I’m a bigger girl and decided to give this a go as my husband did really well and lost weight and is still running now. I’ve just finished week 3 run 1 this morning. My knees have been sore the last couple of runs. It’s cause of my weight guaranteed. But my god they’re ridiculously sore now. Where I can’t kneel on them. Feels like they’ve had a sledgehammer to them or something.
Any tips on how not to damage them any further on my runs. Beginning to hurt with every step
Look at the slow jog video on you tube just go super slow. I do also make sure your feet land under you another tip I read. Good luck
Thank you I will x
Yes definitely take it super slowly, when I started I barely lifted my feet up, was more of a moderate shuffle so much less impact than ‘jogging’. Hope your pain eases soon and you can keep walking even if you don’t feel up to ‘running’ x
Thanks I think it could be the impact. Your right. I’ll look into slow jogging. Thanks so much xxx
My left knee is a bit funny sometimes so I bought a support brace off of eBay for like a fiver and it works a treat 😊
Thanks I was thinking of getting one of them
I've got elasticated knee supports. I wore them after having sore knees, and it solved the problem. I'm not currently having to wear them.
Welcome to the forum and well done on your progress.
This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
and includes advice on minimising impact, stretching after every run, hydration and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.
Enjoy your journey.
Thanks. Yano what I’ve not been having a drink before I go out maybe that’s not helped
Having a drink just before you go out has very little effect on a forty minute workout......it is what you drink in the preceding 24hrs that is really significant.
This post explains the crucial nature of hydration to runners healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
Thank you. To be fair I do need to have more fluid intake anyway cause I breastfeed too
I have dodgy knees and I wear a support bandage on both knees also
Try a I’ve pack on them when you get back . It really helps. Well
Done,
Keep
Going
Aw thank you. I’ll try it. I’m quite proud of myself cause I’m not a sporty person. It’s amazing what having kids can make you do ha ha
I do hear you! I started C25K at the start of lockdown! It’s been my sanity! Enjoy it!
Definitely get knee supports and follow the advice above. My knees were playing up (I’m overweight too) and they’ve really helped.
Rymora Knee Support amazon.co.uk/dp/B07S35J37G/...
Thanks tho so much
I found the tip Jo Whilley gives on week 3 to be beneficial. Imagine you are running alongside a hedge and someone is watching you from the other side. They shouldn't be able to tell if you are walking or running, the point being you shouldn't be bouncing. Aside from that, the weight, as you say may be a factor. Are you doing other exercises too? Or calorie counting (works for me). I'm on a weight loss journey myself and found calorie counting, mixed with walking 10k steps daily, plus the couch to 5k has been a good gentle way to start. NOTE: back at the start of my journey I thought I was still a runner and went for a 3 mile jog. It wrecked my calf and gave me pain in a lot of places. I stopped jogging as soon as my calf had pain but it told me to be way more gradual in what I was doing. Good luck!
That’s the part I’m up to. I’ve got Sarah Millican on. Thinking of changing her to be honest ha ha but yeah I’m going to look into how I’m running cause I think I am bouncing. I’m trying weight watchers too.
I love sarah!! Though I do shout at her sometimes!!
Definitely do knee strengthening exercises every day. There are lots on the NHS site and via Iannoda's post.
In addition to the above, do check out that your trainers are suitable, a running shop can do gait analysis and give advice. And also, can you run on softer ground? Even heavily compacted earth (such as a pathway through the woods) is less concussion than the road. If you have to run on the road, country roads often have a bit of a verge of mud, grass, debris - I would run on that where it's safe to do so, just for a bit of a let up.
I live by a park. I run on the tarmac but I’ll try the grass tomorrow thank you
Take a break until they're feeling recovered before your next run even if it means a few rest days. You might benefit from some knee strengthening exercises to do on in between days, I've found these useful when I've had sore knees before
nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/k...
These are some NHS ones but if you get a physio appointment or even over the phone appointment at the moment they'll be able to give you some more specific to you.
