Running to lose weight?

Question

My boyfriend and I have decided that as of this Monday, we are going to start running every morning.

We both have an extremely low endurance level, and I am overweight (but he is not).

Does any one have any tips for running?

Is there anyway we should start/finish our runs?

About how long should we run? etc

Thanks!

Answer 1

start out jogging, you get to tired running the whole way.

run/jog at least a mile, and run every other day, and after 2 or 3 weeks you could start running every morning.

Have fun.

Goood Luck!!

Answer 2

There are 3 things you need to remember.

-Stretch before/after runs

-Stay hydrated

-Ice if anything hurts

If you keep these things in mind and run consistently you'll gradually see results in your speed and endurance and overall health. Good luck!

Answer 3

The best thing to do is find a pace comfortable for you so that you can keep it the entire time you are running...

Make sure to stretch before and after running, have even breaths- in through the nose, out through the mouth

Answer 4

i would be better to jog for 1 hour

Answer 5

Whatever you do, stretch AFTER your run. This is the time when your muscles will be stiff and you might pull a muscle if you don't stretch.

Answer 6

Hi, I would suggest running every other day, as it will give your body time to heal and rest, plus you stay much more committed if you don't go as often.

When you're just starting out, you don't want to overdo it, I just started running about 2 months ago, I started out barely being able to run a half a lap around my highschool track, that's about 1/8th of a mile, sad indeed, but now, I can run 3 laps nonstop, the key is to keep going, and stay committed. I've heard a statistic that says if you skip one session, you're 75% likely to skip the next one, so the key is to stay consistent and don't skip any runs.

Also, breath in through your nose and out through your mouth when you run, it'll regulate your breathing so you don't get cramps and can go farther. Don't eat anything up to an hour before you go, and when you do eat, eat healthy stuff, things like tuna, chicken, vegitables, etc... Usually if it's a white meat, it's packed with protien and good stuff to help you during your workout to hold energy. Drink plenty of water.

So yeah, main thing is just to start out slowly and work up to where you feel comfortable, when you start, make sure you remember how far you ran so the next time you can either go just as far, or try to go a little bit farther, each time you increase the distance or time of your workout, your endurance should also increase, and you'll begin to see a dramatic difference after as little as one month.

Good luck, all I can say is it'll be hard to get there, but once you are, you'll feel awesome everyday, and have a ton of energy! It's well worth it, plus, what's more important than your own health, right?

Answer 7

A few things first:

.  If you are out of shape, then you really need to take it easy at first.  Do what your body will allow, without getting overheated, etc.  Remember that it takes a few days for your body to strengthen itself after  a first start.  You literally have small tears in your muscles that you used in your exercise.  It takes up to seven days for these tears to heal, and then that muscle is strengthened.

I would DEFINITELY JOG!!  Some may consider it as "recreation", but jogging allows you to build muscle, and plus, you can still burn the calories.  Personally, I don't see the reason for running flat-out for as long as you can.  The heart, which is a muscle, is helped more by a long jog.  But, the main thing to remember is to start slowly, and  make sure you stretch BEFORE and AFTER your workout.    Remember that it took you quite a while to get out of shape, so don't expect to get in shape in a month or so.  It is a loooong-term thing.  Hope this helps.

Answer 8

Hi.  The one thing to remember is not to expect too much, too soon.  Give your body time to get used to what you're asking it to do.  I would begin walking at a good pace, on a set route.  Walk and talk, but walk fast.  Make sure you stretch afterwards.  Do the walk and talk for a couple of days and then introduce a bit of jogging.  If your route is on a road, alternate jogging and walking between lampposts.  It will be hard at first, but don't give in too quickly.  Your body needs time to realise what's happening and to adjust.  This is where many people give up as it's uncomfortable, but if you keep going, you'll get through this barrier.  At this point, think about what you're going to make for tea, what you've got lined up at work, think about anything other than running.  You'll soon find you're not as uncomfortable as you were before.

