How to build up to starting

[Jan_G]

I'm a seriously overweight asthmatic, with ruptured crutiates in one knee. I've been reading through a lot of the posts about starting that talk about bring able to speak whilst running. At the moment I can't do that whilst walking at a moderate pace. I have a treadmill at home that I try to use everyday to build my stamina but I'm not feeling any improvement. Any tips on what I could be doing to help getting to a point where I can start c25k?

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Welcome to the forum and well done on your intention.

This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5....

and includes advice on building up to running by walking, minimising impact, stretching after every run, hydration and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.

Start by building up your stamina by brisk walking, but do it at a pace at which you ca clearly hold an unstuttering conversation. This will ensure that your blood is fully oxygenated, which will maximise your development. Faster will not be better.

Enjoy your journey.

[roseabi]

Hi! Welcome back to the community!! I see you posted here a couple of years ago.

Could you tell me a bit about what you are doing on your treadmill?

I would suggest that a daily walking habit would be your best first step to better fitness, and you would need to challenge yourself by, for a couple of examples, increasing the time you spend walking gradually; and including brisk walking.

What do you think?

xxx

[Jan_G in reply to roseabi]

Thanks. I have the treadmill set to a slight incline and I'm walking around 20mins a day (on top of my normal activities) to get the 10k steps in. I'm trying to increase the speed that I'm walking but if I go more than around 3.5kph I get seriously out of breath after a very short period of time. I'll try your suggestion to see if it helps.

[roseabi in reply to Jan_G]

Maybe try doing 3.5+ kph for just 30 seconds at a time (after a warm up at a slower pace, and taking a rest afterwards by walking very slowly for a few minutes), and see if you can work up to more. You could also increase your step goal. I appreciate this all takes up more time, but if you can possibly fit more in it's so worth it!

John's suggestion below to try a walking version of Couch to 5k is a good idea too.

All the best, and keep us posted! xxx

[Jan_G in reply to roseabi]

Thanks again. BTW I looked back at my previous post which was about starting keto. It didn't really work for me, but that's me. I'm pleased to say that despite the lockdown, whilst still being overweight I am better than on that post 2 years ago so something is going well.

[roseabi in reply to Jan_G]

That's really good - it's always helpful to look back and see progress, well done!

I wouldn't get on with keto either 😂

[Kiai Graduate in reply to Jan_G]

If it helps, I did my C25K on a walking pad (0% incline so was easier) which only goes up to a speed of 3.75mph. I can even do a very slow jog at 3.5mph which is the jog speed I still begin with (after a 5 min warm up walk that is) and then I move up to 3.75 mph top speed for my main part of the jog. The treadmill is gentler on the knees, which helps as I’m also overweight. Since the end of C25K I also mix in outdoor jogs where i can go a bit faster at times and I’m doing some Parkruns in around 46-48 minutes (no where bear last). My message is don’t be concerned about speed, just build the stamina to maintain a pace even if that slow jog pace is slower than a brisk walk(!); there is still a point to it/a benefit because it’s a different exercise when both feet are in the air even if for a split second at a time, is still more physically demanding than walking at the same speed, plus it also still feels like a marvellous achievement and a thrill to do a gentle slow jog non-stop for 30 mins in week 9, and in time non-stop jog around a 5K parkrun; both of which I never imagined I would be able to do. I hope you find the slow jogging video on this forum; I found very useful. You might benefit from walking+brisk walking part/all of the C25K programme first as has been mentioned. Best of luck, you can do it!

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

" I have a treadmill at home that I try to use everyday to build my stamina but I'm not feeling any improvement"

How are you judging that? What's your criteria?

[Jan_G in reply to John_W]

Hi John. I'm doing around 20mins on the treadmill to top up my steps for the day to a minimum 10k. I have the platform step at a slight incline and for 20 mins I can sustain a speed of around 3 kph. I can get up to 3.5 kph for a short burst but that leaves me breathless. If I try to go above 3.5 kph I get seriously out of breath after an extremely short time to the point that I need to stop and use inhalers. This is despite using the inhaler before I start exercising. I've been at this point for about 2 years neither the speed nor the duration I can maintain the higher speed have progressed. ☹️

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Jan_G]

Do you realise that 3.5 kph is nearly 20% faster than 3.0 kph? Given your condition it's no wonder you can't sustain it. You're making the classic but understandable mistake of focusing on speed.

Here's your homework for the week:

- stick at 3.0 kph and increase the duration of your walk to 22 mins for the next week*.

That's it.That's a simple 10% increase in duration (only) on what you're doing now and should be do-able.

By adding on a bit extra each week, in a sustainable way, you're building your stamina and fitness. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the results in the coming weeks and months.

* an alternative would be to do Week 6 of C25K but stick to 3.0 kph for the running bits and maybe 2.5 kph for the walking bits.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

Here's an idea that should help build your stamina and help you prepare for C25K

- do the C25K program as a purely walking program.

So... instead of brisk walk/jog you do gentle walk/brisk walk.

Brisk walk for all the jogging bits and gentle walk (amble) for all the walking bits.

What do you think?

If you do that, you'll end up being able to briskly walk for 30 minutes and then be in a healthier and stronger position and feeling more confident about doing C25K as walk/jog program.

[Jan_G in reply to John_W]

That's food for thought. I've been working on the basis that average walking speed is 4mph which is around 6.4 kph. So I've been trying to get to this notional average rather than looking at duration. Thanks so much for that I'm sure it will be a big help.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Jan_G]

Forget about what averages are - you have to do what suits YOU! There's no forcing it.

So... forget 3.5 kph. Stick to 3.0 kph and just increase your duration a little bit each week.

So either 22 minutes this week for all your walks OR ... do Week 6 in the way I've described

[shawgreen Graduate]

I wouldn't start running straight away. I would focus on walking as fast as you find comfortable gradually increasing the time until you can walk for 30 minutes at a comfortable conversational pace.

[ACBW Graduate]

Hi Jan, I’m an overweight asthmatic too with a dodgy back and ankle. So I feel your pain. The good news is I successfully completed C25K more than a year ago now and I’m still enjoying the benefits. I upped my walking to get my stamina up before I started and focused on distance at a nice steady pace that felt comfortable.

I opted to walk the route I would probably run which gave me a great opportunity to scope out flatter running routes and any rough pathways that would cause my ankle problems. Then one day I realised I was finding the walk a fair bit easier and broke into a slow jog, just for about 30 seconds.

Then I went home and treated myself some wireless headphones ready for my first run. That was a nice bit of motivation 😁

It’s totally doable and the feeling, when you break into that first slow jog and realise that you are a runner now, is fantastic!

Good luck with your prep phase and I look forward to hearing about your first run, when your good and ready, here on the forum.

[Jan_G]

Thank you so much to everyone who gave advice. I re-read the starter guide and all the various advice and did my first session last night. I decided that I'd start with week 1 but have a 2.5 kph amble for the walks and a 3 kph brisk walk for the run sections. I completed the session and whilst I wasn't so bad I needed additional inhaler doses I was really out of breath at the end. The changes in pace make it a bit harder than staying at the same speed throughout and I wasn't expecting that. At this stage I'm going to work through the programme to build up to the sustained brisk walk then go back to the beginning with an increased speed to get to the run.

Again thank you everyone for the help and advice.