I could have sworn there was a "Fitness" prefix...

[Joker]

Well, here's a hint for you - "strength" doesn't mean anything. The kind of conditioning you get in training programs like P90X doesn't really help you with running. It is a different use pattern - different use of your muscles, different demands on your heart and lungs. Do not expect those other training programs to help you much with running,e xcept insofar as maybe they help you take off weight, in general.

If you'd like a program that helps you pick up running, I can heartily recommend "Couch to 5K" - that's what got me up to being able to jog along non-stop for a half hour. The expectations it sets are reasonable.

That's not entirely true. While running uses your muscles differently, strengthening them in other ways will still be helpful before you set out on a jog.

Stronger muscles in your legs and core will reduce the pressure on your joints which in turn will cause less friction of the muscle tissue against your shin.

Up until about a year ago I had a lot trouble with shin splints which became worse when I started playing rugby because of the stress on my lower legs. Here follows a list of things I did which finally alleviated the pain I felt:

- Stretch your legs, especially calves, an hour before you exercise and directly after your cooldown. Don't stretch right before a running session. Just move your joints in their full range of motion. It is good to stretch even on days you're not working out.

- Do not run on hard or uneven surfaces. Especially if you're starting with running, it is the absolute worst thing you can do for your shins. A track or an even grassy field are the best.

- Buy running shoes with good support.

- Ice your shins directly after a workout. The best is a big bucket of cold water with lots of ice in it. You dunk your shins in there 10 times for one minute intervals. Taken them out for one minute after each minute in the water. Otherwise ice packs work as well along the length of your shin or above your ankle and around the leg depending where the pain is. You can use a long sock to tie them around your legs.

- An aspirin after a run may reduce the inflammation.

- Build your running routine up gradually. Don't start with a 10k run or 8 x 100 meter sprints even if it feels good. Whether that means two rest days between runs or everyday smaller runs is up to you.

- Exercises such as squats, calve raises, crunches and v-ups all help to strengthen the muscles which absorb the shock of running.

Happy running.

 

[Morrus]

I like doing programs because I find I do the same amount of work in about half the time compared to when I used to just go to a gym and do some exercising at my own pace. The programs also have a lot more variety in them compared to the relatively small list of exercises stored in my brain. Yesterday I was doing "scarecrows" for a shoulder exercise--never heard of that one before.

Yeah, that's certainly a concise sumamry of their strong points!

 

[Bullgrit]

Well, here's a hint for you - "strength" doesn't mean anything. The kind of conditioning you get in training programs like P90X doesn't really help you with running. It is a different use pattern - different use of your muscles, different demands on your heart and lungs. Do not expect those other training programs to help you much with running,e xcept insofar as maybe they help you take off weight, in general.

I agree with Umbran on this. When I started running last summer, (just 5k), I was shocked at how badly I did at first. I was super fit after P90X and Insanity, but running was a whole different skill that working out in a living room or gym can't prepare you for. From what I've experienced, the best training for running is running.

I just posted my report on the 5K obstacle run I did this weekend, (my first) -- you can read & see it here: www.totalbullgrit.com/blog/rugged-maniac-obstacle-run

Bullgrit

 

[Umbran]

That's not entirely true. While running uses your muscles differently, strengthening them in other ways will still be helpful before you set out on a jog.

My point is more that doing P-90X or its ilk and doing well will still result in you gasping and wheezing your lungs out if you just try to take off and run. Having some muscle strength and flexibility may help prevent some injuries, but do not expect to be conditioned for running.

- An aspirin after a run may reduce the inflammation.

This is correct. But note that it will be even more effective if you take it *before* running (say, a half-hour or so), by reducing the inflammation cascade before it starts, rather than trying to reverse it after the fact. This is true for any activity in which you risk muscle strain, joint strain or sprain, or similar injury. For example, since I know I am vulnerable to lower-back strain, I take my NSAIDs before I go out to shovel snow in the winter.

 

[Libramarian]

Well, here's a hint for you - "strength" doesn't mean anything. The kind of conditioning you get in training programs like P90X doesn't really help you with running. It is a different use pattern - different use of your muscles, different demands on your heart and lungs. Do not expect those other training programs to help you much with running,e xcept insofar as maybe they help you take off weight, in general.