Once you've been doing this for a week, I'd then try to start jogging the whole route, but SLOWLY!  Remember, it'll be uncomfortable for the first quarter of a mile, but then your body should adjust and you'll find it easier.  Make sure you always stretch afterwards.  Once you start  jogging, jog every other day to let your body recover. Keep a log of your times so you can see your improvement as well as feel it.  Join a jogging club so you have a commitment to keep going.  They're friendly and won't expect too much too soon.  Good luck! A good website for advice and a place you can see how far you're running by mapping it out is www.realbuzz.com

Answer 9

Do a 1 mile warm-up slowly. Then stop and stretch. Go 3 miles every day to start with. Then in about 6 weeks move up to 5 miles. Swimming is a great way to build your endurance. Swim half a mile every day after you run. Stairclimbing will get you in shape very fast. I did these workouts and in 2 weeks I was in good shape. Do stairclimbing 2 a week after you run and swim. After your done running stretch so your legs don't get tight. Maybe instead of stairclimbing just run on a very hilly course. Run 6 days a week. The purpose of taking 1 day off is because you let your muscles recover. Also your body gets stronger. Remember don't over do it!

Answer 10

if you want to lose weight you need to do more aerobic .I suggest you purchase heart monitor .You can get it at any sporting goods store .Start slow try to keep moving for at least 20 minutes.you need to take in less calories then you eat to loss weight.Eat more whole wheat food like whole wheat bread cut sugar intake and drink more water.

Answer 11

Ola!Its probably best if u start slowly...becouse if u start running 40min a day...u will get fead with it!If you want to lose weight I would advise Billy Blanks tae bo!!U will lose lots of pounds with him!!But if u wanna run I advise u to start with:

1.  warm up (5 to 10min)

2.  Run 4 about 20 to 30min...jogging

3.end it with a light strech

.... do that 4 about 3 weeks...then do 5 to 10 sprints in each jog for about 20s....

If u want to lose weight...billy Blanks!!!Dont forget that d food u eat is important to!!!!U r wht u eat!

Dont forget to enjoy while u work!

Nick

Answer 12

I went for not being to walk for more than five minutes without feeling like im gonna die, to being able to full on run for 1 minute and a half....in like 3 weeks... and I walk for an hour or so....I know that thats really sad....i am very out of shape and very overwieght....but I will keep running till im thin!

this is how you should do it....

walk about 5 minutes

strech out all your muscles

run for one minute

walk five

repeat three times

cool down

stretch agian....

if you can do that then go for two minutes...then work up to three....then four and so on and so on.....

make sure you drink after you run so you dont get side cramps, and keep your running posture good, upper body relaxed, eyes striaght ahead, land midfoot and all that...

hope that helps...!

Answer 13

Especially in the early phases, don't be afraid to take walk breaks. If you haven't been on your feet a lot, it's often even recommend to do a pure walking program for several weeks to get your body accustomed to the impact. Some people like to try and plan their walk breaks so they push themselves enough -- they might run for 2 minutes and walk for 1 then run again, for example.

You don't need to do it every morning. Your body will need recovery days, especially early on, to heal and strengthen itself. It's easy to get injured if you do too much too soon. If you're serious about this, you're going to be doing this regularly for quite some time, and you don't need to go diving into the deep end head first at the start.

Don't exceed conversational pace -- you should be able to carry on a conversation without gasping for air. Yes, some might call that "jogging." Do generally try to breathe slowly and deeply from your belly.

It's generally advised to stretch after you've warmed up a little rather than purely cold. It's probably most critical to stretch a bit shortly after you finish.

How long you run depends on how much time you have. When you first start, you'll probably get a sense what's reasonable for you to tolerate and fit in, and you can extend it in the future as your body better adapts to things.

You might desire to look into the books by John "The Penguin" Bingham in particular, at least at the start.

Answer 14

u can start with a jog/walk. Jog as long as u can, then walk for 30sec-1min. start jogging again. repeat for 20-30 minutes. your goal is to be able to jog the entire time ( a full 30 min). Once u can do that, work on your pace.

stretch afterwards so u dont get too sore! try a hamstring stretch (standing: bend at waist and reach for toes); a quad stretch (standing: bring right foot behind you and up towards buttocks. grab with right hand at ankle, release and switch leg/hand.); and calf stretch ( stand with feet together. step back with right foot approximately 2.5 ft. push heel into the ground. switch legs and repeat these steps)

Hold all stretches for 30 seconds,

Answer 15

Don't start with straight out running for a mile or whatever, because you most likely won't make it. Just go easy at first then when you feel comfortable, push yourself a little more each time. Don't push so much that you'll hurt yourself. When I started to to run, I did 5 minutes walking, 5 minutes running for 30 minutes then I moved up to 10 and 10 and now I'm working on running for 15 minutes. It won't happen quickly, I've been running since the beginning of summer, but running is one of the best ways to lose weight quickly.

