Anyone else terrible at running/jogging?

Okay, it probably doesn't help that I'm a smoker, but seriously... I can only run/jog like 0.2 or 0.3 miles before I have to stop and walk for a bit. What am I doing wrong? I'm out of shape but I'm not out of a healthy BMI (I'm at like 24), and my weight - while on the higher side - is still in the healthy range for my height and age.

So why can't I run? Why do I struggle so much to get only 0.2 miles?

I would like to add that I am not an extremely heavy smoker. Probably smoke 6-8 cigs a day (I know I should quit and I'm definitely cutting back).

Maybe you're just not used to it. practice alot, and you'll get better.

im not so good with miles, but about a year ago i began trying to run and i couldnt go more than 2 minutes. eventually that time got longer and longer, and now on a good day i can run for about half an hour. im hoping to bring that up to an hour this year.

just take it slow...practice!

Running is hard!! I can only run one mile at a time and I've really worked to get there. I would recommend to start by trying to run for four minutes straight. Then walk for 2 or 3 min and then run another 4 minutes and just keep doing that. Sometimes up it to running a 5 minute interval. If you keep at it everyday you'll get better but it takes time. Good luck!!

Don't worry - there's nothing wrong with you at all! My BMI is around 22, I'm young, athletic, but just horribly out of shape. I haven't exercised since September, so I definitely can't run far. This past week I just started (I run around lakes that are 4.2 miles total), and I had to walk the whole way for the first time. If you're athletic, you'll improve quickly. With just a week of doing it, I can already jog at least 2/3 of the way. In another week, hopefully I can make it the whole way running! It's definitely intimidating when people pass you constantly, but I try to convince myself that soon enough I'll be one of the faster people :-) Good luck, and don't give up!

Join the rest of us on the Couch to 5K plan - running is a skill like any other, and the more you practice it the easier it gets.

I smoked for 15 years AND I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO QUIT....had quit for 8 before I started C25K and the first 30 SECOND run I thought my lungs/head/heart would EXPLODE!  Now I'm training for a half marathon. 

Yeah, its definately the smoking.

I'll not tell you to quit.

Go at the running slowly, it will improve.  But, as a smoker, you'll max out your ability pretty quickly.

Everyone has to start somewhere. I'm now a competitive cross country runner, but a little over two years ago, I could just barely manage a minute of jogging without walking. And I was at a healthy BMI, too. It just takes a while to build up the endurance base needed to run long distances. The smoking is definitely working against you, but I'm sure you know that.

Like a lot of people here, I started with the Couch to 5k plan. It really does work! I know it's frustrating to have to very slowly advance to running longer distances without stopping, but eventually it does get easier. For me, once I was able to continuously run for twenty minutes, my endurance increased a lot faster. Think of it as incentive to stay in shape so you don't have to go through that again!

hi smoofinator this probably won't be very popular with the group, but here goes... I have tried to get into running/jogging for - oh, about 25 years or so... I just can't work up any distance/stamina.

I've come to think that running is just not for me. I know everyone will say that you just have to be persistent, but as an additional perspective, I was a competitive skater from age 3 to 21 - I was a fantastic jumper/spinner but did get winded with even a 5 minute program. Additionally, I have a black-belt in Tae Kwon Do...I was never able to build up much aerobic stamina there either, although I did make it to the black belt with other competencies.

I'd encourage you to persevere as others will and have. But, I did want you to know that someone else out here just doesn't respond to running - even though she is quite athletic and has lost 30 pounds in the past 6 months :)

heres the thing with smoking and running ( i think). it is going to make it harder. period.  you can do it, but getting your wind where you want it will take way longer for you then another beggining runner whos not smoking. I smoke to, and I'm a runner. when i started running I was smoking about 6 to 7 cigarettes  day, but the running made me smoke less (like 2-3). it was unconscious, it just came with planning my day around  the run and knowing what felt best, but I never said, ok, your gonna smoke less today. you'll be able to get where you want to go with your running,  it will just be a... challenge. The choice is basically up to you, for me, the smoking didn't and doesn't have to be an issue unless I make it one. I know that it can be frustrating though. 

I've never smoked, so I really can't address that, but I think that the former smokers' take on that is relevent. Still, I knew smokers back in my military days who could both smoke and run.

Putting smoking aside, I can also recommend the Couch to 5k program. If you can't run now, in nine weeks, if you're diligent in following it, you will be able to run 5k without stopping. There are some excellent podcasts out there that will help you with something to listen to while you run and give you cues for when to run and when to walk.

I was one of em dreadfulpenny... I was smoking around 1/2 (or more) of a pack a day then.  My worst pft ever was a 270 (out of 300 so a really good score), and my run is what scored me that low.  26 min 3 mile if I remember right.  It was painful since before my daughter I was burning out 6 min or less miles, smoking (lol pun) the guys on my run time.  I'd quit smoking the day I found out and wasn't restarted at that point so it was just being out of shape. 

Just have to start slow and make sure the pace you're at is good and not too fast.

What I have to say here may not be liked but here goes.

I honestly believe that knowing how to breath properly while running is a key factor.  Yes, smoking, even a little, does diminish your lung efficiency but my understanding is that it's the chest muscles more than lung efficiency that's the problem (I'm an asthma sufferer and when I've tried running I end up having pains along the sides of my chest cavaty not the lungs themselves). Just like any other form of exercise, we train the muscles to work properly.

I would try yoga, toe touching and sit ups to help strengthen the abdominal wall besides breathing exercises used to help asthma sufferers.

