Can jog for only 2 mins! Need help,advice!

E

ellebelle

0
Hi,

I am 24 years old, stand 4 feet 11 inches tall and weigh 116 pounds. I have decided to lose a good few pounds by jogging regularly.

The problem is that I cannot jog for more than 2 mins! I get out of breath and experience severe pain in my calves. Is this normal or is something wrong with me?

I have since stopped jogging and started walking for 2km this past week.

I have never been the outdoor kind and have never palyed any sport. This is my first attempt at physical activity.

I have realised that I lead an unhealthy lifestyle and want to put a stop to it.

Any advice and tips will be much appreciated.

Thanks a million!
 
The problem is that I cannot jog for more than 2 mins! I get out of breath and experience severe pain in my calves. Is this normal or is something wrong with me?
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It's very normal ... don't freak out. :)

IN fact, I'll tell you this: I have been exercising pretty regularly for nearly 2 years and this year I decided I wanted to run a 5k. I thought it would be easy, since I had been exercising for a while. When I started to run, I could only go 3 mins at a time before I started to get a stitch in my side and stood there gasping in pain.

If you've never been active before you shouldn't expect to be able to just run. In fact you shouldn't expect to jump into ANY type of exercise w/out building up slowly. If you try to just do it all now, you'll injure yourself and and set yourself back even more.

Start slowly. There is a great program called Couch to 5k that you can find online () and it starts you off slowly. You walk for a minute and run for a minute and repeat that 6 times. By the end of the 12 weeks, you should be able to run for 25 minutes at a time. I have been doing it for 7 weeks, but I repeated week 3 and week 4 twice.

Even just starting out walking at first. Walk briskly until your heart is beating fast and you're breaking a sweat. When you can do that for 20-30 mins, then start adding in a bit of running.

There's no hurry here ... building up slow and steady is the best way to safely add exercise to your life.
 
Thankyou!

Hey Kara!

Thanks a mill for replying to my post.

I went through the 'Couch To 5k' page and found it very helpful! I think it is just what I need.

I am so relived and happy now!

Thank you!

One more question though, it would be very helpful if you could give me a few tips on how to keep myself motivated. I really do want to get into shape and I am prepared to do the hard work but the one thing that deters me is the weather. I live in Dublin, Ireland and it is so so cold! I am not used to the cold and that is what holds me back everytime!

Again, any advice and tips will be much appreciated.

Thanks again! :)
 
Oh I love Dublin. I was there a few years ago to visit and fell in love with the city!

Ok, as far as motivation, here's something that I posted in another thread recently. This is my whole philosophy on motivation. :)

You know ... here's how I look at it, and it's a bit of a different take from most people who encourage you to stay positive and think about the good things and all that jazz to stay motivated.

Some mornings when you get up, you feel great and you're excited to go to work or get on with your daily routine and you're energized and motivated, right?

And some mornings you get up and you didn't sleep well and you feel bad or you're upset about something or you've got cramps and feel bloated ... and you really just want to go back to bed and hide under the covers. But .. you don't. And it has nothing to do with being excited or motivated or energized. You get up and go to work or care for the kids or go to school or whatever because that's what we do. That's what a responsible, mature adult does.

And that's how I look at the whole process of eating well, losing weight, and exercising. Some days I feel really good about it. Some days I have great ideas for what to fix for dinner and I enjoy the challenge and the gym is fun and .. it all is just GREAT. And some days I look at the yogurt in my bowl in the morning and think "Bleah." Some days I get in my car after work and think "I just want to go home" and then I drive to the gym and do my workout.

It's not always fun. It's not always what you WANT to do. But if you are honest with yourself and if you are responsible and sensible ... you do it. Just like everything in life.
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And really that's how I feel about motivation. Everyone thinks that they have to be motivated all the time on a diet. And I think that's silly - no one is motivated and positive about ANYTHING all the time. That doesn't mean we don't do those things ... we pay our taxes, get up in the morning, go to work, clean the toilets, cook dinner and do the dishes ... and no one ever says "tell me how to stay motivated to do housework". :) We just accept that it's part of life and needs to be done.

And that's how you should look at exercise and eating healthily. Some days you'll love it, some days you'll hate it, but you'll do it because it's the right thing to do.
 
Kara is right... I was in the same boat as you at first!

