Let's Talk About Running
 

I've decided I'm going to start running/jogging about twice per week, for a number of reasons actually. But mainly I just want to keep the old ticker in good shape and the body in overal good health. I'm not trying to run the Marine Corp marathon or anything like that.

That said Warpath, help me with a few myths here. I'm a pretty lean guy hovering around 6'0", I guess. So I'm a little conscious about my frame and I don't want to lose weight or appear as though I've lost weight.

If that's true, how do I counter that? Additionally, will running twice per week make that much of a difference in my physique one way or another?

Feel free to throw out any other helpful tidbits and facts that might steer me in the right direction.

Thanks.
12M

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

You really don't burn that many calories running a few times a week. From everything I have heard the Doc's say to run a good 30min 3 times a week. I need to do the same thing.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

I have no idea how you don't lose weight. I've been training for a half marathon since late August after 10 years of basically just getting fat and lately I'm shedding pounds like it's my job.
I have been dieting and I do have plenty of weight to lose (I started at around 235-240lbs and I'm currently right around 210) and I have been running A LOT lately but I haven't really been killing myself to lose weight per se.
I'm in week 8 of this program with my race on 12/11: [url=http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm]Half Marathon Training: Novice[/url]

For the most part I feel great and the quick progress has been pretty amazing. Two and a half months ago I could barely run a mile without stopping, and now I'm at the point where four miles seems like a warm up. The only thing that really sucks is that it's now pitch black when I get home from work and it's getting cold. Figuring out time to run has also been an adjustment, but that's just something I'm learning to work around.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

I think running will make you lose weight, but if you are skinny already you won't lose much.

This coming from someone with a skinny frame, but has put on weight recently(travel, eating like crap, drinking, etc.). When I ran a lot, i lost a ton of weight to a point. Afterwhich i just didn't lose more.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

[quote=12thMan;757271]I've decided I'm going to start running/jogging about twice per week, for a number of reasons actually. But mainly I just want to keep the old ticker in good shape and the body in overal good health. I'm not trying to run the Marine Corp marathon or anything like that.

That said Warpath, help me with a few myths here. I'm a pretty lean guy hovering around 6'0", I guess. So I'm a little conscious about my frame and I don't want to lose weight or appear as though I've lost weight.

If that's true, how do I counter that? Additionally, will running twice per week make that much of a difference in my physique one way or another?

Feel free to throw out any other helpful tidbits and facts that might steer me in the right direction.

Thanks.
12M[/quote]

Over a period of time you will gain lean muscle mass (not bulk). You will be replacing fat with muscle throughout your lower body. If you are losing things you do not wish to, you will have to adjust your caloric intake accordingly...more work.....more calorie burn.....more food.
BUT pay close attention to eating right, and limit the DQ Beltbusters

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

[quote=hooskins;757289]I think running will make you lose weight, but if you are skinny already you won't lose much.

This coming from someone with a skinny frame, but has put on weight recently(travel, eating like crap, drinking, etc.). When I ran a lot, i lost a ton of weight to a point. Afterwhich i just didn't lose more.[/quote]

Yep, you're right.


Your body will burn the fat off first, but if you don't have a lot of excess fat, you'll end up toning muscles.


12th - I would mix in running (your cardio activity) with an equal days of lifting if you want to keep from looking too lean.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

If you don't have a lot of extra weight you probably won't lose much. Maybe increase your caloric intake a bit with a good balance of protein and carbs to offset it. More important than your weight will be your body. Running just a couple times a week won't stress your body too much all at once. That is good. But, enough running over the long term will accumulate stress on your skeletal frame and joints. One key will be to mix your workouts up. Do a mixture of speed, tempo and long runs to help your body with all phases of running. I run a lot. I do half-marathons and have been training for a few years now. The first year I spent basically acclimating my frame for running. I did a lot of icing and didn't push too hard. I was religious about not over-doing it. Every three weeks I made sure I did an easy week to help the body recover. Now I was either training or pre-training to run competitive races so the intensity was pretty high but the same concepts apply to just casual running. Running a few times, getting hurt and taking three weeks off to heal is pointless. Like others have said, work some cross-training in to keep the body from adjusting to your workouts. Don't go too hard to begin with. It'll be better to feel like you're under-doing it in the beginning(3 month at least).

