just wondering what wts u were when u started - had u lost a bit b4 starting... did u have probs wth your joints etc....

advice pls !!!

i go to spinning about 3x a week... but not been in the gym yet haha but think i need to .. and add in some toning up exersices... + a bit more Cv and also can do the gym if i cant get to a class for whatever reason.

muchly thanks
lou

I started at about 260. At first it was very haphazard, feeling like I "should" do some exercise. I wasn't actually trying to lose weight, but I was thinking about getting fitter. This is before the date I think of as my official start date, but I was starting to get my head round to thinking about weight loss. I did the Sport Relief mile two years ago and did about two or three runs in preparation for that. I didn't run it all, but it was in my head. On the Monday morning after I joined the gym and was weighed at 260.

After that I didn't try to run for a while, I concentrated on getting fitter on the other equipment and walking on an incline on the treadmill rather than running on it (I thought I'd fall off the back if I tried to run!). I eventually built to being able to run for about 10 minutes and then stopped exercising for a while. When I restarted I was about 251, and I included running in my routine pretty much straight away. I signed up for Race for Life at about that weight.

I ran Race for Life at about 216, I ran my first 10k at about 190, my second 10k at somewhere around 175 and my first half marathon at about 165. As I built up the distances my weight went down!

I haven't had any real problems with my joints. My knee and hip have been a bit niggly recently, but that's probably because I've increased my mileage so much recently (over 37 miles run this week!) rather than because of my weight, when I was running and heavier I didn't have any real problems with them, despite my ankle being quite delicate because I broke it 3 years ago and have plates and pins holding it together. I did a lot of early running on the treadmill though, which probably helped with that. It's more boring than running outside, and you need it on an incline to make it an equivalent workout, but it's a lot more springy and a more forgiving surface than the road. I run mainly outside now though.

My knee joints were only playing me up at my heaviest - in fact, it was one of the alarm bells that made me wake up and think I had to lose the weight.

I started dieting and moderate exercise, somewhere round about 195lb. I say *about* because I daren't even weigh myself until I'd 'dieted' a couple of weeks, at the start. My first weight was 13 st 13lb but that means I was likely over 14 st (nearly 200lb) when I started. I just don't know.

I lost around the first 10lb as I started running only a few weeks into my regime, which started last July. I was somewhere in the mid 180s.

I wasn't sure if it was the done thing. But got good running shoes, and just did tiny intervals. I built it up to being able to run continuously for half an hour or so at a time, but then left it at that level. These days, I run 3 or 4 times a week, only 2.5 miles and intervals however I'm in the mood for. I do love it. It's the best meditation/stress buster I know.

Oh and my knee pains were already going by the time I lost the first 10lb. After running a month or two, they were totally gone.

If you get any pains running, I'd stop. If you start with tiny intervals (say run 1 minute, walk 5, and build from there...) you should be OK. As your weight goes down, the pains should go.

When I started I couldn't run 10 metres without an asthma attack. Now I can run 40 minutes if I wanted (I rarely do!) No sign of asthma or joint pain. Even within a fortnight, I had massively increased the distance I could run. I was self conscious about how I looked at first but now I don't give a monkey's.

I've only recently started at about 12 stone.

I do get knee pains, but I think it's because of my gait (over-pronate). However it's got a bit better, and I try to take the knee smashing things easy the rest of the time!

I'm just starting to do a bit of running.

I do a sort of interval thing while I walk my dogs. On a hilly route which is just under 2 hours (walking very briskly) I now walk down hills, interval jog on the flat sections and run up the hills. I thought I'd got myself in to a reasonably fit state for a woman of my age and I can easily walk that route three times over with absolutely no physical distress - but this interval walk/jog/run training is a killer. I'm going to do it three times a week (just walking on the other days). Yesterday, an hour after I finished the walk/run, my legs and really knew they'd been exercised. I wish I'd thought of doing this before.

No knee pains though but maybe that is because I walk a lot anyway.

cool...

the other thing is... is there a "technique" for treadmill running.. as that is where i will start...

ta ladies..
your great!

Try to put it on a bit of an incline, and build up your speed gradually as the last thing you want is to set it too fast and fly off the back...

haha... yup... i have that image in my head...

As Helen said, don't run on the flat, was told by gym instructor friend that you are likely to have more injuries if you do.

Have a look at the schedule on race for life, that's what I did and up to 30 - 40 mins now, ready for my run in 2 weeks .

My biggest problem was my back seizing up but after going to the Osteo I now incorporate some pilates moves and generally loosen up my back after a run. Did get hip and knee pain but this has decreased probably due to new shoes.

It's addictive when you get into it :thumbup:


Oh and it hasn't done a lot for my weight but probably because I'm not sticking to my GI very well!