I'm Thinking about running every day? Can I get some advice?

Question

I live in really hilly terrain, however a track is a short drive away. Maybe a bike ride away. I'm 16, 6 foot, 235 lbs...I'm looking for a goal weight around 200 by the end of the summer. What should I run to achieve this? Is a mile run better than a 5-10 mile bike ride? So many questions.

Answer 1

If your body isn't used to a high level of activity you need to pace yourself. And you're still a teenager so be sure you're packing on enough nutrients/vitamins/proteins. You don't want to damage your body at such a young age.

Answer 2

I would say alternate the riding and the running! It'll hold your interest longer! If you really would like to run every day, get an mp3 player and set goals.

I'm setting my breaks to weekends. I've run 2 miles everyday this week, and next week I'm planning on pushing myself harder.

I would suggest the same thing for you! Try to run a mile every day. If you can do it and feel good after the first week, I would say try pushing it a little bit the week after, like 2 miles on the Monday! If you still feel up to it, run the 1 mile the next day (or walk it if running hurts). And when ever you're up for the two miles again, go for it! make sure you do a day of recovery after you've pushed yourself. For you, that would be the mile that leaves you feeling good.

If you want to do runs and rides, I would say, make sure you feel just as much strain when you're finished biking as when you're finished running. This would be easier to monitor with a heart rate monitor (I use Polar). It's great for seeing how close I am to my max heart rate or if i need to speed up. Mine also tells me how many calories I've burned.

Being active is great for being healthy.

Answer 3

This website: http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylis...

contains a list of typical calories burned for various activities.  To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you consume.  3500 calories = 1 pound.  So if you burn 3000 calories and consume 2500 cal each day, at the end of a week you will lose 1 pound.  Slow and steady progress is healthiest way to lose weight, and you will be most likely to keep it off.

Your best bet is to do whatever you enjoy most, and get in a routine.  Maybe switch off running and bike riding to keep it interesting.  Just keep a regular excercising every day.  While you're at it try to challenge yourself to eat healthier, or cut one item of junk food and drink water instead of soda.

Answer 4

Don't run every day. Run every other day. You'll actually do your body more good by giving it the rest it needs in between runs. Many novice runners fail to realize that rest days (not to be confused with cross training days) are a part of your training program. Good luck and enjoy the running!

Answer 5

I used to run a mile on a track every day.My advice is start out slow (4 Laps to a mile) It will kill you a little at first but it gets easier in a week Just finish the mile one way or the other in a month you'll start to shave seconds off each day. I ran on a track early each morning,Showered ate an egg 1 piece of toast and 1/2 grapefruit. and a cup of tea. Then off to work I went in one month I lost 15 lbs of course I ate exactly the same thing every day and I felt great and the next month the last 10 lbs. I did ride my bike several times a week just for fun with my son. or at least once a week at least 10 miles. LOL

Answer 6

Exercise alone is hardly anything without healthy eating! I'm not sure how far from your goal you are, but I'd suggest checking into Weight Watchers, it's a really good diet -- I've lost around 20 lbs so far :)

Answer 7

and riding a bike

and doing laps in the poool is INSANELY good

for your body.

and eat healthy:) youll be sexyyyyy, haa

Answer 8

Honestly, any physical activity you can do--running, biking, even walking--is absolutely fantastic, and it's great that you want to take this step.  

In the beginning, you may do best to start off with bike riding--it'll be easier on your knees and less daunting to start with.  A good goal might be to ride your bike to the track, bike a few laps (however many is comfortable), and ride back home.  

Then, you might start biking to the track and running a few laps.  Remember, running and biking muscles are very different--even if riding a bike a mile is easy, running a mile may not be!  (Don't be discouraged--I'm a runner, and I can't even walk three miles, though I find that running three miles is very easy!)  

Start off with a common system for beginning runners: run one minute, walk two minutes, and repeat (ten times ought to do it, though you could do it as few as three or four times to start).  The next day, walk for thirty minutes; the third day, do the run one/walk two system.  I recommend taking a break two days a week.  The next week, switch and do run two/walk one.

Runner's World has some really great programs like this all laid out for you: http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/smartcoa...

Running is a great way to lose weight: no matter how slow you run, you'll burn about 100 calories per mile.  You can use this calorie calculator to see how many calories you're burning: http://www.runnersworld.com/cda/caloriec...

Most importantly, don't be discouraged!  It may be hard at first, but you'll likely become addicted to running like the rest of us fools.  But remember, do it because you love it--if you don't really enjoy running, you won't stick with it.  You can always try some other exercise system.  But my advice is, give running at least a month: if you aren't feeling it, try something else.

Finally--and this may sound cheesy, but I love it--there is a great book by John Bingham called "The Courage to Start" that you should check out.  It's inspirational at best, amusing at worst.

Good luck!  I'll be on the lookout for more of your questions in the future.