Also, make sure you have good running shoes. They shouldn't be too old, like mine are 2 years old and I still run in them and everytime I do my knees hurt so I don't do as much as I'd like to. I'll get more soon, but anyways, yes. Shoes are a big thing. You can do 30 minute intervals, or whatever is comfortable to start out with. And you'll probably cover a mile with the 5 min. walks and runs. Ok, hope I helped and have fun!

Answer 16

Thats great that you are starting to run in the morning. running takes a while to build up endurance, so try to run longer like every two days. for example, on monday try to run for 10 minuts without stopping. then do it again on tuis. then on weds try to go for 15. and so on...

but in order to loose weight, you have to work out much longer. so mabye you could go to the gym after you run outside. and do some of the machines. try to aim for 60 minuts of cardio everyday.

make sure you keep a healthy diet. dont starve yourself to loose weight because that will slow your metabolism down. and plus you wont have the energy to work out. and make sure you do treat yourself to sweets.

good luck!

Answer 17

breathe in through your mouth and breathe out through your mouth! you will not take in enough oxygen for your muscle needs if you try to breathe in through your nose! you need to take in as much as you can  why does everyone think so different

Answer 18

Be careful, if your on the obese side your ankles won't take that stress weight and you can damage or even break them. If you have a pool start out running in the pool, it not only will take the stress off your ankles but will give equal pressure over the entire body. If you don't have a pool, start out in a forced speed walk, give your body time to get accustomed to the tension your going to give it. A speed walker can burn just as many calories as a runner and your endurance problem will interfere less.

Answer 19

warm up

stretch

run

cool down

stretch (optional)

Since you aren't a runner you should start slow. Maybe like two miles three times a week. Then increase it to five times a week. Increase your distance to three or four miles. As you gain more endurance you will do them faster and without stopping. The most important thing you have to remember is to NOT STOP. If your doing a two mile run, do the whole thing. Go at your own comfortable pace and increase as you near the end.

Make sure you stop eating junk food, drinking soda, and eating foods with high amounts of fat.

Answer 20

You want low intesnity to loose wieght.  Espcially just starting out.  If you can run for 30 minutes to start out then that is a good stepping stone.  And I mean run in the literal sense.  Meaning that only one foot is touching the ground at a time, nothing to do with speed.  You can be doing an 11 minute mile and still be running.  Joggers run for recreation, runnners run because they love it.... but I digress.

If you cant run for 30 minutes straight try run/walking.  Run for 5 minutes walk for a minute run anouther 5 walk for a minute.  Repeat for 30+ minutes.  I say once you can go for 45 minutes start working on increasing the time that you are running while leaving your walk time the same.  I started this way and can now run 15+ miles with out even thinking twice.  

Also think about getting a heartrate monitor/gps.  The heartrate monitor will be able to tell you how hard your body is working.  Ideally you will want to keep your heartrate between 60-70% of your max heartrate.  If this means speed walking, then do it.  Trust me over time you will get faster.  The gps is just a nice toy to have that can tell you how fast you were going, the exact distance, elevation change and so on.  If you like to see stats then this is the way to go.

As for starting and finishing your runs I say start and finish them easy.  Once you get into better shape then you can worry about cranking up the intesity. Just go outside and enjoy your runs for now.

Happy trails

Answer 21

I'd start at a distance where you can do it for the whole time- running. If it has to be only a mile then only do a mile. You have to get used to running. You can then be increasing your pace on the mile and eventually increase the distance.

Remember to take it slow. It is worth it in the end.

Answer 22

The way to lose weight is not to go all out that will just make u really tried...Because ur body doesn't have that stamina yet...

The best way is "Hitting the Wall", Its when u sort of jog for a long period of time......until ur body uses its fat reserves.

Very hard work...but its effective... Or just jog...-its better than going all out trust me i know even runners take a told when it comes to going all out.

Water is very important - Increase the amount of water u take every day...

Breathing: Doesn't matter how u breathe, everyones body devlops their own thing at a given point threw hard work...