Running advice

[Megvarn]

Hello,

I have been running for the past month or so now. At first I was running twice a week and then three times a week and now I am looking to run 4 times a week or 5 times but I am stuck on what is better....

I am used to running 5km 3 times a week but now I am edging towards running 4km 4 or 5 times a week.

Does anyone have any advice on running and how many times a week/distance is best for helping to loose weight and get fit.

I am not overweight, I started following Slimming World and have noticed that since I started running more I don't actually loose any weight. Is this due to muscle? I have noticed that I am smaller but its obviously inches that I am loosing!

Sorry if this isn't the right forum to join, I couldn't find anything else!

[Dit84]

Hi..

I'm only a beginner so i can't really help.. BUT!!

I found a great site the other night called runnersconnect

They had some great articles for coaches on there and advise about losing weight and still running.

I'll see if i can find it for you

[Dit84 in reply to Dit84]

runnersconnect.net/running-...

Hope this helps!! Like i said there are lots more.

Good Luck.

[marco83]

First rule I had when I was not overweight and I wanted to run well was do not do it to lose weight! You want to run to get fitter, not thinner, you need to see food as energy not enemy... If you get serious running in, you will get heavier (muscles are heavier than fat and you need muscles to run faster/better)

Stay healthy!

For your running it all depends on what are your goals. To get faster you might want to add a session with intervals (a 5K with 3x1k faster, with 1K jogs in between or series of 800/400 meters). If your aim is to run a Half marathon then you need to slowly increase your mileage, adding a long run in the weekend, but not too quickly (a 10% more every week...) there are plenty of good training plans out there

But most importantly enjoy your runs! get out there and explore your surroundings

[rammsteinqueen Graduate]

I wouldn't worry too much about the scales. Just make notes of your measurements and see what happens. Like you say, you are not overweight but if you weigh yourself you will probably find you are gaining but you are actually getting smaller as you burn off the fat and gain some muscle. Personally I find I eat loads the more exercise I do. To lose "weight" you have to go into a calorie deficit. As for running, just do with what you feel comfortable with - just work up gradually

[Megvarn]

Thanks everyone, very helpful! I am really healthy and I love running. I tend not to weigh myself anyway because the scales clearly don't mean a lot as like everyone says, muscle is heavier than fat. I have started measuring myself to see if I can achieve anymore positive results! I do know that I am smaller as I took a photo in my underwear when I had just started running and then a month later and I could clearly see a lot of changes! I guess I will just continue to enjoy running and not get so obsessed with how many runs a week I should do etc. Thanks guys :).

[ju-ju- Graduate]

What do you want to aim for? Perhaps sign up for a race and train for a 10k or further? Then your training plan will dictate your runs?