I'm fat and unfit. Help. I tried running a earlier......oh.....hell!!! I ran a few hundred yards or so and I was out of breath and wheezing. I am really unfit! But!......i want to change that...I want to get fit. So what is a good beginner's running regime? I can run about 3 times a week, 4 if I'm lucky. Should I just do what i did tonight, and eventually I will be able to go longer? And then eventually, I will be sprinting fast (to develop my fast twitch fibres)???
First read this http://www.stumptuous.com/cms/displayarticle.php?aid=37Then go to http://www.t-nation.com and read until your eyes hurt. Then read through the MAP H&F resource fitness library. Then get back to us.
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml dont know if it works or anything, just saw it here on MAP one time i think and added it to my favorites. seems like it might work.
LOL at all the unhelpful replies! Here's a link a friend of mine sent me a little while ago. She reckons it's a good routine to start running with. http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
If you are really REALLY screwed with running (you are) try walking fast. Walking at a fast pace or a brisk pace you can keep up for ages. It is how I maintain my meagre physical fitness, I walk everywhere and it keeps me healthy. Once you walk everywhere, stop using lifts and escalators and so on, you will probably feel better for running.
Just like me, when i started i used to get to the top of the road and my chest would feel like it was ripping apart, now i can do 5miles a time, you just have to keep going.
What no-one has stressed here is the importance of going at a pace you can manage. Most people, when they begin a running program, feel that they ought to be tearing down the street (or round the track) at top speed, and then they wonder why they can't manage to sustain that level of activity for 20 minutes. You may find that you can keep going at a gentle jog for that length of time, however. Okay, so a fast walker might be able to pass you as you huff and puff down the road (I know that's how slow I was when I began running), but that means nothing when you realise that you jogged for 20 minutes - albeit at snails pace - without stopping. There is also no harm in slowing to a walk when the going gets too tough. The important thing is to keep moving. I also want to mention that you'll see an improvement in your cardiovascular fitness well before your musculoskeletal fitness. This means that you'll probably feel like you can run further and faster - because you're not tired yet - than you really can. Your heart and lungs will see the quickest improvement, and there will be a point not long after you start your running program when you feel like you're not running for long enough, and you should be doing more. When this happens, don't be tempted to increase your weekly mileage by a dramatic amount. Your legs won't like it at all, especially the knees. Keep track of how far you run each week, and never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% on the previous week.
