Running
Anybody run?
I've never been very sporty, but lately i've wanted to get fit. I'm not sociable enough to want to play a team sport, and I can't afford a gym membership, so i'm going the practical (and cheap) route and i'm taking up running.
I've got a beginners running program from an online running community, which should have me running 3 miles in a couple of months, gradually increasing every week.
Just wondered if anybody else around is a runner and if they could share tips/experiences/etc.
I've never been very sporty, but lately i've wanted to get fit. I'm not sociable enough to want to play a team sport, and I can't afford a gym membership, so i'm going the practical (and cheap) route and i'm taking up running.
I've got a beginners running program from an online running community, which should have me running 3 miles in a couple of months, gradually increasing every week.
Just wondered if anybody else around is a runner and if they could share tips/experiences/etc.
Comments
Like you I have just taken up running as a means to get fit and lose weight. I have only been running for a few months, but I can say that, at least in my experience, overall fitness improves very quickly from running.
The only small recommendation i can suggest is to try interval running. I used to run a lot more before a serious illness, and found it very beneficial, while also breaking up what can be a very tedious activity - basically jog/run for a given period, and then sprint for 50/100 yards, then follow with a 50/100 yard walk, and repeat. An old basketball coach informed me that it is one of the most effective running prgrams.
Also, if you haven't already, buy an iPod shuffle! I just got mine and it has made running infinitely easier! I keep it exclusively filled with the 'motivational' music i like, and just let it do its job!
Good luck!
P.S Might be an idea to buy a light weight running jacket too. I've certainly needed one in the glorious English weather!
Originally posted by k squared
Buy comfortable running shoes...and an iPod.
At the moment i've got a 3rd gen 15gb iPod and I can't afford to buy a Shuffle at the moment, so i'll have a look for a way to keep the 3rd gen around without it being uncomfortable. I started running today on a 9 week beginners schedule and it was banging around in my pocket. I know they do a wrist band for the mini, but do they do one for the bigger iPods?
As for shoes, at the moment i'm running in my normal trainers, which are fairly flexible Nike trainers. I've been looking at the Nike Free 5.0 trainers too, the ones that are supposed to be akin to running barefoot. They sound very nice and aren't expensive, so I might grab a pair of those.
did you start running eventually?
have any good tips for me (i`m trying for years but never seem to keep up...)
i`ve gaind 10 pounds last year and i really need some good tips to
help me keep up! thanks - nirp from DiscussFitness
If you're quite overweight, I can see it. But if you're in reasonable shape, then 3 miles within the first few weeks should be more than doable. That's only 12 times around the track. You can probably do it right now running leisurely 10 minute miles. You should be working towards getting those 10 minute miles down into the 6-7 minute mile range. That's still not particularly fast, but that's the part that's going to take hard work.
Since I at best barely tolerate running and jogging, there's no way I can imagine being motivated enough to keep up with it during bad weather... which if you're including hot and humid in the category "bad" (which I do if it means exercising hard at the same time) is about 75%-85% of the time in New England.
I seem to be immune to the "runner's high" -- no capacity for getting addicted to my own adrenaline -- and that's the only thing that I can imagine keeps the running fanatics going through rain and sleet and snow and bitter cold and broiling heat.
Ooh, ooh, feel the burn.
Yeah, right.
I seem to be immune to the "runner's high" -- no capacity for getting addicted to my own adrenaline -- and that's the only thing that I can imagine keeps the running fanatics going through rain and sleet and snow and bitter cold and broiling heat.
Not really: most runners just like running. If you do it for long enough, it actually becomes a mentally relaxing activity, albeit physically exhausting.
If you don't get runners' high, you're not going hard enough for long enough. Trust me, you're not immune. Even if you're thin, it takes several months at first to get the blood vessels and cardiac stamina to the point where running isn't downright painful. If you're a typical, bulky American male of the sort that honks at runners as you're driving by in your car, the type that doesn't think about walking any further than the distance from your sofa to your garage, then you'll probably never be able to make it work. Figure out some other form of exercise -- and I still recommend kettlebells to you.
For what it's worth, when I lived in Florida I did not stop running during the summer. That was hot. Summers in New england are great for running, especially in the evening. Yes, you're going to sweat, but that's why there are showers and laundry machines. Where I live now is probably the ideal climate for running.
If you don't get runners' high, you're not going hard enough for long enough. Trust me, you're not immune. Even if you're thin, it takes several months at first to get the blood vessels and cardiac stamina to the point where running isn't downright painful. If you're a typical, bulky American male of the sort that honks at runners as you're driving by in your car, the type that doesn't think about walking any further than the distance from your sofa to your garage, then you'll probably never be able to make it work. Figure out some other form of exercise -- and I still recommend kettlebells to you.
