DILYSI Dave wrote:
Klayfish wrote:
What are your goals with the running? If you're doing interval training, you should be doing a near sprint for something like 15-25 seconds, then walking for a few minute or two and repeating.
The overall goal is lose weight and increase overall fitness.
The only goal I have associated specifically with running is that it would be cool to do a 5K sometime next year.
I'm not doing interval training, or at least not like that. I'd say I'm doing a 75% jog until either my legs feel like I'm going to fall, or my breathing pace exceeds my stride pace (Inhale Left Right, Exhale Left Right). Once either of those happens I walk until my breathing is back down to every other stride (Inhale Left Right Left Right, Exhale Left Right Left Right). Then repeat. The first jogging stint is good for several hundred yards. The subsequent ones are probably 100 yards give or take.
If you're looking to lose weight, doing a steady state run until you are ready to fall is actually not going to get you there. You'll burn more calories if you keep the body guessing. A steady state run allows the body to adapt and the metabolism to adapt. If you do something like an "HIIT" style, you'll burn more. Sprint, followed by a cool down and repeat.
Also, remember that losing weight (and overall fitness) is just as much about the kitchen as it is about running or lifting, if not more so. That doesn't mean starving yourself. It's about a solid, well balanced nutrition plan. That will really get you where you want to be. Without it, the exercise won't amount to much.
Running a 5K isn't as hard as you may think. Like I mentioned before, I started running about 3 years ago. I hadn't run in probably 15+ years, as I have knee troubles. I started running so I could do a charity 5k with my wife. I was so worried I wouldn't make it. There were several steep hills on the run. That first year I did it, I walked about 1/3 of it, but I finished. Now, running the whole thing is cake...it's just about trying to keep up with the wife