I did the run for 2 minutes walk for 3. run for 2 walk for three... and I think you will be pleasantly suprised how quickly your endurance picks up.

It's been about a year since I started working out again, but now I can jog 6-7 miles without taking a break... it's awesome.

As far as motivation... I think you will see improvements in your endurance and those are great for confidence and to keep you motivated.

Good Luck!
 
Advice needed...again! :)

Hey!

Kara,your take on motivation is so different and sensible! It is something that I can totally relate to. For the first time I think I can find it in me to get up, go out and exercise even though nothing about it excites me! :) Thanks for the advice!

I have another issue that I hope you can help me with... I am on a diet which I have no trouble following when I am at home, but when I go out to dinner at friends' places, I do know what to do..! On one hand I find it rude to tell them that I will not eat what they offer me as I am on a diet, on the other hand I don't want to eat all those calories and mess up my diet...! What can I do?

As always, any advice and tips will be appreciated!

Jess, thanks so much for the motivation! :) You said that you have been running for a while now, so could you please tell me if all that running has helped you lose a good few pounds? Together with keeping fit, I want to lose the extra pounds, will jogging/running help me for sure?

Deciding to join this forum was one of the best things that I have done! I am getting advice from people who have been in the same situation like me and that in itself is a huge motivation for me! :)

Thanks a ton for all the advice and encouragement! :)
 
Yeah ... going out to eat can mess things up. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and eat what you're offered, especially when it's friends who aren't concerned wtih healthy eating and fix things that are really calorie heavy.

Just sort of keep a mental tab of what you're eating and make sure to put it in your log for the day - estimate what you can. Eat a little less if it's really fattening, try to eat more of the less fattening things. And hopefully you're not eating over at friend's houses every night.

Otoh, if you are eating at other's houses a lot and it's really interfering with your ability to eat sensibly, I see nothing wrong with telling your friends that you need to change the way you eat going forward. If they ARE your friends, they'll understand.

I don't think this is an option for the acquaintances who you eat out with or for someone like your boss - in those cases if you get invited to dinner, you just suck it up and maybe run an extra 15 mins the next day. :) But real friends - they should understand and encourage you and offer to help.
 
Question!

Hi Kara,

I am following the Couch to 5k plan and I have been wondering how is it that you timed yourself. I tired using the stopwatch on my cell phone but it did not work well for me, I am using an analog watch now but this is not working either. Do you have any suggestions?

Also, could you tell me if I will be successful in losing weight if I stick to the plan?

Thanks a mill for all your advice and tips.
 
Hey there.

I actually use the podcasts by Robert Ullrey. He's set up 30-40 minute playlists and throughout the playlist he comes on and says "now it's time for your 60 second run" .. and "now it's time to slow to a brisk walk" ... it's not intrusive, just a reminder. That way I don't have to keep checking my ipod or my watch or whatever. There are other podcasts as well that are centered around C25k that have musical cues or chimes or whatever when you switch from walk to run.

AS far as losing weight ... I'm not using the C25k plan to lose weight. I make it part of my cardio, but I can't track whether or not it, by itself is effective. I know that if I stick to eating right, run 3x a week, and lift weights 2x a week I do lose weight. But I can't say that running the program will work for anyone else. Sorry I can't be more help there.
 
Gaining weight instead of losing it! Please help! I am terrified now! :(

Hi Kara,

As you know, I am female, 4"11 and weigh 116 pounds (used to). This is how I have progressed the past couple of months (July-August).

I joined this forum in July after finding out that I was over weight by a few pounds and deciding to lose it by jogging.

Given below are my measurements...

Weight in July: 52.8 kgs or 116 pounds (Ideal Weight: 46.2 kgs-57.5kg)
Fat Index: 28.7% (Normal Fat Index: 17-24%)
Fat Mass: 15.1 kgs or 33 pounds (Normal Fat Mass: 7.7-11.9kg or 16-26 pounds)

I started jogging and had to stop because I injured my knee. I also started going for swimming classes once a week. In total, I exercised for a total of 9 days in July (swimming included). In August, I exercised for a total of 14 days (swimming included). During these two months I have let my diet slip, I have been eating a lot more than normal.

My usual diet consists of rice, bread, pasta, white meat and potatoes. I try to avoid fried food and desserts.

