Started running today

[BS87]

5'11" 145lbs

I wish I could gain some damn weight.

Same. 6' 137lbs. Thought i'm not exactly in what you would call a good physical condition.

[mgold]

I'm 5'11". A year ago I was 240lbs...yes 240. I started the Atkins diet. A year later I'm at 190lbs (2 pants sizes smaller) and feel great. Now all I have to do is work out to tone up and lose another 10lbs to be at my ideal weight. The best part is that I fit into my sports seats a lot easier. Good luck!

How much did your cholesterol levels rise? That diet is extreme...South Beach is a little tamer.

Good question. I'm not sure, but I'm planning on seeing my Dr. soon to get tested. However, I've been pretty good with the diet not overloading on the super fatty stuff so I'm sure its not bad. I'll keep you all posted as soon as I find out.

[Jon325i]

Josh-

Good to hear about your new "habbits." Exercise is important for maintaining good health...not just trying to loose a few pounds or build some muscle. Its all about taking care of yourself. Just start off gradually and increase the amount of exercise you do once you feel like you can take on more. I know there will be some days where you may not feel like going through this routine, but just remember....

Exercise is 75% determination, 25% perspiration. Its easy to do once you get started.

I've been into a exercise routine for some time now. 90 minutes at the gym a minimum 3 times a week (lately its been 4 times a week). I do stretching, cardio (running on the treadmill or riding a stationary bike) plus some lifting with free weights and machines....I like to mix things up to work everything. I also devote about 15 minutes of that workout towards abs.....crunches and torso-twists. Although I could stand to loose 10lbs., I can't complain where I'm at now. 5'11'', 188lbs, just turned 34 but I feel 10 years younger.

Oh yeah.....I seldomly drink alcohol and the only thing I smoke is the tires on my car ;)

Jon

[Pedro]

i used to run all the time in Indiana and it was easy but out here in So Cal i feel like i have asthma and its hard to run 2.5.

Josh
if you want help with running check out RunnersWorld.com they have great info on getting started and lifting too.

[808BMW]

Diet > Exercise

I do cardio before I lift. That's about it :P
As long as your not doing nothing all day, just switching to a good diet will help alot. If your not active in the day though, you gotta have the exercise too though :P

[bmwannabe]

dont worry about mile times, as long as you feel exerted, your doin good. In track i run the half mile in under 2 minutes, and a mile in about 4:20, and i never come close to those times in practice.

[rwh11385]

Oh, yeah. In 8th grade my mile time was honestly at best 9:50. And I had to beat 10 minutes or else. And my first attempt was like 10:40. That was bad.

[Z3Jonathan]

Re: Started running today

I've gotten to the point to where I'm sick of my physical condition. I'm out of shape, overweight for my height ('61" - 230lbs.), and just not happy with the way I look. TIme to loose the gut and get in shape!

For this first week (starting today), I've started with going for 30 minutes. I stretch for about 5-6 minutes, then walk briskly for 5 minutes, to get everything warmed up, then run at a comfortable pace for as long as I can before I start to get breathing to heavily, about 2 minutes. Then I walk until I catch my breath again, no more than 3 minutes.

This may seem like not very much to a lot of you, but keep in mind that I have always been pretty out of shape, and this is new to me. I hope I can stick with it, and lose some of this weight!

One thing I noticed, you may want to do some light walking first, THEN stretch. I tend to avoid trying to do serious stretching on cold muscles. I'll do light stretching at night and before I go to bed, but the key word is light.

As you get more advanced into your running and cardio training you'll want to switch between "light" and "heavy" days. Heavy days we're your running at your hardest, for a shorter distance, and light days to recover, we're you're jogging at a slow pace, for a long distance (to help your muscles recover, and work out the lactic acid). For a beginer, this doesn't apply, since you're first trying to get into shape.

Also drink water! It helps your body eliminate waste products as your body repairs itself.

[Jand3rson]

Yeah, I've been drinking a ton of water.

I've also decided to cut down drastically on a few things, and eliminate a few others completely. Soda for one, I'm drinking almost nothing but water from now on, and no more ice cream, greasy chips, etc. I'm completely eliminating fast food. I'm sick of the shit, I'm not going to eat any of that garbage anymore.

I wiegh 235 lbs. right now. This is UNACCEPTABLE. I've been pudgy and out of shape my whole life, and I'm fucking sick of it. I plan to get down to AT LEAST 200 lbs, maybe less. I'm 24 years old, and completely out of shape, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be like this when I have kids and not be able to run around with them.

[808BMW]

Yeah, I've been drinking a ton of water.

I've also decided to cut down drastically on a few things, and eliminate a few others completely. Soda for one, I'm drinking almost nothing but water from now on, and no more ice cream, greasy chips, etc. I'm completely eliminating fast food. I'm sick of the shit, I'm not going to eat any of that garbage anymore.

I wiegh 235 lbs. right now. This is UNACCEPTABLE. I've been pudgy and out of shape my whole life, and I'm fucking sick of it. I plan to get down to AT LEAST 200 lbs, maybe less. I'm 24 years old, and completely out of shape, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be like this when I have kids and not be able to run around with them.

Plan all your meals and stick with it.
If you know what you're going to eat, and when your going to eat it, it's alot easier to stay on schedule (read NO EXTRA SNACKS).

Took me forever to find out that timing of your meals can change alot. Coming home from the gym and eating dinner just fills me up with carbs (rice) that don't do anything but sit all night, instead of getting burned off by exercising.

[Adam1990325iC]

Those of you stating you can't gain weight and whatnot are full of shit and obviously do not know what you are doing. I personal train people on the side while in college and I hear that all the time, I can't get big but eat alot. Well have you ever tracked your calories and where each of them come from because I think in the end you will be quite suprised at what you see. I life 7 days per week, 45 minutes of cardio at night and know of the world of supplements which some person above said protein such as whey can lead to problems later. Sorry but whey is milk derived and I never heard of someone dying from milk, you could get kidney stones but would have to consume massive amounts of protein and not enough fluids to balance the body's matrix. Well, enough of that, if anyone has any questions about anything, I am sure I can help you out.


Adam

[MattE30]

I don't know what your beer drinking habits are like, but you should cut that out of your diet, or drink *shudder* light beers :?

[Clay'87IS]

Re: Started running today

Keep with it man. Get down to a high/mid 5 minute mile like me. :)

5 flat freshman year in HS :P But I run 400's now.


Good Job on having the motovation to get yourself out there and run Josh. I find that the hardest part, getting myself out there to do it, which is why I only run at pratice and wont ever be as good as I could be.
Dont only drink water though! Gatorade, like water, puts liquid back into you, but it ALSO puts electrolytes back in. If you work out hard, sweat a lot and flush your system clean of electrolytes, you could go into shock. Be careful with that man.

Keep up the good work, and listen to your body. Aches and pains are normal, but if you feel something you KNOW is bad, get it checked out asap. No need in seriously hurting yourself.

Until your knees get used to the added stress, try running on the grassy inside (or outside) of the track. And watch out for shinsplints.