Obese or just really out of shape? My Couch to 1 mile personal challenge

I wanted to start running. Everyone loves couch to 5k, so I gave it a whirl. Epic fail. Apparently by 'couch' they didn't necessarily mean 'people who typicaly avoid all high impact workouts.' I thought it sounded great. I can do 40 minutes on an elliptical no problem. But wow.

I'm obese, and spent the whole effort with horrible sore, achy knees, shins, and ankles. I discovered that short runs don't bother me, it seems that when the muscles around my joints begin to tire, they don't stabilize me properly and every bone in my legs hurt.

So I took a step backwards to a slower start. I discovered a much more gradual increase in running time keeps my bones happy, and I'm still hoping to eventually work up wo a 5k, just not at the pace of said program : )

My plan: I walk/run a mile. My goal is shorten that time as much as possible. I do the rest of my cardio on low impact machines. I get on the treadmill, warm-up, run until my heart attempts to claw it's way out of me, then walk until my HR is back under 155, repeat. I try and up the speed a bit each time, and the length of running, but only a little. Then cool down. Then head over to an elliptical or bike to get any additional cardio I want. I do the mile every other day. After 3 weeks, my joints haven't hurt yet and the improvement is encouraging. I've gone from a mile time of 19:20 to 16:08. (Not winning any races yet, but I'm still pretty ecstatic about it)

Just my personal message that if you've tried before and decided that you're too big or too out of shape to run, give it another go! If the programs are too much, make your own : )

Lol I tried to do a couch to 5k as well....had to stop because my knees were killing me! I think I am lucky as I have been steadily losing weight just by walking. Instead of taking the bus or train, I opt to walk now. It's been extremely effective, though I dont know how good it will be when I am not at +20% body fat. I actually like jogging so I think once my knees heal up, I will do it the right way ( a little at a time) and work my way up to jogging 5k each morning! Enjoy the sweat! It's a sign of positive change.

Solar....

double post....grrrr.....

Solar.....

I used to think I was too out of shape to run, but I started on the treadmill and have been working my way to a mile. As of this week, I can run a mile without slowing down to a walk. Now I'm trying to increase that to two miles and I'm also trying to get under a 10-minute mile (eventually I'll do both at the same time, lol). If I can be a runner, anyone can.

It is great to take it step by step. I'm in good physical shape, ran cross country in high school, and running is still difficult for me. It sounds like you are doing a great job though! The low impact cardio is great to do. I would recommend  not limiting your running to one mile though. Change it up. Set your goal to 3 miles one day and then do one mile the next and back to 3 the next. Now be sure not to push yourself over your normal working heart rate zone. Do what is comfortable and then when you need take a break then you walk. I think lengthening the walking/jogging distance is going to increase the building of muscles that are used in running and will help with the pain from impact. The longer you work those muscles, the more they will build and the less pain you will have. In the beginning it's not about how long it takes you to do something. Work on your endurance first and then the speed will come after.

If you'd ever like fitness tips, motivation, inspiration, etc., feel free to take a look at my website (listed in my profile here on CC) and click JOIN and sign up for a FREE account with me! I'd love to be able to include you! Having extra motivation when trying to reach a fitness goal helps a ton!

Good Luck!

I started a similar program in March only it was much slower and gentler than the couch to 5k.  I couldn’t run 2 blocks then, now I’m running 3.5 miles 3 times a week.  I still take 1 minute walk breaks every 10 minutes and I run SLOWly, just over 13-minute miles, longer if it’s hot out (as we’ve been having really sticky weather here lately).  When I started I weighed 220 and at 5’5” that’s definitely obese.  I’m down to 195 as of today so still obese but I almost never have a problem with sore knees, ankles or anything.  Like you, I find my progress each week incredibly encouraging!

 So keep it up! 

I couldn't keep up with C25K, either.  I suspect that any overweight, truly sedentary person who was never an althete would have trouble with it.  I was also obese/overweight (right at the borderline) and could do 45 minutes on elliptical, no problem.  I started C25K, but within about 4 weeks, I couldn't keep up.  I started repeating weeks, and I probably could have stayed with that and finished the program, but I got bored, and ended up adapting it to suit me.  It was about 6 months from the time I first started C25K, to when I could actually run a full 5K.  (Pretty slow, but still running.)  Now, I love running.  I'm still about 5 pounds over "normal" weight, but I suspect that will be gone by the time I've finished bringing my weekly base mileage from 14 miles (where it is now) to 20 over the next six weeks.