Well there is your problem right there! Stress is a huge component to well-being. Relaxing with a glass or two of wine is one of the best rituals (exercise) there is.

true dat, good for the blood too

I was captain of my track team in high school. Love running, but 2 ruptured disks say no runnning for me :(

I can do it, but after about a week I start to get pins and needles in my feet.

Boggles my mind I used to be able to run a 51 second quarter.

Used to run alot. 2 Boston Marathons both in my late 40's.

Not so much anymore. All the reasons have been covered above.

7 days is a bunch of bunk. You will burn out.

The other thing is that as a beginner, as in starting out again, you are highly susceptible to injury. ELLIPTICAL and TREADMILLS will provide two things, one is the risk of injury goes down as the cardio strength goes up. In the beginning the elliptical is the best for getting you ready, it is an outstanding training aid. Once that happens, you move to the treadmill. Even the treadmill will not prepare your legs for the initial road or trail work. But you will greatly reduce the risk of injury.

Out on the road, or for that matter, in the begging do not base your workout on distance. Do not initially do intervals. And I would recommend three days a week on the road with as many days as you can on the eliptical or the treadmill. CROSS TRAINING IS FANTASTIC. Bikes are great training aids and the pool is as well.

I could go on. Boredoom is a big inhibiter for most folks and that is where the ipod is a great aide, but only in the gym. I have never in over 40 years plus of running ever used one or a walkman outside. I actually like the quiet or the conversation with a fellow runner.

Find other runners, but stick to your progarm, don't run theirs.

AND for God's sake make it fun in any manner you can. AND ICE is your friend, but if you are having to use it to often, you need to evaluate your program. Trail running/hiking is a great past time. Remember also that you are not training to race, that is a whole different form of torture (with huge rewards). Personally I ran some pretty good times in my day, but my distaste for lifting weights or has always held me back. But later in life I discovered cross training and ran some of the best times in my life in my mid-40's , 36 min 10k, 17 min 5k and a 3:16 marathon at 46. But that was than an this is now, I would never train to race those times again, too much sacrifice. HAVE FUN!


Oh and Bill Rodgers has some GREAT books out that really sum up fun running, I mean it, the guy is spot on.

That sounds like a great program. I looked at about 20 to 25 being a great fitness program. Have you tried the eliptical or the treadmill (at a gym)?

I read Don Plumley's comment about side stitches and stuff. The minimum amount of time to get good out of a run is 20 minutes. The side stitches are NORMAL. The hardness of breath is NORMAL. This is true for aerobic running. It occurs because the body is getting everything into order at the beginning of the run. You reach your oxygen balance and once that starts happening you are getting all of the combustion requirements in tune. If the stitches are too much, WALK!!!! Then tone it down. You are not doing anerobic running where it hurts as in racing. SO don't do that. When in balance, there is an optimum distance that you can go before training and base miles kick in. Believe it or not it is between 5 and 7 miles after you smooth out. I do not recommend doing this rather stick with the 20 min minimum rule. The eliptical and the treadmill are great for getting you through this. Do all of these things with others to make friends and find exercise partners. There are many in our situation and the companionship is instrumental in getting over the initial hurdles.

Do not do the intervals, you are going to tear something. DO LSD for a minimum of 20 mins. LSD=long slow distance (but not to long) Go easy for about 20 mins, your heart rate will get up there, you want about .65 Vo and this depends in your age. If you do this you will find that after about 1 to 1.5 miles your breath smooths out and you will be able to go surprisingly longer. It is funny how many folks don't realize that one of the secrets to fun running is the first 1 to 1.5 miles where you pay the overhead costs in the discomfort arena and after that you can go a surprising distance when running aerobically.

Dan,
I have a situation where my wife needs to work out too. We have three kids that can't be left alone. So, the routine goes like this; I hit the road at 4:15 AM, run for about 30 minutes, cool down for fifteen at a brisk walk. Come in the house, the wife leaves. I then do two sets each of the following: 25 push ups, 35 crunches (one set of runner's crunches) and then 30 count of "supermans". I do this five days/week.

So to answer your question about elliptical; no, I don't have time to go to a gym so use the "free" gym called my local roads.

Troy

bottom line. i need to be able to climb some mountain in sept. my mental capacity; i am good for about 20-30 minutes. any more i get bored.

i just want to get healthier, and be more mobile when archery elk season gets here. the draw is hard to win. i am not letting my physical state limit my options. i am a crappy swimmer. i thougth about taking up abalone diving for the "distracted" exercise. nothing like fetching tasty sea snails, and getting exercise in the process.

any of you joggers- not unless i am being chased.

this reminds me of a show i saw the other night about a bear killing people. this sounds bad, but you have heard the saying you dont have to out run the bear, just the others you are with. well, need i say more.

Plain old running is fine when you are younger and playing sports - but will do nothing but wear you out as you get older.

Elk hunting? Overall fitness? Look at this web-site: http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/what-crossfit.html