I was in great shape for a period of about seven years when I exercised regularly and watched my diet carefully. I didn't focus on running endurance in particular, but I put a half hour at a time working out very hard on an exercise bike (I broke a weld joint from riding it so hard once), ran treadmills in the gym, etc, in addition to weight training. I never, ever got to a point where I enjoyed any of it. Exercise for me was always a dreaded chore to slog through, nothing more.
I never knew anyone else who persisted with a program of vigorous exercise for as long as I kept it up, who wasn't an enthusiast. I've met enthusiasts who at least pretend that they love the exercise they do, and I've met the usual struggling couch potatoes who manage the occasional attempt at exercise that tends to last from a few days to a few weeks before being abandoned. The exercise enthusiasts are completely incapable of imagining that other people wouldn't love exercise just as much as they do, if they really tried.
For what it's worth, when I lived in Florida I did not stop running during the summer. That was hot. Summers in New england are great for running, especially in the evening. Yes, you're going to sweat, but that's why there are showers and laundry machines. Where I live now is probably the ideal climate for running.
I also sweat excessively. Whenever I tell exercise fantatics this, many say something like, "That's good! Gets the toxins out of your system!" or some other stupid shit like that. It's very hard to fit exercise into your schedule when even if you cool down for fifteen minutes, then take a long shower -- hot, warm, cool, cold, whatever temperature you try -- and you're still sweating, and can't get dressed without getting your fresh clothes all sweaty, and you're wondering if everyone must be looking at you like you've just run away from the scene of a crime because you're sweating so much. I need from an hour to an hour and a half of cool down time if I don't want to look like I've just finished exercising five minutes ago, and if I don't want to drip on people and things.
Whenever I did my weight workout or treadmill workout at the gym, I always had to have a towel slung around my neck to keep mopping up the sweat pouring off of me. I seldom saw anyone else sweating so much. I'm not sure where this attitude comes from, but many exercise enthusiasts I mention this to are apparently absolutely certain that I'm simply exaggerating, that I don't really sweat any more than they personally do, and if do, I should be happy about it because it's so good for me!
2. Avoid any kind of sprinting initially, you want to build a base with longer slower runs before you try to run fast - this will make you much less likely to injure yourself with tendinitis, stress fractures or IT band swelling. I personally would wait until you can run 5 or 6 miles at a medium pace (whatever a medium pace is for you) before trying wind-sprints/intervals or other things like that.
3. Stretch alot - every muscle in your legs and back, both before and after you run. The place most people miss is the outside of the legs (called the IT band) - if it gets too tight you will have knee problems. Hold each stretch for 60 seconds with no bouncing, and ease into it over the minute.
4. Run with other people, but don't talk to them while running. Having an exercise partner helps you avoid "I'll run tomorrow" - but people who talk always go too slow and don't progress.
5. Shoes are very personal, but avoid ones that are too soft or too hard. Too soft and you will increase the risk of a twisted ankle, too hard and you will increase the risk of knee injury. My shoe knowledge is very out of date, but I avoided Nike (too soft, particularly the ones with air), Reebok (ditto - too soft), Adidias (way too hard, at least they used to be) - I liked Brooks (but they might have gone out of business) and my favorite were Asics (which are very pricy, at least for the really good ones).
whine, whine, whine
Well, if you don't like exercise, then don't do it. Just don't complain about being out of shape, and please don't take it out on other folks who do like it.
Also, for what it's worth, you need to go for an extremely long time on a stationary bike (or a real bike) to get a good workout and the "high" effect. Running is full-body and hence is more time efficient. Half an hour, very hard on a stationary bike is maybe the equivalent of 10, 12 miles on a real bike (20-24 mph, a strong pace), but this is still a nothing workout compared to 30 minutes running. If you push yourself for thirty minutes, running, you will feel the "high." Nonetheless, this isn't why most runners run, bikers bike, swimmers swim, etc. Maybe you'll never understand why, but don't be a little bitch about it. Find something else to do with your time.
whine, whine, whine
F*ck you. That's exactly the smug, superior attitude I expect from assholes like you.
I worked damned hard at exercise and diet for a long, long time, harder than anyone I know who disliked the process as much as I did, so I feel like I've earned the right to comment here. Smug assholes like you, however, refuse to understand that there are differences between people that can make the experience of exercise very different, and you condescendingly write off anything some like me has to say as "whining", and inside your smug little heads turn any lack of love for exercise into a perceived character flaw, one you have no compunction about being insulting and condescending about.
I apparently forgot that I have to be all "rah, rah!" about this shit, or otherwise shut my mouth.
And there's a 'flame war' a'burning.
It started around the word 'bitch', which was totally unnecessary, a mon avis.
To hell with running, go blow $300-$400 on an entry level mountain bike.
Running's great! And I say this as someone who loves bicycles and capoeira.
Running's great! And I say this as someone who loves bicycles and capoeira.
It is not, you bastard! Running is for gays and pederasts -- and you're a poo-poo head!
It is not, you bastard! Running is for gays and pederasts -- and you're a poo-poo head!
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