Interval Running for Beginners

I took a really slow entry into interval running about 6 weeks ago. I started with 15 seconds of run and 4:45 of walk and for 3 weeks now I've been on 1-minute run and 4 minutes walk. I can't seem to break past there. I tried increasing today to 1:15 and 3:45 and it was just too much by the 3rd interval. Of course, it was also nearly 90 degrees in the fitness center and it's the day after leg day, but still!

So, tell me - should I be slowing way down? Currently, I'm walking at 4.2-4.3 mph and running at 5.6. Do I knock it down and use run form at a speed I could walk? I feel like my progress has totally stalled.

I feel like in the beginning I would finish and feel energized and like I wanted to turn around and do it all over again. Now I'm dragging myself out of the gym.

Try slowing a bit when you are "running" and speeding up a bit when you are walking. I used the Couch to 5k app on my phone - it was well worth the $2 and I was doing a 11 minute miles, which for a 55 year old woman with no cartilage in her knees, isn't bad. (But I hate to run.) I did it to train for a 5k I was doing for charity. Having a "voice" in my ear telling me when to run and when to walk was helpful.

I don't think I can speed up walking. My HR is pretty high as it is. It's always run high with exercise, compared to what "they" say it should be. I had a stress echo done about 18 months ago that was normal and they said the elevated HR was just the result of "de-conditioning". The stress test literally took me less than a minute to get into their target range and I only walked, never ran. I was, at the time, 230lbs or so. But, it's not so different now (though it is some better, I can walk forever now at the 4.3 and be in "fat burning" range). It's frustrating to work so hard and not seem to be making progress.

I'm a couple months in to learning how to run and I had the same problem breaking that 1 minute run barrier. Instead of going longer, I worked at running faster for the one minute. I also shortened the walk intervals without increasing the running ones. I don't know if this is the best way to do it but after doing that, I slowed the running down and can now run for 8-10 minute intervals if I go slow.

My recommendation is to slow both down. Walking should not be an intense workout. It's recovery for the next running interval. Also, don't be afraid to repeat weeks until you can get it right.

I agree with you slow the run down and try for 2 minutes at a slower pace and a minute of walking or even do one minute and one minute for a few weeks. Why is it when people first start out they always want speed.I am still trying to get my short little legs to go faster

I tried High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and it worked very well at improving my ability to run longer. I started with 5 min warm up (3.5mph) then 30second "high" interval at 5.5 mph followed by 30seconds slow interval at 2.5 - 3mph to recover..then do that 4 times then do 3 minutes recovery at 3.5...then do that cycle over again 4 times for a total of 28 minutes.

I think you're walking at 4.2 is a bit too fast and long for a "recovery" phase so it can be hard to pick up speed and run after that. And 5.6 is pretty fast for the running phase (10.42 minute mile!) at this point so you may be tiring yourself out too fast.

After 4 months of 5 days a week on the treadmill I'm at 4 minutes running at 5.0mph and 1 min walk at 3.5 and can do this 8 times....one day soon I hope to be able to do an "all running" 5k in 40 minutes.

I don't think you should run interval first ( If you have run enough before, It's okay)

The faster you run, the more injury risk come up.

I saw that your "mind power" is really strong xD, you could achieve running fast soon. Specially when your core parts is strong.

speeding is not all you need. Sometimes, running slow will be a better therapy. SO my suggestion: you shouldn't run interval every time you go out for a running. Add some endurance running (running base on time on feet).

Hi! Thanks for your response. This was actually many months ago and I'm running like crazy now!