runners experience?

I'm 210lbs and I run in Nike Free Run.

Replies

  • diana79
    diana79 Posts: 13 Member
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    Listen to your knees. I've known many people with knee injuries. Running while over weight puts on a lot of stress on the knees. Remember to stretch and take it easy and make sure you invest in a good pair of shoes. I've known people who were severely over weight and could run without a problem. I've also known people that had only 10 pounds to loose and would feel the pain that you are describing. A sport therapist recommended that my husband use the elliptical as oppose to running.
  • lohitverma
    lohitverma Posts: 161 Member
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    Hi Stephanie,
    I started C25K when I was in mid 260's and have managed to complete the program!
    so dont worry about the weight

    I too had some knee issues while starting out, but after getting my shoes at a running shoe store with gait analysis completed, my knee is much happier now

    a few things that worked for me
    a) go slow and dont race flat out, my jog is around 5mph
    b) if on treadmill dont exceed elevation above 1,2% (I use 1%)

    so take things slow and i am sure you will be successful
    all the best
  • ElPumaMex
    ElPumaMex Posts: 367 Member
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    The answer is: both :ohwell:

    Overweight people will stress more their joints when running.
    But runners with normal weight will also suffer injuries, and stress their joints. Just look at runner's legs, full of bandages, etc.

    Don't get me wrong, jogging is a great exercise.
    But you should be careful not to get injured. Take it easy at the beggining; walking almost gets you the same benefits (calorie wise) and no harm to your joints !

    Once you are more within normal weight, you can move on to jogging so that you get the cardio conditioning.

    Good luck !:bigsmile:
  • Stephanie198907
    Stephanie198907 Posts: 163 Member
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    Listen to your knees. I've known many people with knee injuries. Running while over weight puts on a lot of stress on the knees. Remember to stretch and take it easy and make sure you invest in a good pair of shoes. I've known people who were severely over weight and could run without a problem. I've also known people that had only 10 pounds to loose and would feel the pain that you are describing. A sport therapist recommended that my husband use the elliptical as oppose to running.

    i actually used an elipitical this past saturday for 60 minutes without any problem with my knee. I prefer to jog though. Thanks for the suggestions...back to the eliptical I go.
  • Stephanie198907
    Stephanie198907 Posts: 163 Member
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    Hi Stephanie,
    I started C25K when I was in mid 260's and have managed to complete the program!
    so dont worry about the weight

    I too had some knee issues while starting out, but after getting my shoes at a running shoe store with gait analysis completed, my knee is much happier now

    a few things that worked for me
    a) go slow and dont race flat out, my jog is around 5mph
    b) if on treadmill dont exceed elevation above 1,2% (I use 1%)

    so take things slow and i am sure you will be successful
    all the best

    congrats on getting through the C25K. it makes me feel a lot better knowing that you managed to get through the program at a heavier weight unscathed. My jog is around the same as yours so speed definitely isn't the culprit. I'll look into the gait analysis you suggested and hopefully I'll be back to running soon. THanks
  • zeeeb
    zeeeb Posts: 805 Member
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    yep, listen to your knees or you'll be out with injury for longer than it's worth. i've always had weak knees, so i'm super careful with them. i'd rather be able to exercise than to kill my knees over-doing it. i use the eliptical over jogging, and if i jog on a treadmill i find it's less pain on the knees to use an incline and go slower than to run flat for some reason.
  • Stephanie198907
    Stephanie198907 Posts: 163 Member
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    The answer is: both :ohwell:

    Overweight people will stress more their joints when running.
    But runners with normal weight will also suffer injuries, and stress their joints. Just look at runner's legs, full of bandages, etc.

    Don't get me wrong, jogging is a great exercise.
    But you should be careful not to get injured. Take it easy at the beggining; walking almost gets you the same benefits (calorie wise) and no harm to your joints !

    Once you are more within normal weight, you can move on to jogging so that you get the cardio conditioning.

    Good luck !:bigsmile:

    thanks. at this point i prefer walking to using the eliptical. I hate being stuck inside for workouts. Do you think using customized insoles will help do the trick? I may have to look into getting some to see if rigidity is a problem with my running.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I started C25K at around 204 and finished it quite a bit lighter :smile: And, 14 months on, I'm still running and a whole lot lighter still.
    I did have knee problems not long after I finished C25K and went to see a physio who worked out what the problem was and showed me how to strap it up so I could keep running.
    I suggest you see a health professional like a physiotherapist - they will help work out what the problem is and give you advice about whether to rest it, ignore it, strap it, change shoes etc.
    Good luck!
  • Stephanie198907
    Stephanie198907 Posts: 163 Member
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    I started C25K at around 204 and finished it quite a bit lighter :smile: And, 14 months on, I'm still running and a whole lot lighter still.
    I did have knee problems not long after I finished C25K and went to see a physio who worked out what the problem was and showed me how to strap it up so I could keep running.
    I suggest you see a health professional like a physiotherapist - they will help work out what the problem is and give you advice about whether to rest it, ignore it, strap it, change shoes etc.
    Good luck!

    what is strapping it?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I started the C25K running program a week ago and tonight was suppose to be the start of my second week only i couldn't physically jog. There is dull pain in the center of my left knee. I read somewhere that jogging while heavily overweight is bad for the joints but I started on the program anyway. Is this pain in my knee the result of my weight or is this something a lot of amateur runners experience?