I kept checking my weight regularly at home and the scale showed that I was a couple of pounds lesser than 116 or stagnant at 116. I thought that this was normal as I wasn't following a rigorous exercise routine.

I checked my weight yesterday at a pharmacy and found that I had gained 5 pounds!!!! I could not believe what I was seeing, as even though I had not stuck to my exercise or diet plan, I was exercising for the first time ever and I had hoped that I had lost atleast half a pound or at the very least not gained any weight! On closer inspection I found that even though by weight had increased, my Fat Index and my Fat Mass had reduced... Is that a reason for joy or more sorrow? :( Am I gaining muscle and losing fat?

Given below are my latest measurements...

Current Weight: 55.2 kgs or 121 pounds (Ideal Weight: 46.2 kgs-57.5kg)
Fat Index: 23.5% (Normal Fat Index: 17-24%)
Fat Mass: 12.9 kgs or 28 pounds (Normal Fat Mass: 7.7-11.9kg or 16-26 pounds)

I know that I need to stick to a more rigourous exercise and diet plan to lose weight. I know that I need to be more committed to see more favourable results.

What I hope someone can sort out is if a reduced Fat Index and Fat Mass is an indication that I am doing something right...!

Thanks in advance!
 
All you still running? Your knees ok? Sometimes you really have to push pass the out of breath feeling. I've been running for years and the first 2 min is always hard. After that you can run forever. The calves, I would say maybe it's the unused muscles getting a workout. It'll be better after you've exercised them more. Keep at it alright? :)
 
Hey Sarah...

This is the first time ever that I am doing some sort of exercise, so I decided to follow the C25K plan. I started it a couple of days back and my knee has started acting up again.

I jogged the day before yesterday and the knee was pretty bad yesterday. I used a cold pack on it and it seem ok today.

I will be jogging tomorrow so I hope it holds up.

Any tips on minimising the 'intense burning' in my calves while I jog?

By 'Sometimes you really have to push pass the out of breath feeling', did you mean that one needs to continue running even though they are ready to drop down on their knees and crawl on all fours? :)
 
Any tips on minimising the 'intense burning' in my calves while I jog?
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Stretch after. For some reason a lot of people stretch before running and not after ... which is the total opposite of what you should do. Pre-run stretching is not really all that useful. Post run stretching helps lengthen the muscles and increase blood flow. You'll really feel a difference after a couple of runs.
 
Ah .. that's possible. Dehydration cramps are painful. Also think about eating a banana either before or after your run. Sometimes the hit of potassium and other vitamins can help! :)
 
Hey El, I would say it's probably your running form that's causing you trouble. I think since your muscles aren't very strong right now, you tend to be a bit negligent of your form and put alot of pressure on your knees.

Right now you have to go easy because your knees are slightly injured. But it's a good time to tailor your form. Run for a few minutes and try out different forms and gaits. The correct way for you personally to run is the way that cause you the least pain in your knees. Being slightly injured, the different levels of pain is more pronounced so it's a good time to adjust your form. But don't run too long!

Usually, the right way is to not let your muscles be lazy. Using them is the best way to reduce impact on your knees. Let your thighs and calves to the work. For me, I land mostly on my forefoot. That would really work your calves though. But many people agree it's a good way to save your knees.

Take it easy for now until your knees are all healed up. Run just a few minutes to test your gait. I hope you feel better.

By 'Sometimes you really have to push pass the out of breath feeling', did you mean that one needs to continue running even though they are ready to drop down on their knees and crawl on all fours?
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I have the best time running 5-10 min into run. That's when I really hit my stride. But I started running when I was a kid and was always too proud to stop before my brother. You'll start to enjoy running too. Don't give up! Try 3 min next time, then 4, then 5. Your calves will get better. Let them rest for a day or two between runs. They'll be ok in a few weeks. Or your can look up exercises to strengthen them too to speed up the process. And like Kara said, stretch alot after your runs.
 
Last edited:
Ellski said:
The problem is that I cannot jog for more than 2 mins! I get out of breath and experience severe pain in my calves. Is this normal or is something wrong with me?
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This is not normal. To me, this sounds like a calcium deficiency.

How much dairy calcium do you take in per day, in mg? It should be somewhere between 1100-1300mg. Note that lowfat dairy does not include less calcium, it's just the same as the higher fat versions. If you don't want to increase dairy intake, then consider the 500mg calcium supplement tablets.
 
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