I hit a wall....
Hello
I started working out back in October. When I first started I could only do 30 minutes at 2.5 mph. I was steadily upping the MPH and minutes because I would like to get to the point where I can jog. So my first goal was 4 MPH. Well last month I got to about 60 minutes at 3.8 MPH and I got sick with strep and an sinus infection for a week. After a week I was right back to working out again and it took me about week to build back up to where I was before I got sick. I now seem to have hit a wall. I can't go faster or get back up to 60 minutes (I'm doing 50-52 minutes now). I tried pushing myself...or forcing myself and I made myself sick. I got dizzy and got a headache. I now seem to be stuck at 3.5...I'm going backwards!!! Why would this be happening.
I also do weights after the treadmill for about 20 minutes and then I stretch for about 10 minutes. So that's my routine 5-6 days a week. I don't skip days (except when I was sick).
I have lost 40 pounds since October so I am having success there. I still have about 70 lbs I still need to lose to be at my normal BMI. So maybe I am too heavy to push myself...or not conditioned enough still. I just don't want to push too much and injure myself. That would do me no good. What do you think? Am I doing something wrong? Will it happen naturally and I have to be patient?
I started working out back in October. When I first started I could only do 30 minutes at 2.5 mph. I was steadily upping the MPH and minutes because I would like to get to the point where I can jog. So my first goal was 4 MPH. Well last month I got to about 60 minutes at 3.8 MPH and I got sick with strep and an sinus infection for a week. After a week I was right back to working out again and it took me about week to build back up to where I was before I got sick. I now seem to have hit a wall. I can't go faster or get back up to 60 minutes (I'm doing 50-52 minutes now). I tried pushing myself...or forcing myself and I made myself sick. I got dizzy and got a headache. I now seem to be stuck at 3.5...I'm going backwards!!! Why would this be happening.
I also do weights after the treadmill for about 20 minutes and then I stretch for about 10 minutes. So that's my routine 5-6 days a week. I don't skip days (except when I was sick).
I have lost 40 pounds since October so I am having success there. I still have about 70 lbs I still need to lose to be at my normal BMI. So maybe I am too heavy to push myself...or not conditioned enough still. I just don't want to push too much and injure myself. That would do me no good. What do you think? Am I doing something wrong? Will it happen naturally and I have to be patient?
My 2 cents is if you still have a lot to lose and are at a calorie defecit you will struggle on longer workouts. Your body needs fuel that your not giving it. If you want to push through it maybe get a few more calories in the form of fast carbs right b4 the workout just to help fuel the workout a little more. Make sure you are getting plenty of fluid as well during the workout. Powerade 0 seems to help me.
No longer about weight , it's all about living.
I agree with Nate, if you are at a calorie deficit, it makes things very hard. That said, if you still have 70 pounds to go, you might ant to keep doing what you're doing since its working until you get down a bit more. Even if you only lose 30 or 40 more pounds it will make a big difference in performance. If you are like me when losing, you are really low carb. Some (most) folks really struggle without carbs in trying to do anything endurance related. If you have 70 pounds to go though, I don't know that you want to mess with your nutrition too much yet though.
In terms of getting stronger or fast, I'd suggest mixing up your workouts a bit. Have you tried doing interval workouts? Also, you might wan to spend some time doing some weight lifting.
In terms of getting stronger or fast, I'd suggest mixing up your workouts a bit. Have you tried doing interval workouts? Also, you might wan to spend some time doing some weight lifting.
Ok that makes sense. It didn't even occur to me that it was my low carb diet. I was so focused on the physical part of it I didn't think about the nutritional part. You are right I don't want to mess with the calorie/carb intake till I have lost more weight. I will keep my workouts where they are now and when I lose more weight I will test myself and see how I do. Do you think I should mess with the incline? I have kept it at 1%. I was thinking I should just leave it and focus on speed and duration rather than incline.
it depends. I think I you should try to do interval training a bit more. Have you looked at couch to 5k program? You can simulate it on the treadmill. Sounds like you are trying to go as long and hard as you can, aiming for 60 minutes to start, which might not be the best way to improve. You might start by just doing 1 minute at a jog or with an incline, then come back to a walk for 5 minutes, then repeat. Then slowly add to the 1 minute at the jog or incline (or both) pace. This essentially is the c25k type program.
I can tell you I didn't really adjust my diet significantly until I was deep into training for my first half marathon. Once I started getting over an hour I felt like I really needed carbs. Up to that point I might have had a banana before a run, but for the most part I stuck to the typical band diet (right around 1k-1.2k total cals). I can tell you when I switched to eating more and adding in carbs, working out felt completely different, but even still most folks would classify my diet as low carb, and I can count the number of times I have eaten simple carbs in the last year on my fingers . I'd also tell you that in spite of my wanting to lose another 10-15 pounds to be closer to my "ideal" BMI, I have not lost a pound since I started my full marathon training, and now ironman training (and obviously adjusted my nutrition). Course I am sure my body fat% has positively improved.