 Running isn't the single indicator of "real ultimate fitness Zomg!!111eleven!!11!!" anyway, it's just one activity that's been built up as such through the misguided works of Kenneth Cooper* in his 1968 book "Aerobics" and similar gurus. 

 Running is something you need to get in shape to do though, the natural human mode of locomotion is a walk - it's why you need to follow a program like Learn to Run if you want to stay injury-free rather than just picking up and head out the door at top speed.

 If you wanna do it, there are training programs to build your speed and/or endurance, but running long distances has a net-zero or negative impact on the anaerobic endurance you need for martial arts, and the AMPK-mediated cellular adaptations from it deactivates the mTOR-mediated adaptations for strength training so endurance adaptations compete with strength adaptations, meaning you can get better at one or the other but not both at once. So pick a priority in your training, you can't do it all.

 Bottom line, running is a sport, not a marker of health and using it as the ultimate measure of fitness is as silly as using your deadlift poundage or your golf score. Or the length of time you can hold a yoga pose.

(*Cooper re-evaluated his stance after his buddy Jim Fixx died while out running and now recommends that you get most of your cardio as walking, and that 50% of your exercise should be in the form of strength training once you pass the age of 45-50.)

Thanks a lot! I really thought I was alone here, but I appreciate all the feedback. I've never been good at running (sprinting? Yes, but only VERY short distances and only a few times). My motto used to be, "The only time you'll see me running is if I'm being chased!"

I guess I'd just like to prove to myself that I am, indeed, one of those people that can do it....and eventually do it well.

Thanks for the input everyone. I do feel better, and more motivated to continue at a comfortable pace for my body.

My opinion:

CONTROL YOUR BREATHING :)

It's the most important thing when running.

And also don't forget: running is a psichological struggle with yourself. You should talk to yourself and tell "no, you are not going to stop. Maybe reduce speed, control breathing better, but not stop"  ;)

Good luck!! Keep us informed on the progress!! :)

Running is definitely something that some people just can't adjust too.  I trained for several months to get in the army about 5 years ago and It took me at least a month before I could even get a mile,  and another couple of months to do a couple of miles.  Your body really has to get used to the cardio, even if you aren't an unhealthy BMI, your heart needs to be conditioned to take that kind of constant exertion. 

Also I agree with misterbondpt, running is 80% psychological.  If you can stay in your head, and keep cheering your self on, eventually your body will get to the point where it is used to getting pushed to work harder.  When I ran, i can't now because of injury:(   I used to concentrate on the pattern of my breathing, and that kept my mind off of the fact that my lungs were burning like hell (and i don't and haven't ever smoked).  Give it a few weeks, and you'll be able to go further.

My advice? Get over it.

You're not doing anything wrong. BMI isn't fitness. Fitness isn't running. Just because you're relatively healthy doens't mean you can run for ages and ages. Running is a skill, like any other. It gets better with time.

1. The smoking doesn't help, no, but a lot of people who don't smoke can't run either.

2. Running is difficult.  It can be painful and very, very unenjoyable.

3. Most people CAN run, eventually.  I started at running one minute.  I got up to running 30 min and ran a 5k last June.  It sucked.  I hated every single second of it.  But I did it.  And then...

4. I realized running wasn't for me.  I'm not a runner.  I am not a runner.  I wanted to be because I thought it was some holy grail of working out.  Maybe, maybe not, but in any event, it's not the exercise for me.  I may go back to it later, when I'm in a bit better shape (I wasn't in great shape by any stretch when I ran 5k, but I still did it) but I'd personally rather do something that I enjoy, that still gets my heart rate up, and that I can stick to.

I agree with Lizziekins.. Start out slow.  I couldn't even run 5 minutes and now I can run 60 minutes straight.  Start out with 1 minute running and them walk 2 minutes and then 1 minute again and so on.  Then try to get it up to 2 minutes.  Put a towel over the numbers on the treadmill.  Put on some good upbeat music on your ipod and soon you will lose track of the time.  Try to imagine that you don't have any legs and that you are floating.  Pretty soon the movement becomes monotanous and you feel no pain.

STOP SMOKING!!!! I am into my 3rd year of quiting and I don't even miss it.  I quit cold turkey and it is the best thing I ever did.  I had been smoking for 20 years.

Good Luck!

i hate running..... it makes me want to die. but its not the only cardio workout :) try a cross/eliptical trainer, cycling or a rowing machine. i find interval training on the rowing machine the most effective. i only run as a warm up and cool down.

I was recently in your shoes. After deciding to get back into shape, I hit the treadmill, planned to do a walk-run switching every 2 laps for 30 minutes. After about half a lap, I was completely exhausted and quickly switched my goals to something more doable. Now, two months later, I can run a 5K in just a little over 30 minutes (and I am smoking, and I am turning 40 on Thursday). I recommend you take baby steps and add a little bit of distance each time (forget about speed). Does it come easy? No. Are there times during my run when I just want to quit? Absolutely, more times than I would like to admit. What motivates me to keep going is the prospect of that most wonderful feeling afterwards. That feeling of having won the fight against that inner voice saying "you can't; you can't; you can't", proving to myself that I can kick butt if I want to. After a good run, I walk on cloud nine for the rest the day. Unfortunately, sometimes I just don't have what it takes. Maybe, I drank too much water or ate too much too close to the run. Sometimes, I have to get to the bathroom during my run. If I cannot run a full 5K, I make sure I challenge myself with very brisk walking on an incline (e.g., 4.2/4.5).

If running does not give you any pleasure (either while running or afterwards), consider getting your cardio through rebounding/jogging on a mini-trampoline. It supposedly burns equal amounts if not more calories than jogging and is a lot of fun.