At the end of my first two weeks of walking/running, I realized my body was so sore that I had to take a 3 day break this weekend and yesterday. I know sore muscles are to be expected when exercising, but I woke up at least three mornings with my lower back aching like crazy. My husband said it was due to not stretching my hamstrings before my workout. While that may be true, I've found, by Googling, that I may have done to much to soon. The website on the previous post informed, that when training to become a runner, spend the first 2-3 weeks just walking for 20-30 minutes. (Ann, you also advised Phil of this over the phone.) I do some stretches before my workout and walk for the first 5 minutes before I do any running. I was proud of myself this past Friday, because I ran 2 minutes straight, then back to just 1 minute in between walking. That may not seem like a lot to some, but for me, it's progress. Like I said this weekend was gorgeous, but my legs and back were so sore, that I decided to not continue my workout until this morning. I think I'm going to just walk this week and maybe next week, for a 30 minute workout, and see if cutting out the running will allow my body to feel better. Then add back the running intervals. If anybody has any advice on this situation, please advise.
I did take my husband's advice this morning and stretched my hamstrings before my workout.
I am determined to not get discouraged, and stick with this. It's the only way I'm going to achieve a new body.
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I think your progress is awesome! I would have trouble running for 2 minutes and walking for 1 minute intervals right now. As for the pain I started with the exact same work out you are doing shortly after having Kingston and my knees swelled so bad I couldn't hardly walk. My doctor said after having a baby some woman's ligaments stretch worse than others and it takes time to heal. He suggested I extend that running program by doing each week twice and running at a really slow pace for awhile. I'm doing that now and it is so much better!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the tip. I'll try that.
ReplyDeleteBrandie,
ReplyDeleteI'm so proud of you for getting started on changing your lifestyle! It DOES NOT matter whether you walk or run or do some combination of both ... the most important thing is that you're doing something for yourself that will ultimatly benefit everyone in your family! So don't get discouraged, we all have our bad days.
Anyway, here's a few things that I've learned along the way ... stretch AFTER you exercise, your muscles are more warmed up and ready to stretch, you'll really improve flexibility this way (something I really need to work on)and cut back on injuries.
Start doing crunches every day ... just a few to begin with, Brandie ;oD ... it is SO important to strengthen your 'core' which will also help your back.
Lastly, pick up some hand weights and start doing a little strength training ... you will jump start your metabolism and burn more calories. You can find good workout routines on the internet.
Hope this helps, Brandie!
See you Saturday!
Ann