I'd say take your time, if you're in a lot of pain then listen to your body and rest, don't worry about doing 3 runs in a week its more important not to injure yourself
Thanks x I’ll look into the knee exercises. I didn’t think running could be so complicated ha ha
I had the same issue I was fifteen and a half stone, you have to remember when you run it’s the equivalent of outing three times your body weight through your knees, I joined SlimmingWorld and lost three stone and steered again no problems so far, also make sure you have the proper running shoes
I’ll check the shoes. I got them from decathlon.
If you can get advice from someone who knows what they are talking about I’m lucky as we have a local running shop ( Derby runner ) a running shop can sort you the correct fitting shoes for your type of foot they can be expensive but if you’re serious about running it’s a must, you really need to look at foot wear hope this helps and good luck
Happens to many early on. It’ll go. Take ibuprofen. I took it an hour before runs and carried on but you might want to rest more. It only lasts a couple of weeks. Knee supports are useless IMO.
Might get the gels. I can’t take the tablet. Thank you
I do worry about taking painkillers to get through exercise. Especially ibuprofen which can cause stomach problems. A bit of gel from time to seems ok.
What piaffesal said. Shoes. I'm 14 stone and my knees were really painful at first. I got my gait analysed and some proper shoes and the pain vanished.
Had the same problem in week two. I’m overweight with a right knee where the patella is worn and wonky. It became sharp pains so had to rest for a couple weeks till it went away. Now when I run I tape my patella and run with a knee support. I tried the Rymora knee support ... it’s like a compression bandage which was ok but not enough support for me so after a few tries I ended up with FitFitaly Knee Support for Men and Women - Brace for Patella, Ligaments and Meniscus with Satin Bag (Large - L) amazon.co.uk/dp/B07J1RXBS8/... Found it really good and has stopped any further issues beyond the norm. If you do get one beware the one size fits all type .... if you have chubby knees the centre strap around the back of the knee is always too short. Another help is a tube of the rub in Voltorol gel when needed and ice packs after running.
Shoes .... get some good ones. I was advised wide fit but found my feet moved around in the shoe too much which made the skin on bottom of my feet sore. I was also told I had a slight pronation so get supportive shoes. I’m pretty sure that the Hoka Gaviotta Wide encouraged my knee issue. Then tried Hoka Bondi which are super cushioning but seem to tire the leg quicker. Have ended up with a pair of Saucony Triumph ISO 5 which were half price of the Hoka’s and which I’m finding really comfy. Trust me when I say the whole shoe thing is a whole minefield of things you didn’t want to know but can make a difference! 🙄 Don’t even get me started on sports bras 😂😂
I got a good cheap sports bra from decathlon.
Maybe when this lockdown is over I need to go to a proper sports shop and check some trainees out and I’ll deffo look into some knee supports thank you so much for the all the advice
Well done for getting out there. My advice would be listen to your body and take more rest days. You can always leave 2 days between runs, or more. There's no shame in completing the programme at a slower pace. You can always continue to walk on days between runs to get your step count in, and add in stretches as already suggested. Ice also worked for me. Just give yourself time to heal as you go, and good luck!
Thanks. I think maybe your right. I do need to start walking more in between days
I also had trouble around the same time as you - I sought advice from my Dad who’s an avid runner - he suggested that you continue with your warm-up walk but also make sure you stretch out your calf muscles before and after your training session. This will help to loosen them up a bit 
Also make sure you have really supportive trainers as sometimes that can have an effect on your joints x
Aw tell him thanks. I’ll do what he says and See how it goes. I didn’t think I had to stretch cause of the warmup walk ha ha. Naive or what ha ha
Hi there.. that happened to me once before when I used to run regularly.. an experienced runner advised me to go to a good running goods shop and the owner was a Chiropractor he watched me running and said it was my gait and I needed the right running shoes to compensate .. needless to say I bought the shoes and after a short rest tried them out slowly and that seemed to do the trick ... not necessarily your cause but it could be your running posture... hope this helps 😊
Yano what. I said to my husband the other day I had realised I ran leaning forward that I had to consciously tell myself to stand straighter.