    I'm 210lbs and I run in Nike Free Run.

    Once your knee feels better, here is another program I used during a period losing weight, and it kept me injury free compared to all other attempts causing problems in years past.

    Nothing like getting injured, having to lay off almost everything, and not caring about diet then.

    http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/JogWalkProgram.html

    The run continuously for 20 min program.

    Now, instead of weeks, I made it by weight. I put the ending week 11 at 15 lbs above goal weight, and then in 5 lb increments getting heaver up the weeks to week 1, wherever that fell.

    So I would do those walk/jog intervals until the weight went down 5 lbs and moved me into the next level.

    Warmup and cooldown was at least 10 min, longer if I had the time.

    The other benefit to this - you are doing intervals (to an extent, don't go all out) - which is great for weight loss.

    A cheap Walmart Timex watch with intervals will let you set a timer to beep when time to change jog to walk.
  • Pebbles536
    Pebbles536 Posts: 199
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    Check your form. When I started I was heel striking causing horrid shin and knee pain. Since I have changed my form and SLOWED down my pace I know longer have the knee and shin pain. Although my calves now burn, but in a good way.

    260lbs on Week 2 C25K
  • Lissakaye81
    Lissakaye81 Posts: 224 Member
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    My knees have been giving me problems doing some higher impact stuff, also my right shin if I try to jog or do jumping jacks so I found a nice uphill trail to hike near my house that I do a couple times a week. I have a treadmill but I prefer outside. I throw on my backpack with an 8lb medicine ball in it when I am feelin froggy :D I have been burnin good calories and havin fun building my endurance and sheddin some weight. Figure I will do this till I get at least another 30 lbs off
  • wombat94
    wombat94 Posts: 352 Member
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    Check your form. When I started I was heel striking causing horrid shin and knee pain. Since I have changed my form and SLOWED down my pace I know longer have the knee and shin pain. Although my calves now burn, but in a good way.

    260lbs on Week 2 C25K

    I'll agree with this.

    I started C25K at the end of January when I was 307 pounds. I'd never run before in my life and have heel spurs in both heels and have had several bouts of plantar fasciitis in the last three years. I also had injured my knee in October and that was still giving me some pain at the time I started.

    But I read about the different types of running forms and went for more "minimalist" shoes so that I would deliberately force myself to run with a proper mid-foot striking form instead of heel striking.

    So far, 7 weeks later, I'm nearly through the C25K, my legs feel great and I have had no foot, heel, ankle or knee problems. Find good shoes and run with a mid- or fore-foot strike instead of a heel strike and your joints will thank you. (Your calves will protest at first as they take much more of the burden, but the muscle there is a lot more resilient than the joints.

    Ted
  • plus_a_little_much
    plus_a_little_much Posts: 1
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    I just did my first 5k after completing the Couch to 5k program, and I just had to share my experience, even though you may not be worrying about it anymore.

    I started having what sounds like EXACTLY the same problem as you decribe, right about the same time in the program. I did not see a doctor about it, and my opinion should be taken as just that, but I believe that what I had was/is runner's knee. If you google it, it will give you some info on what it is. I treated my problem as was reccomended for runner's knee, and I am now happily running pain free. If you think that that's what you are experiencing, then you need to take a few days off (it took me about 9 days of rest to feel like I could run again). During the rest period, and after, until the pain is gone, you need to treat it with an anti-inflammatory. Ibuprofen was my choice, but naproxen would be good too. You also need to ice it; twice to three times a day during your rest period, and after EVERY single run, until you no longer feel the pain. I also got a Cho-Pat strap, and that made a tremendous difference for me. I'm still wearing it, and probably will until I get to within 25 lbs or so of my goal.

    Good luck, and I hope you stick with it. The feeling of crossing that first finish line is SO totally worth it!! :)
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Did you get fitted for those Nike Free's at a running store? That may not be the right shoe for you, especially starting out.

    Also, I would stay away from minimalist shoes right now. You need to have proper form to run in them. If you don't, you will end up injured. The progression is: form first then go minimalist shoe, not running in a minimalist shoe to force proper form.

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