Running Plan for Overweight Beginners

RUNNING PLAN FOR OVERWEIGHT BEGINNERS

Overweight leads you to many health issues. Exercise is a weapon that leads you to good health and staying fit, thereby avoiding health issues. Being overweight, if you have planned to run, you have taken the right step towards good health.

However, before you start your running program, you should first reduce some of your extra weight. Walking, cycling, jogging, swimming, running, weight training, yoga, interval training, and pilates – all these exercises help you to reduce your weight or burn your calories.

To see good results choose those exercises which you enjoy doing and suits your body type. This will help you to stick to the exercise for a longer duration.

Regular running helps you to lose weight and keep your weight under control. Even if you are overweight, it is possible for you to run or to do other exercises, such as cardio and weight training.

The only thing is you have to take some precautions before you start running because being overweight, running puts stress on your joints. This increases your risk of injuries.

With a good instructor and a proper running program, you can be a good runner. Your running should be injury-free so that you can continue with your running without taking any break.

Important Steps to Consider before starting a Running Program

1. Consult your Doctor: It is always better for you to be safe than getting injured while exercising. So it is necessary to visit your doctor. A full body assessment is essential. You should discuss your health issues with your doctor, such as:
2. If you have any relevant medical history
3. Any health issue related to your kidney
4. If you have any lung disease or asthma
5. Joint related issues
6. Blood Pressure or any heart condition issues
7. Your current medication

After checking all these issues with your doctor and once he permits you, you can go ahead with your Running Program.

• Proper Running Clothes: You should go for specially designed compression clothes for overweight runners. These clothes provide you extra support, are lightweight, absorb the moisture from your skin, and give a good fit and are comfortable. Chafing is a common problem faced by an overweight runner. Inner thighs and underarms are mostly affected. Chafing causes raw skin and rashes, which is very painful. Compression clothes help you prevent chafing.

• Proper Running Shoes: To run, a pair of genuine and good running shoes is essential. The shoes should be shock absorbent. Running with ill-fitting shoes causes you Knee Pain, Tendonitis, Shin Splints, Achilles, and other injuries. According to your foot type and your running pace, you should select your shoes. Though these shoes are expensive, it is worth buying, which will help you in the short and long term.

• Be Hydrated: You need to be well hydrated before, during, and after a workout or running. When you run, you generate more heat than when you are at rest. By sweating, you lose water, sodium, potassium, and electrolytes. This leads to dehydration. When you are dehydrated, you get tired, cramps, headaches, and increased heart rate, which will affect your performance. Maintain hydration, because water regulates your body temperature, gives energy to your cells, removes waste, and cushions your joints. Proper hydration improves recovery, reduces injury and cramping as well as helps you to perform well.

• Healthy food: Without a proper diet, it is difficult for you to burn your calories. So keep track of what you intake. You should intake an adequate amount of calories. Try to consume a good amount of lean protein, healthy fat, and carbs. In the first few weeks of your exercise, avoid cheat meals. Avoid the intake of sugar. High intake of sugar leads you to obesity, tooth decay, cardiovascular disease, and high-level diabetes. Avoid sugar content foods such as Ice creams, sugary aerated drinks, sweets, fast foods, cereal bars, etc. Intake lots of lean protein. This helps you to avoid cravings and maintain consistent blood sugar. Lean protein such as eggs, chicken, raw cheese, and nuts, etc. are advisable.

• Be Motivated: Always be motivated to keep you going. Keep in mind when you start your running, all are not supportive. You will meet some people who will de-motivate you but ignore such people and continue with your running. Don’t compare yourself with anyone. An inferiority complex for being overweight is common, but your competition is with yourself and not others. Focus only on yourself.

• Set the Right Goals: Your goals should be realistic. It should depend upon your running ability. Set one goal at a time. Once you achieve your goal, then set another one and accomplish that too, and so on. Reaching each goal will keep you motivated also.

• Visualize the goal to achieve your Running Goals: Visualization is preparing you mentally. It is a simple way of improving the odds. It includes the type of runner you want to become and see that image of yourself in your mind. As if it has already happened, see yourself as achieving the running goal. How you will feel, what you will hear and see – go through everything as if it is happening. Keep on replaying this picture in your mind. By doing this, you will not only be more confident but also be more confident.

• Form a Habit: If you plan to run and want to make it a part of your life, then make running a habit. You should give as much importance to your running schedules/plans as you would to your important meetings. Block the time when you want to run. Use apps, multiple alarms, or daily calendars as reminders. First 12 weeks, stick to three days workout per week; if you go up to 16 weeks, you have made it into a habit.

Training Schedule For Beginners:

1. Walking: Start your exercise with easy walking. As a beginner, this will help you build endurance and provide strength for your intense workouts. Walking puts less stress on your joints and is a low impact exercise. Besides your walking routine, you can add more steps to your day by walking during lunch break and use stairs instead of the lift. Keep a target of 30 minutes of walking for 3 to 4 days a week in the beginning. Gradually you can increase your duration as you become fit to walk for a longer time. Later you can keep 50 to 60 minutes of walking for five to six days a week.