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Good advice from FRPLG.

Do you have a gym membership? If you do, I'd vary your cardio workouts. Muscle confusion is a great thing. I do lots of cardio, but mix it up with running on a treadmill, running outdoors, the elliptical, and the rotating stair climber thingy.

Remember this- the first couple of days after you start your running routine, you're gonna be sore as all hell. Make sure you stretch thoroughly before and after your runs.

As far as the weight loss thing, if you don't lift weights or supplement your diet with extra protein, I would consider it.

The best hours of my day are the ones right after I'm done with a workout. Mentally sharp, totally oxygenated, feeling so great! Good luck 12th.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

I can understand your concern about not getting too skinny, and I can tell you, from my own experience, that it's not that difficult to maintain weight as a runner.

I'm a little shorter than you--5' 10"--and have always been pretty thin. However, while in my mid-20s I began thinking I was a little invincible on the weight front, and was eating without any concern for weight, but the pounds ultimately caught up with me and I was reaching 175+. So, I decided to go on a diet and start running, and within about four months, I was down to about 160. I was happy about it, but by that point, I was addicted to running. Fast forward about 13 years, and I've completed five marathons, a few half marathons, clocked 1,000 miles a year almost every single year since, and pretty much have adopted running as my religion. While it is true that the running has ultimately made it a little bit of a challenge to maintain a certain weight, it hasn't really been that hard. I've made 160 my floor, so when the scale marker in the morning is slightly to the left of that number, I just eat a tiny bit more--Big Macs or other junk are not necessary to help me stay there or above. And this is at 25+ miles a week. So, unless you're thinking that you're going to get into that range, I think you won't have any trouble. And even if you do, as I said, it's ultimately not that hard to stay above a set floor.

Overall, I think it's great that you're focusing on cardio, especially running. Neither the importance or benefits of cardiovascular exercise can be exaggerated.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Well since this thread is starting here's my dilemma. I definitely work out for the weight loss. Working on getting my summer bod going early.. College kinda left me ravaged so I've got plenty of weight to lose. My problem is that after I lose about 10-15lbs.. I plateau.. And will literally go back and forth from losing 1-2lbs to gaining 1-2lbs. Everyone says "vary your workout" but I hit the gym about 3 days a week.. Do about 30 minutes of the x-trainer and about an hour or 2 of lifting.. and during the off days, I work out at home (Comcast on Demand is a great thing) for about 30-40 minutes.

I'd really love some tips on how to break the plateau. Work out more? Eat less? Both? :confused:

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

There's no one secret to breaking through a plateau. Best advice is to just change things up and see what works. Sometimes you might need to eat more, sometimes less, work out more, less, or try a different routine altogether. One things for sure, a plateau is definitely frustrating.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

You have to ride the plateau out. It may take weeks. The other thing I have noticed in general is that woman may work out a lot but tend to not work out as hard. Although plenty of men do this too I do see a decent amount of men really busting it in the gym while not nearly as many women pushing the intensity. You should be sweating up a damn storm and your heart rate needs to be in the 140-165 range for 30 minutes at least. And as you said and GMscud talked about...you have to keep mixing it up. The human body is constructed to seek balance and efficiency. Doing the same exercises in the same way with the same intensity lets your body figure out the easiest way to operate. Change everything. What you do, how you do it and when you do it.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

[quote=GMScud;757372]Good advice from FRPLG.

Do you have a gym membership? If you do, I'd vary your cardio workouts. Muscle confusion is a great thing. I do lots of cardio, but mix it up with running on a treadmill, running outdoors, the elliptical, and the rotating stair climber thingy.

Remember this- the first couple of days after you start your running routine, you're gonna be sore as all hell. Make sure you stretch thoroughly before and after your runs.

As far as the weight loss thing, if you don't lift weights or supplement your diet with extra protein, I would consider it.

