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I'd walk for a while then work it up to a light jog then start running. If you're not used to doing physical exercise, even walking will do wonders for you. I'd also get some light weights to keep at home and start working on strength. Even just a few minutes a day targeting just a few muscle groups would be awesome.
I had a friend doing triathlons when she was about 250 lbs. It took her a long time to work up to that and she lost almost 100 pounds in the process.
I disagree with someone who said 5k is a good place to start. If you are obese and mostly sedentary, do not get out and try to run 5k all at once the first time. The Couch to 5k plan works, according to people I've spoke with.
Talk to your doctor and start slow. Just don't stagnate and keep running the same path and the same distance forever.
I am obese and was thinking about running this summer. However, I don't think it is possible since my body isn't adapted to any kind of running at all. When I see pictures of runners they are all extremely thin. I never see anyone running that is obese.
The only obese person I seen running is "Fat Albert" Jackson (Robinson). He ran all the time. He seemed to be great at running and all kinds of other sports. And yes I know that it is a cartoon, about a teenager, based on a real person, who ironically is dead.
I wasn't nearly as obese as "Fat Albert", but he still inspired me to keep running. And now I am healthier and I look even healthier. So go for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bson1257
I am obese and was thinking about running this summer. ... When I see pictures of runners they are all extremely thin. I never see anyone running that is obese.
So don't start running this summer! Start now instead!
Walk. Then Jog. Then Run.
You will feel so incredibly free when you do.
Have you raised any children? They don't walk as soon as they're out of the womb, and certainly don't run.
They had to first learn to Crawl, then Walk, then Run. The Crawl/Walk/Run technique can be applied often in life. It's also a good way to teach people skills in the classroom and in the workplace.
I disagree with someone who said 5k is a good place to start. If you are obese and mostly sedentary, do not get out and try to run 5k all at once the first time.
I would agree. A 5K was too much for me to start with. I did WALK a 5k early on, though.
I'm what is considered a heavy runner (145-150 lbs, depending on how lousy I've been eating lately haha). I've never been able to get under 145 pounds, even on a strict diet, but I'm on weight gain medication and 145 isn't that heavy for me, so I'm not worried. But I like running, and I run on the treadmill three days a week. I'm no distance runner and can do sprints only. 5-10 minutes each time for 30 minutes at 5.5 mph 0 inlcine or 1-2 incline at 4.6 or 4.8 mph. I enjoy it immensely, even though I don't lose weight. I have very strong legs, partly because of running, partly because I strength train the other three days a week. Even though my diet isn't perfect (I love food too much), I'm in good physical shape. Working out is not only good for your body, it's good for your mind. It makes you feel happier because it gets your endorphins going. A lot of people forget that.
Go for it, OP. I agree with the others to start out slow. Walking, then jogging, then sprints are a great way to do that. You don't have to be a long distance runner to reap the benefits of running. And good running shoes are a must. Don't go cheap on them, and don't buy them online. It's worth it to get fitted at a running store, because they aren't sized like your regular shoes (I'm wearing an 8 Narrow in my running shoes and normally wear a 7). They even have treadmills for you to run on and see how they feel on your feet while you're actually running. Good luck!
Secret to weight loss is long distance/time speed walking while reading or watching TV, not even joking.
Just make sure it's at a pace where you have to concentrate on walking fast, and make sure you do it for at least 25 minutes. Its about the equivalent of sprinting for a much shorter time period, but since you don't feel tired afterwards you don't try to make up for the work by eating more calories. Plus you learn (or don't if you go the TV watching route)
A friend of mine was over 300 pounds at about 5'5" and started walking 2 years ago.
Her first walk she made it 1 block. Soon she'd go further, then added hills and stairs. Later began to add jogging into a portion of the walk. I think her first jog was about 2 minutes long.
Anyway, long story short, she now does half marathons and is one of the "skinny" people that you see running.
Good luck and my biggest advice is not to start this summer as you wrote; start now.
Running is not necessary, it may be one of the quickest ways to lose weight, but it's also much harder on your body, because it's a rigorous type of exercise
if your heavy your much better off doing brisk walks , hiking, biking, low impact cardio, the thin people you see running are already naturally built for it, bigger heavier people should do whats best for their body type, lower impact workouts.
running is definitely a young person's exercise, sometimes I see elderly people trying to run, but it's not good for elderly, the bones get brittle , the joints cant take the impact anymore like when they were young, former Olympic athletes like Bruce Jenner even said himself that the body changes as we get older and he doesnt run anymore, he says he rides bikes instead
While running is not for everyone I am a big person, when I was running a lot age 32-42- doing halfs regularly, and just ran my first Marathon... I was about 105kgs and not fat at all. I never had any problems with my knees, but unfortunently I messed up my ankles in a climbing accident and though I still go for a 5-10k jog once or twice a week I probably won't run hardcore again. I do miss it though, biking is great but no fun in the rain, snow, dark... where you could run no problem.
The 60-70 year olds I see doing Marathons and even Ultras don´t seem to be doing to bad.
When I wanted to get fit and was obese, I started with JUST walking. I would walk 3 miles at a leisurely pace, knowing that was more walking than I was ever used to. It would take me about an hour. After a couple weeks of doing this EVERY DAY, then I began going a bit faster, so that after a couple more weeks I was finishing my 3 mile walk in 45 minutes. EVERY DAY. Then I added a mile and did 4 miles a day for a couple weeks. Then I added another mile. Then I would switch it up - 3 miles one day, 5 the next, 4 the next. It took about 3 months from day 1 to get to the alternating mileage.
At that point I added in jogging in short bursts, similar to C25K - but not following that program. I had a song playlist that alternated fast and slow songs. I would walk during the slow songs, and jog during the fast songs.
At that point I started signing up for 5Ks once a month so that I'd have incentive to keep going.
Doing this, in addition to being very diligent with Weight Watchers, helped me lose 40 pounds in 4 months.
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Yes It Is Possible:
He seemed to be great at running and all kinds of other sports. And yes I know that it is a cartoon, about a teenager, based on a real person, who ironically is dead.
