[kimicat76]

so yesterday i told myself i was going to do 1 mile on the treadmill. i did one mile in about 30 mins at 3.0-3.3 mph(? dont know how its measured lol) then said ok i told my husband id be back in an hour so ill do .50 more. so i reached that and said ok ill just do 2 miles. and i did! in under just an hour. im still new to the whole treadmill thing. usually just do DDR for my workout but was getting bored. is what i did good? do i have to always do 2 miles now? can i take a 2 day break or do i NEED to keep it up everyday?

[Jen516]

That's great!! I'm no fitness expert, but I have been walking/jogging for 5 months. I think the question to ask yourself is did it feel good to you?? Was your heart rate up some? Did you sweat some? To me, those are indicators that my body is benefitting from the exercise. I try to jog 3 times a week. That's like every other day, with an extra day off. Keep it up consistently and you'll be surprised and how quickly you improve... you'll be able to walk faster or at a higher incline or for longer times. When I started in Feb, I was walking the whole time. I slowly started added jogging in and now, only 5 months later, I'm jogging most of the time. I was amazed how quickly my body adapted! I'd highly recommend increasing the incline eventually, when you're ready to challenge yourself, but still walk. It increases the difficulty without the physical impact of jogging. Anyways, I'm rambling... I think you did great!! Congrats on taking the first step!! Listen to your body as you continue on!

[irishlad]

Congrats on the good start! It really depends, I wouldnt say you need to do it every day, maybe mix it up. Some days maybe brisk walk, other days try implement jogging. I.e start by walking, then jog, and keep this cycle. When I started 2km (1.24 miles) took me over 16 minutes (mix of walk and jog) now have it below 12 minutes. Really just do not neccessarily what you are comfortable with (try get out of your comfort zone) but mix it up, and rest days are always good too. So some days maybe just brisk walk, and other days try mix brisk walk with jogging, and just record your time and distance, and everytime you step on, try beat that time. even if it is only by a few seconds, the next day try beat your new time. This keeps you motivated and you have goals to aim for.

[kimicat76]

Originally Posted by Jen516

That's great!! I'm no fitness expert, but I have been walking/jogging for 5 months. I think the question to ask yourself is did it feel good to you?? Was your heart rate up some? Did you sweat some?

i was definately sweating and ii could feel my heart beating fast! it did feel good to me as i kept pushing myself to go longer. i got off of the treadmill and still felt like i was at 3.0 HAHAHA! some of the songs i was listening to were at the same pace i was walking fast to so that kept me motivated. the only problem is that i can only go when my husband is home because of our son. they dont allow kids in the apt gym and the gym is only open during office hours. you can buy a 24 hour pass but dont have the money for that atm =( so atm ive only been going to the treadmill on his days off. ty for the feedback! its much appreciated

[fitness4life]

The BEST thing you did was prove to yourself that our minds often limit our actual abilities. You went in thinking a mile was your limit and it turns out your only limit was how much time you had! I bet you could have done more!!
Good for you! Start out running 2-3 times a week to get your stabilizers stronger to prevent injury. After a couple weeks of that, go 3-4 times a week.

During the 3-4 week period, up your pace. You can do this by running faster for a minute, then slower again for 5, and repeat. Soon, your slow pace will be boring, your cardio system will be conditioned to support the increased demand, and you'll be running those two miles in 30 minutes.

Without a doubt. You can do this!