I am jogging for a total of 9 mins. I just started not to long ago. I am on the treadmill for a total of 2 miles.(walk with jog) Is it easier to add jogging minutes to my 9 minute jog, or break it up, jog 9, walk then jog a few minutes? I don't think I could jog 9 mins twice. What would you suggest?

Thanks!!

Oh one more thing, does anyone get those annoying cramps after you have jogged for a few minutes? mine either starts from the shoulder and goes into my abdomen or it feels like it's right below my rib cage. I do warm up and then walk fast for 15 minutes before I jog. Am I breathing wrong or something?

I would take walk breaks as needed, but make sure you're taking scheduled walk breaks. So if you decide you're going to walk ever 5 minutes and then take a 1 minute walk break stick to that exactly. No more, no less. If 5 minutes ends up being too easy of a workout then you can increase it but you won't really know until you've done all the intervals. I would do at least 5 intervals.

And every week I would add one run where you increase your time. So for example if you do 3 runs one week with 5 to 1 run:walk intervals then the next week do 2 runs at 5:1 intervals and one run at 6:1 intervals. The next week do all your runs at 6:1 intervals. Then go to 7:1. Does that make sense? You could also try looking at the Couch 2 5k program and start at whatever week you feel matches your fitness levels.

If you're getting stitches then yes, you are breathing wrong. Stitches happen when you aren't getting enough oxygen. Make sure you keep your shoulders relaxed, your abs tight and take nice, even breaths.

It may help to inhale when your left foot strikes. See this link:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/19...-when-running/

I'm a fan of the jog, walk, jog... pattern... and trying to do my best to stick with what I can maintain... So if it's 5 minutes of jogging and 1 minute of walking than I stick to that and try to do my best to repeat that for however long my planned workout time is... and then build on that as your endurance increases... also a good rule of thumb that has always worked for me, is not to increase my time or distance by more than 10% a week... So just as an example if you're doing a total of say 60 minutes a week, than the following week add no more than another 6 minutes to your total workout time...

Oh, and I get all sorts of aches and pains when I start out on my runs... but usually after about 15 or 20 minutes or so, when I'm good and warmed up they go away....

Good luck....

Hello fellow treadmill-runner! I agree with what everyone has said. You could check out the C25K programme which will break up your run-walk intervals for you and advise you when to progress. Or you could cut your runs down from 9 minutes and add walking intervals. Like you could do 3 3-minute runs with 1.5 minutes walking in between each walk or any of the other intervals already suggested. Whatever you're comfortable with.

Regarding the aches and pains, I'm FAR from a running expert but I've been plodding along for a couple of years now and I used to get the shoulder pain because I was tense when running like scrunching my shoulders up somehow whilst running and I think this was because I was pushing myself to hard. So I had to make a conscious effort to relax my neck and shoulders and for me that also meant slowing down my speed a little. The pain right below your ribcage could be a random ache and pain related to stretching (if it continues even long after your run) or it could be breathing issue like maybe you're not getting in enough breath and it's a stitch in your side. See if making a conscious effort to inhale and exhale helps, slowing down a little may also help.

ive experimented with all sorts of interval running over the last year...however i also deal with asthma and try my best not to aggravate that...i got up to where i could run 0.8 of a mile (just over 3/4) and then walk for a bit, then do it again, totalling 1.6 miles ran, but it was pushing myself too hard....so i dropped back to running 1/4 mile intervals and pushing the total distance farther, totalling 2-2.3 miles...

then i decided to change to high intensity intervals, where i run as fast as i possibly can for 30 seconds...and so i did that for three weeks...walk a minute, jog 30 seconds, run as fast as i could for 30 seconds...rinse and repeat for 13 sets of that and then ended with incline walking...ive also done just walking but set the inclines to varying degrees of height

i get stitches in my sides at random times that dont seem related to tenseness, eating patterns, or breathing issues...if they are mild, i run through them...actually ive never had a side stitch that forced me to stop and walk

however ive gotten a very few major cramps in my shoulders, right below my shoulder blade...not sure of the cause, but severe enough that i couldnt breathe correctly to continue running and had to stop...those have only happened twice and they continued to hurt for nearly an entire day although the cramp itself stopped when i stopped running

ive also run on horrible blisters that i bandage, put moleskin over, and then tape up with athletic tape...ive never let a blister stop me even if its bad enough to cover my whole toe LOL