Exercise at least 3 times a week challenge

edinburgher

Hi Pickle :hello:

Seeing as you helped me out by suggesting this thread, I'll try to return the favour by suggesting www.mapmyrun.com as a really useful resource for walkers/joggers looking to track their exercise and find out how long their routes are etc.

Once you find your route/s, you can save them on the site and add them to your exercise diary with just a few clicks, which simplifies the whole process. All you need to know is how many circuits you've walked/jogged of the route and how long it took you. You then get a useful running total of distance covered/calories burned etc.

I hope it's ok to mention the site here - it's free to use and I don't have any association with it.

maursie

Can i join in with this please, sounds like a great way of getting me motivated off my backside.

I joined a gym last year and started off great but between a neck injury and cold weather it's all gone a bit pear shaped and desperately need to get back into things as i really enjoyed it when i was there.

three times a week seems achievable - i'm aiming for tonight, wed morn and poss fri morn or weekend.

skaps

Great wow so many newbies over the past few days. Will go and add you to the list maursie.

Thanks edinburgher for the website - this may motivate me to take up running again.

edinburgher

You're very welcome I've already managed my three sets o' exercise for the week - aiming for another three before it's out. Must get toned before the summer

maursie

skaps wrote: »

Great wow so many newbies over the past few days. Will go and add you to the list maursie.

Thanks Skaps - actually made it to the gym last night yay! one down two to go..

edinburgher

Today is my second rest day and oddly enough, my legs hurt considerably more now than they did yesterday/on any of the days where I exercised! Is this because my adrenaline level has dropped, or are my muscles just repairing themselves?

Back to jogging tomorrow (aiming for 6km in the park and a walk to the town centre for some relaxed window shopping ) Also looking forward to visiting our local fishmonger to pick up something tasty and healthy for tea.

Tom1234

Today is my second rest day and oddly enough, my legs hurt considerably more now than they did yesterday

This is whats know as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). You'll generally find it far more commonly with weight lifting, but it occurs with jogging etc too, especially if you've done a fair bit of downhill work. It's basically due to breakdown and repair of muscle fibres. I'm guessing you've had a bit of time off before your three days running?

I'll sign up for this thread I guess. I currently workout 4 times a week (I do a split, so no worries about overtraining) but could do with pushing myself more with the jogging front.

One tip I have for those just starting out... Don't over do it. You see a lot of people push themselves way too hard - running 5 times a week. You'll burn out donig this, get fed up of being tired all the time after a fortnight and give up. Plan ahead, set yourself some goals and take it steady, make the running part of your weekly routine.

I recommend setting distance / time goals rather than weight loss goals too. Aim for 2km on your first time, then 2.2km on your next (i'ts only another 200m after all!), 2.4km etc etc.

After a fortnight, you'll be running over 3km a time, and in a month over 4km!

You don't need to have a 'weight loss' goal then. The increased run lengths, and the increased muscle will burn more and more calories progressively, and you'll see your health really improve.

I can recommend mapmyrun too I used it, and followed this 'plan' from September to January, although slightly more aggresively in terms of distance gains. Ended up running 16km in late december, having started not being able to run 2km in September.

rayray35

Hi all i have just joined the forums today ...
i have taken up this challenge (allbeit on my own ) for the last month, think its great other people are trying to do the same also - would love to join? usually do spinning on a monday -dragged by my sister then 2 gym sessions a week. by session 3 am usually really struggling to fit it in but will keep trying ! i have quite a bit of weight to lose and am trying to lose around 2-2 1/2 stone by the summer. The chocolate tray at work keeps calling my name making it twice as hard. will try to make it to the gym today making it 3/3 this week --

edinburgher

I'm guessing you've had a bit of time off before your three days running?

Yes, some years off

One tip I have for those just starting out... Don't over do it.

Great tip - I'm doing fairly long distances (well, 5-6 km), but I'm doing walk/run intervals and so it's not too high intensity. I'm aiming for a weight loss goal as opposed to a distance goal because I'm looking to regain a healthy BMI and then maintain it. I used to run 10+ km regularly as a student and it's a little too intensive for regular weekly exercise. Basically I want to be able to do 5 km cross-country without being exhausted, then rinse and repeat as part of a healthy lifestyle.

skaps

welcome Tom and rayray. Good to have more people on here.