The best hours of my day are the ones right after I'm done with a workout. Mentally sharp, totally oxygenated, feeling so great! Good luck 12th.[/quote]

Well I used to use the company gym when I worked at the office, but now that I'm working from home I'm not as motivated to go to the gym. But your point is well taken, I think I definitely need to work in some weight lifting.

What's your take on push ups?

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

[quote=12thMan;757391]Well I used to use the company gym when I worked at the office, but now that I'm working from home I'm not as motivated to go to the gym. But your point is well taken, I think I definitely need to work in some weight lifting.

[B]What's your take on push ups?[/B][/quote]

Push-ups are great. You can do so many different variations of them. I have the [URL="http://www.perfectonline.com/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=PerfectFitness/prodbrws.html?lvl1=Perfect.PUSHUP"]Perfect Push-up[/URL], and it works really well. If I can't get to the gym, often times I'll do a push-up work out with some abs thrown in.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Push ups are called the perfect exercise for a reason. They work so many different parts and there are so many variations you can do.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

I can't seem to get above 40 pushups twice a day. I think I need to do some bench presses to work up beyond 40. Maybe I should try doing them 3 times a day!

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

I have found running is great. I used it 5 or 6 times to remove myself from the presence of police.

In regards to exercise, its good too. Its all about finding your rhythm...

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

[quote=Chico23231;757495]I have found running is great. I[B] used it 5 or 6 times to remove myself from the presence of police[/B].

In regards to exercise, its good too. Its all about finding your rhythm...[/quote]

You know Baltimore was the fittest city in the Nation a few years ago for a reason... Everyone there is busy running from the police.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

[quote=DynamiteRave;757535]You know Baltimore was the fittest city in the Nation a few years ago for a reason... Everyone there is busy running from the police.[/quote]

Fairfax and D.C. is were I got fit the most. Baltimore likes crack to, so that tends to help with weight loss.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Running should make you lose some weight unless you're doing intervals and/or anaerobic training. If you want to be lean but maintain or gain muscle weight in your legs (as well as get conditioning) try biking. If your knees start bothering you then biking is excellent since it strengthens the quads. They act as the "shock absorber" for the knees, so the stronger they are the more your knees are protected.
I know the weather is about to be crap, but assuming you have a bike you like, get a "Turbo Trainer", which is effectively a stand for your bike with an axle touching the rear wheel which generates resistance. I haven't checked prices lately, but I'm pretty sure you can pick one of these up for well under $200. One of the great benefits is that your position on the bike is the same as when you're outside riding (unlike those horrible LifeCycles). It can be boring, so if you can get some tapes of bike racing and put them on while you're training you'll feel like you're in the race. Putting on some tunes really helps as well.
Someone commented that you may get sore after the first few run workouts. I found that if it feels like you have lactic acid build-up at the end of the run (which will feel like soreness in the muscles) spin a small gear at fairly high rpms. What you're trying to do is get a lot of blood flow to the area to clear out the lactic acid so it doesn't degrade the muscles by sitting there, while keeping new lactic acid generation at a minimum. It's also really important to re-hydrate as soon as possible after the exercise. You want to eliminate the toxins from your system before they have time to do damage. (Think green;-)(Make sure your pee is clear afterwards.)
All of this is probably overkill if you're only going to run 2 times a week, but some of it may come in handy as variety/protection against injuries.

In relation to another post, women seem more frequently to do exercise without actually working out (i.e. not sweating.) Few people seem to use their glutes when they're running, as well as other exercises that could "really use them". By not using them, you're not using the largest muscle in the body, and losing out on the chance to burn all those extra calories, as well as firm up what a lot of people feel is the best looking muscle in the body. I happen to love the Roman Chair, which really works the "drive train" (i.e. glutes and hamstrings.) Since I'm going for endurance I usually do multiple sets with lots of reps in each set. Do NOT try this exercise if you have a bad back. Of course, since I'm getting close to 55 I'm not doing as many as I used to...