I can tell you I didn't really adjust my diet significantly until I was deep into training for my first half marathon. Once I started getting over an hour I felt like I really needed carbs. Up to that point I might have had a banana before a run, but for the most part I stuck to the typical band diet (right around 1k-1.2k total cals). I can tell you when I switched to eating more and adding in carbs, working out felt completely different, but even still most folks would classify my diet as low carb, and I can count the number of times I have eaten simple carbs in the last year on my fingers . I'd also tell you that in spite of my wanting to lose another 10-15 pounds to be closer to my "ideal" BMI, I have not lost a pound since I started my full marathon training, and now ironman training (and obviously adjusted my nutrition). Course I am sure my body fat% has positively improved.
(deactivated member)
on 1/8/11 9:58 pm - Switzerland
on 1/8/11 9:58 pm - Switzerland
Congratulations, because no matter what you weigh now and what you may weigh for the rest of your life, no one can call or tell you that you are obese or overweight. Because you've made the connection and are beginning/trying to figure it all out. You have changed your way of thinking and have taken a quantum leap out of the obese lifestyle/mindset. You are no longer just "dieting" but training. You've graduated from an overweight/obese person to athlete.
Training to perform and that is what you have progressed to, or appear to be trying to do (move your body at speed over time) is a function of the condition that your body is in and not trying to "PUSH" it every time doing the same thing. If your goal is to jog/run for 60 min. at 3.8 or even 13 mph you have to structure what you are doing to allow your body to adapt over time. More gifted, younger and lighter people take less time to achieve this "GOAL" than a heavier less gifted person. That said, if you can already go for 60 min. at 3.8 MPH (which isn't easy) you have a "gift ", all you need to do is lose weight because running/jogging is the art of defying gravity. Take a step forward and gravity slams you back to earth. The more you weigh, the harder it is and the slower you go. The steeper the incline the slower you go at the same effort as on the flat, it is a physics problem. The older you are the longer it takes to recover from a hard bout of exercise. BUT and this is the big BUT (no pun intended) remove the weight in your case 70+ pounds and you would be running with the best of them, considering what you have accomplished already.
Your intuition is correct. yes you are too heavy right now to "PUSH" it, you need to push but push gently. There is a tremendous amount of science that goes into this, much more than can be written here at one or many sittings, but you are asking the BIG question that will take you to the next level. How do I get better at this.
It will happen naturally to a point, but you have to add the "doses" to make sure the training effect takes place over time. When and as your body becomes "conditioned" you will develop more efficient plumbing in your muscles to produce more energy that in return will raise your metabolism that in return again will allow you to lose or maintain your weight easier. So like I said earlier it is not so much that you can do a certain task on the treadmill, but it is the condition that your body is in that allows you to do it. Good luck and keep posting here. You should visit this site everyday and ask one good specific question per visit. People that hang out here give out really excellent advise. If you need anything specific, training etc. don't hesitate to ask. Here is a key point EVERYTHING aerobic wise is based on power output (watts) and heart rate, from the beginner to the best.
Training to perform and that is what you have progressed to, or appear to be trying to do (move your body at speed over time) is a function of the condition that your body is in and not trying to "PUSH" it every time doing the same thing. If your goal is to jog/run for 60 min. at 3.8 or even 13 mph you have to structure what you are doing to allow your body to adapt over time. More gifted, younger and lighter people take less time to achieve this "GOAL" than a heavier less gifted person. That said, if you can already go for 60 min. at 3.8 MPH (which isn't easy) you have a "gift ", all you need to do is lose weight because running/jogging is the art of defying gravity. Take a step forward and gravity slams you back to earth. The more you weigh, the harder it is and the slower you go. The steeper the incline the slower you go at the same effort as on the flat, it is a physics problem. The older you are the longer it takes to recover from a hard bout of exercise. BUT and this is the big BUT (no pun intended) remove the weight in your case 70+ pounds and you would be running with the best of them, considering what you have accomplished already.
Your intuition is correct. yes you are too heavy right now to "PUSH" it, you need to push but push gently. There is a tremendous amount of science that goes into this, much more than can be written here at one or many sittings, but you are asking the BIG question that will take you to the next level. How do I get better at this.
It will happen naturally to a point, but you have to add the "doses" to make sure the training effect takes place over time. When and as your body becomes "conditioned" you will develop more efficient plumbing in your muscles to produce more energy that in return will raise your metabolism that in return again will allow you to lose or maintain your weight easier. So like I said earlier it is not so much that you can do a certain task on the treadmill, but it is the condition that your body is in that allows you to do it. Good luck and keep posting here. You should visit this site everyday and ask one good specific question per visit. People that hang out here give out really excellent advise. If you need anything specific, training etc. don't hesitate to ask. Here is a key point EVERYTHING aerobic wise is based on power output (watts) and heart rate, from the beginner to the best.
Most Active
Recent Topics