If you'd like a program that helps you pick up running, I can heartily recommend "Couch to 5K" - that's what got me up to being able to jog along non-stop for a half hour. The expectations it sets are reasonable.

I'll check out that program, but I think you're exagerrating the difference between running and jumping movements, e.g. jumping jacks, jumping squats, jumping lunges, etc. Surely increased fitness with the latter is going to help somewhat with the former. But I'm still going to get into running more slowly this summer than last--not worth risking an injury just to prove this point!
[MENTION=826]Joker[/MENTION] thanks for those tips.

I live right near this great park trail, but it's gravel and there are some hills...I guess it would be a smarter idea to start on a flat grass field first. I want to run that trail by the end of summer though, I'll make that my goal. I think it's about 5k, something like that. I'll measure it in google maps...

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Best regimen I ever had, I isolated my upper and lower body routines.

Day 1, I would do anaerobic upper body exercises and aerobic lower body exercises in a 1-1.5hr workout.
Day 2) I would do aerobic upper body exercises and anaerobic lower body exercises in a 1-1.5hr workout.

And I just kept alternating. Usually, my anaerobic exercises- mostly weightlifting- were more intense than my aerobic exercises. (Part of that is because of my build, which really lends itself to weightlifting.)

I took off 1-2 days a week as needed, depending on scheduling and/or aching.

My overall endurance increased, as did my muscle mass. My body fat decreased. And while I claim to have taken days off for soreness, that soreness rarely came. Because I was always exercising different muscle groups in different ways, the hardest worked muscles from the day before were almost coasting on the subsequent day's regimen.

 

[Bullgrit]

I'll check out that program, but I think you're exagerrating the difference between running and jumping movements, e.g. jumping jacks, jumping squats, jumping lunges, etc. Surely increased fitness with the latter is going to help somewhat with the former.

No, really, he's not exaggerating. Sure, jumping jacks and such will help, because they help with general fitness -- they help compared to not doing any exercises and being generally out of shape. But they don't help nearly as much as you might think. I do extreme exercise workouts every night, (well, 6 nights a week), yet still, a 5K run kicks my ass. Later in the season, after I've practiced running, (2-3 times a week for a couple of months), I'm much better. But in the early spring, when it's been six months since my last regular running schedule, I cannot run the full 5K/30 minutes without slowing to a walk several times. This is despite maintaining a lot of jumping exercises all during the year.

I've known dedicated runners who can sprint like a cheetah for an hour or more, (outrunning me like I'm standing still), but they can't do many of my plyometric, (jumping), exercises as well as I can. There is a noticeable difference between doing a jumping exercise for 60 seconds, taking a 10 second break, then doing a different jump exercise, and running/jogging for 30 minutes straight.

And I'm now considering giving up running all together because I fear the stress to my knees is doing me a lot of harm.

Bullgrit

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yeah, you gotta watch that- one of the theories floating around about that poor kid at Louiville was that he had a number of microfractures from a hard training regimen. Then, a slightly odd landing and *snap-crackle-pop*...welcome to the horror show

 

[Umbran]

And I'm now considering giving up running all together because I fear the stress to my knees is doing me a lot of harm.

This is something I haven't understood yet. Maybe it is just me, but I'm a big guy. If you look at me, you figure that I'm doing some pretty unfriendly stuff to my knees and/or ankles by running. In fact, I have a bit of a history with rolling my ankles and getting sprains. I was concerned when I started.

But, I've never had a problem. Not a twinge. I now roll my ankles *less* frequently - presumably because I've got greater strength there now.

 

[Nytmare]

I'm not really a routine kind of guy. What little I've managed to do over the past couple of months is to throw a pullup bar in the entryway to the kitchen and charge myself a toll (I've gone from zero to four messy pullups/chinups!) whenever I go in there to get something to eat, put my bike in front of the TV and try to ride a couple of hours while watching a movie or TV show, and drop soda entirely out of my diet.

I really let things slip over the last 5 or 6 years, I had a handful of minor injuries that I never really let myself fully recover from, and my job has progressively moved from one of almost non-stop activity to a lot of sitting and thinking and making other people run around for me.