If you get more intense about it there's an excellent book by Galloway for runners over 40, but his main emphasis is how to train so you can meet your goals without getting injured.

Hope this helps.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

I use to run everyday during the summer but I stopped because my knees started hurting. The doctor told me that every step during a run is equivalent to hitting your knee with a hammer with the force of your body weight and that it really isn't good for you in the long run.

Instead of running I hike, speed walk, use stairmaster, and ride the bicycle now. You can really get your ticker going much better with these exercises by increasing the pace at which you do them too and they don't cripple you as you get older.

p.s Running is overrated and fat people should never run to lose weight.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Just freaking jog for pete's sake. 40 minutes every other day, maybe indulge in a pushup or two and you'll be fine. It's just exercise and you don't seem to be interested in becoming a member of the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarahumara"]Tarahumara Indian tribe.[/URL] If you start getting too skinny for your preference crack open a case of beer and start packing on the calories. Little known secret to weight loss: Calories In < Calories Out.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Good exercise tips...I enjoyed this whole post which contained excellent replies. I hope this stays up and others add to it.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

[quote=saden1;757806]I use to run everyday during the summer but I stopped because my knees started hurting. The doctor told me that every step during a run is equivalent to hitting your knee with a hammer with the force of your body weight and that it really isn't good for you in the long run.

Instead of running I hike, speed walk, use stairmaster, and ride the bicycle now. You can really get your ticker going much better with these exercises by increasing the pace at which you do them too and they don't cripple you as you get older.

p.s Running is overrated and fat people should never run to lose weight.[/quote]
I cannot disagree more. Running is one of the very best cardio workouts there is. Running too much and too hard for your body can be counter-productive. But running appropriately for your fitness level can be great. It's all about working into the proper shape to make it successful.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

[quote=FRPLG;758001]I cannot disagree more. Running is one of the very best cardio workouts there is. Running too much and too hard for your body can be counter-productive. But running appropriately for your fitness level can be great. It's all about working into the proper shape to make it successful.[/quote]

With running there is no avoiding articular cartilage damage no matter what kind of shape you are in or how appropriately you run. In a cardio contest between running and using the stairmaster I would say the stairmaster is pretty competitive...next time you go to the gym try the stairmaster at half the maximum speed available and see what happens to you.

The only real advantage in running is that it maximizes your time which is why I use to run all the time. You can get the same type of cardio without all the long term health hazards.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Gotta say I really hate running, wish I could get into it, just can't. Plus it murders my knees. I stick with lower impact stuff.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Ran my first half marathon in Charlotte, NC yesterday. I finished in 2hrs 13mins, which isn't that fast but I'm still happy considering how out of shape I was in when I started training. I had a blast and I'm already planning on running #2 this spring. I don't think I'll try a full marathon any time soon but it's possible.

Re: Let's Talk About Running
 

Running is good for cardiovascular health but avoid doing it to much. Traditional running uses up muscle and if overdone has the potential to actually make you age faster. Plus with your body type being on the leaner side you can easily make yourself to skinny.

I would personally recommend doing anything that encourages you to sprint. Me personally I like going to my local rink or skate park and do this thing where I skate fast on straightaways and slow down on turns.

Anyway the technical name for it is high intensity interval training (HIIT) and the benefits are great. Not only do you get your workout done faster (9-20 minutes) but you can even build muscle. You can also use anything to do it (treadmills, ice rinks, stationary bikes, basketball gyms, football fields, eliptical, etc).

The benefits are summed up best by this picture. On the left is a long distance runner on the right is a sprinter.
[IMG]http://www.injoewetrust.com.au/wp-content/uploads/marathoner_sprinter2.jpg[/IMG]
Also I would encourage you to invest in a set of kettlebells as kettlebells help you engage in both strength and cardio training. Here's some more links on HIIT.

[url=http://www.intervaltraining.net/hiit.html]HIIT: Supercharge your Fitness and Fat Loss[/url]
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training]High-intensity interval training - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]

Also one more picture for the road.
[IMG]http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/Zb/olympic-runners-470-0808-msc.jpg[/IMG]