In the beginning, I did it all wrong
May 2nd 2008 02:15
The only thing I did right when I started back running was my treadmill work. Not the fact that I was using a treadmill, but the WAY I was using it.
(Mind you, I didn't really know it was right at the time. Just got lucky...)
I was very unfit and carrying too much weight for my liking. Body image issues made weight loss a top priority. Fortunately for me, I'd heard that 20 minutes per day was all I needed to do to lose weight. Just break that 20 minutes into Low Intensity exercise and High Intensity exercise, in a 3:1 ratio. In other words, do 3 minutes walking, then 1 minute fast running, then 3 minutes walking, then 1 minute fast running, and so on... For me, walking was at 8km/hr, and fast running was anywhere from 12-16km/hr, depending on how I felt.
I chose to do this on the treadmill rather than the road, 'cos it was easier than bundling the kids into the double pram. Also, the tready gave me precise figures (distance, time, calories, speed), that are a little harder to identify on the road. But doing the same exercise on the road would have been just as effective.
(BTW, my treadmill is an Avanti G-Fit T300. It's only a 2hp motor, with a max speed of 16km/hr and a 12 degree motorised incline. It takes up to 125kg and has a 45 x 130cm belt. In my humble opinion, that's about all you need.)
So after about 3 weeks of this, I decided to take my shame to the streets! Most of the time, I took the kids with me (soon to turn 2 & 4, respectively). I had a 4-wheel, side-by-side double pram - a Valco Twin Runabout. It did the job nicely. Most importantly, it gave me an excuse to run so slowly! In my head, I'm sure that onlookers are more forgiving of my pathetic pace, when I'm lugging an extra 30-40kg around!
As with the treadmill, I did a run-walk combination. I ran on the flat and walked up the hills. Seems simple enough, but this is where I started going very wrong. I fell back into some very bad old habits.
In my next post, I'll talk about what those habits were. For now, suffice it to say, if you make the same mistakes I did, you'll be lucky to come away without injury, much less stick to your running and lose weight - all without really trying.
'til next time...
Cheers.
(Mind you, I didn't really know it was right at the time. Just got lucky...)
I was very unfit and carrying too much weight for my liking. Body image issues made weight loss a top priority. Fortunately for me, I'd heard that 20 minutes per day was all I needed to do to lose weight. Just break that 20 minutes into Low Intensity exercise and High Intensity exercise, in a 3:1 ratio. In other words, do 3 minutes walking, then 1 minute fast running, then 3 minutes walking, then 1 minute fast running, and so on... For me, walking was at 8km/hr, and fast running was anywhere from 12-16km/hr, depending on how I felt.
I chose to do this on the treadmill rather than the road, 'cos it was easier than bundling the kids into the double pram. Also, the tready gave me precise figures (distance, time, calories, speed), that are a little harder to identify on the road. But doing the same exercise on the road would have been just as effective.
(BTW, my treadmill is an Avanti G-Fit T300. It's only a 2hp motor, with a max speed of 16km/hr and a 12 degree motorised incline. It takes up to 125kg and has a 45 x 130cm belt. In my humble opinion, that's about all you need.)
So after about 3 weeks of this, I decided to take my shame to the streets! Most of the time, I took the kids with me (soon to turn 2 & 4, respectively). I had a 4-wheel, side-by-side double pram - a Valco Twin Runabout. It did the job nicely. Most importantly, it gave me an excuse to run so slowly! In my head, I'm sure that onlookers are more forgiving of my pathetic pace, when I'm lugging an extra 30-40kg around!
As with the treadmill, I did a run-walk combination. I ran on the flat and walked up the hills. Seems simple enough, but this is where I started going very wrong. I fell back into some very bad old habits.
In my next post, I'll talk about what those habits were. For now, suffice it to say, if you make the same mistakes I did, you'll be lucky to come away without injury, much less stick to your running and lose weight - all without really trying.
'til next time...
Cheers.
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