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Very fat unfit beginner needs advice
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Yes Mike... any update ??
Well done on how far you've come, keep it up!
Todays walk round the block even after being at the gym this afternoon was quite easy for her and has left her feeling refreshed even in the heat.
Though at the moment she says she can't even imagine running anywhere I reckon that even with a 5 / 1 walk/run *3 in several months time she'll be raring to go and the 5/1 will be easy as it should be .
The key is to be SLOWLY so OTH I'd do the 3/1 perhaps just 4 times and do that 4 or 5 times a week until it's so easy you forget and do extra reps.
The problem I have with the way this kind of sport is percieved is that one should run till one is in pain and gasping and just do that until its easier. Nothing else I can think of is seen like this and I don't understand why it should be so. When we get to the running for 15 mins regularly we may be gasping but not until. Thats the way I see it - I may be wrong .
Went for a couple of walks myself today - the first 1.7 miles and the second 2.3 miles. I wanted to break into a run a couple of times on both but just don't have the confidence yet to do it in public ... but I think it won't be long before I try it, maybe round a park or something to start with. Did run the last 30secs or so to the front door each time - 'cos then I was able to get inside and hide before I could see anyone watching me!
Yorksroyal/Dingus - thanks for the encouragement :-)
If you are embarrased go to a quiet park in the daytime or a queit street , noone really cares and the chavvy kids will be at school or hiding from the police to be out in the open . Then just do a 3 /1 run walk a few times - do it till it gets dead easy . As you get fitter then confidence will grow.
Your wife is lucky to have you for support and helping her with a plan !
OTH- as Mike says take things slowly and at your pace. Don't worry about what small minded people think when you start to run outdoors, you are doing this for you, not them.Come time you will do a fun run and when you get your medal, you will be well chuffed.Glad you are not feeling pain just now. As Yorksroyal stated, you might try using a bike to help you. I bike to work and it does help a lot!
Keep going !
I did a 3 mile run tonight and persuaded my wife to join me on her bike, she enjoyed it although her legs will prob be stiff tomorrow !
OTH can I ask what it is that concernes you about running/walking outside? Is there anything a carp individual could say to you that you haven't heard before? Did you ever think that maybe as you run/walk past someone they might think "do you know what I'm gonna try going for a run, if she can do it...." You could be an inspiration to more people than you think.
I'm about 3 1/2 stone over weight but still run (halves 10k's etc) and love it. It makes me happy I aim to one day to run a marathon with Hippo (she rocks!!) I've been running about 9 months on my first run I thought I was going to die 30 seconds into the run 1 walk 1. The first time I ran for 4 minutes I was in no doubt I was an olympic athlete (happy hormones made me a bit delirious) I look at my weight loss and running as a long term thing. I can do 10 miles now, had you said that this time last year I would have had you sectioned. Got my second half this sunday, I know I cant run it all yet, so I'll walk when I need to. At least I'll finish.
You are making long term changes to your life. You are the one that has taken control and I'm impressed.
Max - you've done incredibly well in such a short period of time. I am amazed and so very pleased for you. I can understand where you are coming from when you say you felt like an olympic athlete the first time you ran for 4 mins - I think I'm gonna feel that way at 2 !!!! The first time I did all 8reps of 30secs run/1min walk I spent the next hour with my music blaring, dancing around the room (yes, it's them happy hormones).... much to my teenage daughter's disgust (mum - what IS that stuff you are playing!!) ... only thing missing was the handbag in the middle of the floor to dance round.
.. in fact, it was dancing that first made me start to think about getting fit. I was out at a 'Tom Jones' themed dance night - yes, that's how old I am - when I realized I couldn't stay on the dance floor for more than one dance (and that was an effort). It was after this night that I started looking into doing something about it and began 'lurking' on this website and then taking the plunge ... but I digress ...
I think I worry about running outside because I 'look' such a mess - no rythem, red-faced, bulging everywhere, puffing like the proverbial train, sweating like a horse ... and then having to stop after 1 minute and walk. Maybe, when I'm up to a few more mins I won't feel so bad ... or maybe the happy hormones will kick in sooner and I'll go outside regardless of what I look like!
Mike/Dingus - thanks again for the input ...and Mike ... bet you didn't think you'd be planning for two of us and not just your wife :-)
I still feel funny about going out in real daylight
though the more you do it-the easier it gets0today i even went out in schoolkid time
Thanks max
x
ipod/mp3 = you dont have to hear what (if) anyone says anything.
Re: looking a mess.....he he he you've not met me yet!!! I glow like a pig. You know what? I dont care because I know I can outrun the only people who would say something negative. Most women worry about their butt, being half Jamaican I would worry if I had a small bum, it's a cultural / genetic thing. I like having a woman's shape I am meant to be curvy. I feel far more powerful having boobs and a bum than I would being underweight (no offence to anyone underweight).
Tom Jones? Sing sex-bomb to yourself whilst running!!
Suprinsingly today we went round the block and my wife said her back didn't hurt at all and we were a minute quicker. I'm suprised the back pain went so quickly - it may return as we push out distance though. A good first week really.
oth you are not leaving us for cycling are you?