I had the same problem - had about 4-5 days rest then started the knee exercises for runners on the NHS website as well as taking a small amount of ibuprofen. Also bought a tubigrip support from boots which helped. It will get better - keep going!!!!! x
Thank you. I’m hoping i can get through it. I’m not giving to just yet. I actually like it
I also had a really sore knee when I started. Mine hurt on the inside. I wore a strong support bandage for the first 3 or 4 weeks and got ‘cushioning support’ Trainers from Brookes, which have helped. I have very flat feet. Now on week 7 which I never thought I or my knees would get to!!bit of Pain still there but now only after the run and day after, and it’s gone by the next running day. So getting better! Keep going, you are doing brilliantly!! But perhaps buy a knee support. Mine is bright pink 😀😀😀 I am going to start the knee strengthening g exercises soon- could not do them before as my knee hurt too much!!
Omg I’ve got really flat feet too. Deffo gonna get support for my knees I think x
Hi there, I am also a big girl 20 st to be exact, my knees were sore and they crunch a lot before I started, so thought I’d try this to help me become fitter, but I’ve had to give the C25K a rest because of knee trouble the same as u have described, I got to week 2 run 2, and had a week off as my knee was so sore, tried to do it again but started week 1 again to see if it helped, but had to stop again. I have given in and phoned the docs, so waiting on a call back. Really didn’t want to bother the docs at this time but the pain is bad at times. I have bought myself a knee brace thing ( which does help a bit esp as my knee seems to pop in and out with a loud crack) and I use some gel on it and ice pack. I hope ur knees get better.XX
Hey you got out there and tried. Well done. It’s hard isn’t it cause you battle your own thoughts before you even go out and battle it physically. And then the pain doesn’t help. Yeah get the Drs to help you and you can start again. At least you know you can do it xxx
Well done so far 👏😊
Knee exercises for defo once you're able, you may need to take a few days off for now until your poor knees feel better...I do stretching out after running. I started with half a dozen general ones the NHS recommended then every time I had a niggle I googled strengthening exercises for that area and added them in, I do a fair few now! 😅
I'd say in general, take it slow and then if needs be go a bit slower again, get used to plenty of fluids, not just on run day but every day...I have a water bottle by me all the time these days.
Also, I'd say if you need to take an extra rest day and run every third day until you get used to running then do that...you want to get fit in a healthy way that suits you and your body.
Good luck 👍
Thank you xxx I’ll go on the nhs website. I’m going to deffo have to start stretches I think too
Sounds like you need to rest them because the more you run on them they will only get worse, leaving longer periods between runs may help too. I have sore shins and I leave 3 days in between runs now. Even try to ice them when you get back. Don’t give up just listen to what your body is telling you x
Will do xxx
Rest until your knees are okay. Then do knee strengthening exercises. NHS give stretches for after running and knee strengthening exercises. I stopped after week 2 after hurting my knee, then started again, now finishing week 3. My thighs hurt instead but that's muscle pain and won't cause injury. The stretches afterwards really help me too.
Good luck!
Your amazing ....do not give up .....you can do this
Kids,breast feeding,running your awesome
Your going to have sore knees......we all get sore knees(don’t we?).listen to your body ...you can give it some help
Good fitted trainers (splash out you deserve it)......vital
Good diet and fluids.....vital
Watch you tube video on running slow
Determination ....you have that
Sense of humour 😂
Good luck you’ve got this......it will change your life 👍🏼
Omg thank you xxx my boys are the reason I’m running. My dad died on me when he was only 42. In 38 and have the same high cholesterol as he did. It’s in the family. I don’t wanna die on my babies.
I’m going to check out videos in a min. The trainees I will look into cause I need to go get my feet analysed by the sounds of it. Oh and I’ve deffo got a sense of humour. Got to laugh haven’t ya xxx thank you xxx
I want to thank every single one of you for your advice. Just on my way back from my run. I watched a slow jogging video last night, ran partly on the grass and a lot slower and I did it. No pain I survived. Thank you all xxx
Really well done!! I did the week7-1 earlier and my knee decided that today was the day it was going to give up on me. Had to limp home!!!! Very embarrassing. If only I had followed my own advice and done the knee exercises from the start. Going to take a few days off- or longer I expect until it’s better. Hopefully you won’t be as stupid as me and will do the exercises!! Best of luck- you can, and will, do it!! X
Get support for your knees, use a gel or spray on the sore area and more importantly check you have the correct footwear.
Sore knees!
Sore knee, should I stop?
Sore knees 😢
Sore knees
Sore knees!
