Workouts for REALLY weak woman?

@dawn16 Yes! I have Crohn's and have had long, extended bouts of hospitalizations where I couldn't even walk down the stairs afterward. What do they make you do everyday? Cling to your stupid IV pole and walk. Walk, walk, walk.

Last year, I made my way from Brooklyn to uptown Manhattan by foot.
 
@mlenadc Seconding this as I was also really super weak. However, my change in commute with unreliable bus times forced me to briskly walk every day and my endurance has gone way way up because of it. I now have a lot more energy and seem to be fatiguing less so I'm slowly venturing into the gym more.
 
@mlenadc I literally just trained for sub-2:55 full marathon (6:40 min/mile pace)... with long runs done at/near 8:00 min/mile pace.

OP this is so true. If you have to go on walks for now, go on walks. If running for 1 minute is hard, run slower than you ever imagined running, or don't run at all (i.e. walk). Do 10-20 air squats (just squats, no weight at all) during commercial breaks. These are all really good ways to get ready to start an exercise program.
 
@shawntavia Question, how do you get that fast? I can maintain a 10 min mile for six miles easy, but if I try to do a 9 min mile after two miles I’m done.

I’m also located at altitude(4000ft for the last 3 years) but don’t have any past running to compare it to when I lived at sea level(first 20 some odd years of my life) so idk if this is a big factor
 
@perfect786 Consistency. Practice. Experience. I'd say genetics are maybe like 10-15% of it, but they're far from the primary reason why I'm fast. I wrote this post about training (somewhat my own training, largely general training needs for non-beginners) a bit ago, if that's helpful.

Altitude will hold you back, but not that much, especially having lived there for 3 years -- elites go up to 5000-7000+ feet for ~6 weeks at a time before important races to reap the altitude benefits. You have all the altitude adaptations you need at this point. And for an altitude/flat pace discrepancy example, my flat/sea level (where I live) half marathon pace is 6:17 min/mile, my 7000 ft altitude (arrived literally the night before) with a single 1000' climb half marathon pace is 6:43 min/mile. That said, people with a lot of experience are probably less susceptible to the altitude issues than beginners. I've been training for 13 years, this ain't my first rodeo.

Also -- and don't take this the wrong way -- there is a true learning curve in maximally "pushing yourself", and you might just not have quite figured that out yet. It's possible that your body could actually keep going after those two miles at 9 min pace. In fact, it almost certainly can. But learning how to ride that line takes a lot of years of experience, actually. Even I can't quite get it perfect in every single race. When I come through Mile 1 of a 5k, my only thought process is "jesus christ this is unsustainable I'm going to blow up fall apart and die", but despite that I actually generally either stay the exact same pace, or actually get a bit faster. It's absolutely grueling and extremely difficult, but it's possible.

It's also really impossible to extrapolate an easy pace time to a 2 mile hard effort time. If that 10 min pace for 10k is easy, it's not your race pace. To use an imperfect solution, the Jack Daniels VDOT Calculator spits out an "easy training pace" (which should actually be universal no matter how far you're running -- it does not matter how far the run is; easy is easy and if your 10 min pace for 10k is only easy for that distance but is hard for 8 miles, then it's not actually your easy pace and you're running too fast in your general aerobic training runs) of 9:49-10:29 min/mile assuming an all-out 10k RACE effort being 50:00 min. So if your easy pace is 10 min/mile, you should be running near 50:00 for a max effort 10k, and ~24 min for the 5k. If this is not the case, you're almost certainly aerobically underdeveloped, and the solution is to run more, and to add in long runs.
 
@shawntavia I’ve only just started running regularly(probably about 2-3 weeks now), and I guess saying 10 min mile is my easy pace is stretching it, I can keep up a 10 min mile without the need to stop for a good long while, my regular run is between 3-6 miles daily.

Do I need to increase this or just trying to push faster incrementally 1 mile at 9 minutes then the rest 10 and build up?
 
@perfect786 For reference, easy pace should be slower than marathon pace. I run easy around 7:30-8:00 min/mile pace (again, with a marathon pace of 6:40 min/mile). I could probably go out and run 35 miles at my easy pace if I really felt like it (newsflash: I don't lol). Logistically, covering that distance for beginners is infeasible/inadvisable for all sorts of reasons, but when you think "Am I running easy enough?", think about that. Think, "Could I hold this pace up for hours if I really needed to?"

With respect to how tp improve, the Order of Operations linked in the /r/running sidebar is exactly the reference you need! Though upfront: running 1 hard mile and 5 easy miles definitely is not the way to improve. Over multiple months with no sense of urgency, work up to running 3-10 miles 5x/week (10 being the eventual long run). After a couple of months, you can start adding in workouts in some of your mid-length runs (like 5ish miles). In the total 5 miles, have a mile warmup, mile cooldown, and in those middle 3miles throw in 6-8x400m at your REALISTIC goal 5k pace (like 9 min/mile pace), with 90sec slow jogging recovery between each rep. That's a pretty classic intro workout.
 
@dianad373 Start with walk/running. Jog till you start to feel out of breath and start walking don't stop. Once you catch your breath start jogging again. Repeat X times.
I would also suggest a yoga class with an instructor that can provide alignment help or provide adaptations for where your body is at this point then practice at home.
We all have to start somewhere, be kind as you start your journey. Look for Non Scale Victories, such as running 3-5 minutes without losing your breath.
 
@charles1967 I’d really caution against yoga if she’s totally new to fitness. Unless it’s one-on-one with a very qualified instructor it’s pretty easy to injure yourself doing yoga, especially if you have more flexibility than strength.

I mean, it’s usually better to do something rather than nothing, but be cautious... most yoga teachers aren’t very experienced and don’t actually know enough about the human body to teach what they teach.
 
@belindad If you seek out beginner classes - not classes that work for any level, but intro/beginner classes specifically - you may be able to avoid this. While all yoga classes can work for beginners with modifications and breaks, it's hard to incorporate those things when you're new. But if you can find a way to safely incorporate yoga early in your fitness program, it could really help with form no matter what you do - plus help with muscle tightness, injury, etc.

If you do start yoga, the most important thing to remember is to trust what you're body is telling you and don't try to match others in the class. If a movement feels wrong, stop - resting in child's pose is a really important part of any yoga class. Most yoga teachers will be super supportive of that - and if they aren't, stop going to their class.
 
@belindad If you seek out beginner classes - not classes that work for any level, but intro/beginner classes specifically - you may be able to avoid this. While all yoga classes can work for beginners with modifications and breaks, it's hard to incorporate those things when you're new. But if you can find a way to safely incorporate yoga early in your fitness program, it could really help with form no matter what you do - plus help with muscle tightness, injury, etc.

If you do start yoga, the most important thing to remember is to trust what you're body is telling you and don't try to match others in the class. If a movement feels wrong, stop - resting in child's pose is a really important part of any yoga class. Most yoga teachers will be super supportive of that - and if they aren't, stop going to their class.
 
Back
Top