Or is it a triathlon you're going for?
Having more time the weekend my wife and I decided to walk further and it was very pleasant - nearly 30mins with no ill effect. Well actually having got a new PB at the Hill West 10K this morning I can hardly walk but I put a brave face on it and off we went and to be honest it got all the knots out.
So her first week has been delightful really and early worries over low back pain seem to have dissappeared. She'll be going to the gym tommorrow.
Yes, I walked into 'town' yesterday - I live in inner city Bristol so going into 'town' means into the city centre. Walked around a bit and then walked home again. Ped said I'd walked 5.18km. Took 62mins.
Today my partner, daughter and I took the dogs to a very popular area for walking - you can walk, cycle, run or even take your horse there. The footpaths follow alongside a lovely stream and the area goes through some beautiful woodland.
Everytime there was a gap where we could see no other people, we did a quick 30sec run. Only managed 4 of these - not because of energy levels but because I wouldn't do it when there was anyone in view, but enjoyed it all the same. We completed 3.34km on the walk before hunger sent us back home for lunch.
All-in-all I've done almost 32km walk/run/cycle this week, so am well pleased. I am not setting my targets too high next week - I just want to be able to enjoy the 1min runs and not have niggling knee/leg pains afterward, and be able to breath better.
32 k total last week OTH... well done !!!!! Good idea about the bike folks, u can use a Mp3 or personal stereo to help in case you get bored .
I did a 4 mile run last Sat avo, but had a mate up visiting from Livingston Sat night, so over indulged that night. Suffered for it yesterday though !!
Everybody have a good weekend ?
My wife is really waiting till some weight comes off then she can get some sports support wear and she'll feel less selfconscious. But we are quite away from that at the moment - she still thinks how on earth she can do it but I think she's getting ahead of herself in picturing the 10K run at all.
Typically the race yesterday was a real killer - not an easy 10K and the small field was quite vocal about the killer hills so that worried her a bit . Of course I pointed out that it'll need at least a years running to tackle a tricky hily 10K like that. Still it had a good range of age groups more around her age and not all lean runners.
Keep it up and keep us informed as it helps spur the rest of us on you know.
Keep up the good work with your wife !
I understand how your wife feels Mike - my little walk/run stuff I did at the weekend I did with my lycra shorts on under normal loose trousers, sports bra on under normal T-shirt and with running shoes on. That way I hoped if anyone saw me running they'd just think I was late for something and not think I was 'trying to run' - a quick glance at the watch every now and then completes the illusion! I also can't wait till I've lost a bit more weight so I can cast off the costume and reveal the super-hero-runner lurking underneath LOL.
I have been totally engrossed in this thread since coming across it. Well done OTH and Mike&Mrs Mike! I wish you all the best in your continued running journeys :->
I'm new to running too - been going now since the middle of March and have got the RFL coming up in 3 weeks time. I have never run before and have found it quite challenging to do the beginner's program from this website. However, I have gone from not being able to run for 1 minute to now being able to run in 15 minute blocks with 1 min walk in between. If someone had told me before that I would be able to do that after 8 weeks I would have laughed at them!
The biggest issue though that I have had to overcome is my own perception of the outward image I think I am projecting to everyone else. I am reading a bit of that into some of the threads here too. I am a size 14/16 so a bit overweight but my fear has always been that people will think "what is that fat person doing trying to run - doesn't she look silly".
It has taken me a few weeks of very early starts (out the door at 5.30 am so no one will see me) and a lightbulb going off in my head to get over that. It suddenly occurred to me that if I see someone out running/walking/cycling I might register their existance briefly in my head but then I forget them totally as they have no meaning in my life at all. I realised that all I am to other people when out running is some person they see briefly whilst going about their own business and that they will forget I exist a few minutes after I pass them.
I hope my slant on things helps you OTH (and anyone else bothered by "running in public"). It has helped me as I now treat myself to a "lie-in" until 8 am for my weekend run :->
Life is too short to be constrained by what you think others think about you.
Best of luck!
xxx
As I'm a size 16, my thoughts are, yep I'm bigger than you but guess what? I'm a hell of a lot fitter than you, quite apart fomr anything else, I love my curves, they make me a woman!!!
Oh to be a size 16 !!!!! I'd kill to be that 'small'. Let me put it into perspective too - I am a lard-arse, as big as a house, in Size 26 at least (size 44" in mens trousers - can't find any womens that fit neatly) - oh, and my curves have 'curves' of their too <grin>. My knees are the size of most womens thighs, and when I stand with 'my legs together' my feet are still 12" apart !!! If I were a size 18 or 20 even I might be a little less self-conscious but I am a long way off this yet - probably many months.
... but, like I said, I really appreciate all the encouragement and it does make me more inclined to 'go do it anyway', and I've stopped feeling silly about believing I too can run for more than a minute at a time one day.....
.... and I just did 30mins exercise including 9 reps of 1min run/2mins walk without running out of puff sooo another step in the right direction :-)