Ive decided to use a crosstrainer instead of the pavement until I feel my knees are ready again. I did wk2 r1 today.

[Flart]

I kept walk to 5mph and jog to 6mph. Is this ok? I felt ok when id finished. I did 2.77miles in about 30 mins.Before i did the knee exercises and after i did stretching. If anyone else does it this way can you see if this is ok. thanks

[Mitts Graduate]

I'll be interested to hear the answers here too, I cross-trainered quite a bit before Christmas - I know it's supposed to be less impact-heavy than normal running - how much 'easier' is it than actual 'proper' running? And the diffs between the crosstrainer and treadmill??

I can't remember what my times and settings were, Flart, but I usually did about 3K at resistance 2 or 3.

Good luck with your knees, mine are sort of betterish now, I've been foamrollering as well and it's helped.

[Flart in reply to Mitts]

Foamrolling sounds errm rude but im glad it helped.he he. Cross training is low impact so you dont get the jaring on your joints , so im sticking with it for now to see how i get on. Im taking my time and if im a bit stiff i will give it another day. Might have a go at jogging when i get to my caravan (opens agin in March) can run along the towpath then. No stressing over it. life is far toooooo short to stress, Hope your knees get back to form soon .x

[sfb350 Graduate]

I'm not sure that cross-trainer-ing is easier as such. I used the cross trainer a lot when I had hip bursitis as it avoided the impact that running has and I would say it works different muscles. It's more similar to off-road running than to road running, in that you tend to lift your knees more and are therefore using muscles further up the legs. If it works for you at the moment then it's a good thing. Perhaps add in some strengthening exercises before you hit the road as this will help avoid future injury.

Good luck.

[Flart in reply to sfb350]

I have been doing knee exercises i got them from this site cant link to it sorry. They have helped tremendously. I really couldnt go through the pain i had. I had to wear tubi grips on my knees for 2 wks and also took a lot of painkillers and anti-inflamatory tablets as well. not going there again. so if i cant run at least I know i can use a cross trainer at home . Thanks for your answer.x

[greenlegs Graduate]

I think you answered you own question!

"Is this ok? I felt ok when id finished."

Does it matter what the speed says? I love gadgets, but the most accurate one I've got seems to be my body! I've realised that I can tell if I'm not trying hard enough, or too hard, really quite easily. After being very focused on speed earlier, I'm getting better at thinking in terms of stamina, which I think is a far more useful measure, and going slower allows me to keep going longer (and probably with less likelihood of injury). Though i have no experience of a cross-trainer (not even quite sure what one is, so goodness knows why I'm writing this - blame the enthusiasm of a new runner!)

[Flart in reply to greenlegs]

Some call them eliptical trainers its low impact . sticking with it for now will see how i go. good luck with your running . take care to stretch after and maybe a few warm ups before. advice from graduates on here.x