Perfect walking session to follow:

• Start your session with a warm-up of slow walking for five minutes.
• Walk briskly for 10 minutes and then take a break as it improves your heart rate and blood flow to your muscles. Continue with it till you reach your 30 minutes target.
• When you are nearing your 30 minutes goal, slow down and lower your heart rate by stretching your body.

• Run/Walk Session: Once you get comfortable with your walking session, such as walking briskly for 60 minutes without pain, you can start with your run and walk session. Warm-up and cool-down are essential.
• Start with a warm-up, as mentioned above. Then run for 20-30 sec followed by a 1-minute walk.
• Repeat this for 15 to 20 minutes and cool-down by easy walking for 5 minutes again.
• Once you get comfortable with your running, increase your duration to one minute.
• Keep on increasing the duration of your running as you get comfortable.
• Your target is to run continuously for 20 minutes without getting tired or becoming breathless.

• Cardio Exercises: Cardio Training is a low impact exercise. These exercises don’t put stress on your joints. Cardio helps you to burn calories and helps you to reduce weight. Cross-training is essential as it enables you to run better. Yoga, Cross Training such as swimming, cycling, elliptical, Zumba, and aqua jogging or running is beneficial cardio exercises.

• Yoga: Yoga provides you many health benefits, which helps you to lose weight. It trains the mind and body, and it increases the range of motion. Through yoga, all actions reflect a fusion of your mind, body, and breath.
• Yoga helps you to relieve mental and physical stress.
• It helps you to burn enough calories.
• It also helps the runners to balance strength.
• It increases confidence and awareness.
• It reduces the risk of injury.

• Swimming: Swimming is a low impact exercise with no stress on your joints.
• It improves your flexibility and reduces your body fat.
• Swimming strengthens the muscles around your joints and gives healthy calves.
• It reduces common running injuries
• It helps you to run faster
• It improves your cardiovascular performance
• It strengthens your legs.

• Cycling: Cycling helps you to reduce weight and improves your overall fitness. Cycling is an outdoor exercise, but many gyms provide indoor stationary bikes where you can cycle indoor. Cycling is a low impact exercise and will not put stress on your joints. Cycling is helpful for both beginners and athletes.

• Elliptical Training: Like other Cross Training exercises, Elliptical Training is also a low impact exercise. You can use Elliptical training as a high-intensity workout to improve your fitness, putting less impact on your joints. Elliptical training is a recovery tool for runners; it gets you back on track.
• It works on the whole body.
• It is easy on joints, tendons, and muscles.
• It helps you to build stamina and strength for running.
• It reduces the risk of injuries on weak gluteal muscles.

• Zumba: Zumba is a mix of aerobics and salsa. It has many health benefits. As long as you are moving your body on the beat of the music, you participate in the exercise. There are no right or wrong steps in this exercise. This is a full-body workout because your whole body is involved in this workout, such as arms, shoulders, and feet.
• It helps you to burn calories
• It builds endurance
• It improves cardiovascular fitness
• It improves blood pressure
• It adapts to any intensity level
• It reduces pain interference and severe pains.

• Aqua Jogging: It is a low impact exercise. It helps you to burn more calories than running on the land. As this exercise is underwater, it prevents injuries. After your hard workouts, this exercise helps you as a recovery tool. It repairs your damaged muscles.

• Weight Training: Weight training is also essential with cardio training for runners. At least two days of weight training a week is essential. Stronger muscles help you to be a good runner. Lightweights help you to build your endurance, and the heavyweights increase your strength.
• It supports your joints, improves your posture, and gives you stronger muscles.
• It helps you burn more body fat
• It helps you to burn more calories than the cardio workout
• It strengthens your bones
• It prevents injuries
• It increases your flexibility
• It increases your heart health.

• Listen to your Body: After running or any other exercise, muscle soreness is common after your workout. The first few weeks will be painful for you. Don’t neglect your pains. Slow down if you feel the following:
• Intense chest pain
• Loss of balance
• Vertigo or dizziness
• Severe joint or muscle pain
• Nausea
• Heart palpitations
• Vomiting

• Recovery: Recovery is essential in your training. At least one or two days rest is vital for you, if you are a beginner – alternate your hard workouts days with rest days. If you feel a whole day’s rest is not needed, you can do a bit of cardio training. If you need more time to recover, you can take more rest. Stick to your running plan.

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The 24 Week Running Plan for Overweight Beginners

First 8 weeks you can follow run and walk method to become comfortable with the running, till you can run for 20 to 30 minutes at a slow and relaxed speed. Workout only three days in the beginning and can keep the remaining as rest days.

Week 1 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – 2 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this six times
• Tuesday – 2 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this eight times
• Wednesday and Thursday Rest days
• Friday –2 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this six times
• Saturday and Sunday Rest days

Week 2 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – 2 minutes run and 1-minute walk. Repeat this eight times
• Tuesday – 2 minutes run and 1-minute walk. Repeat this ten times
• Wednesday and Thursday Rest days
• Friday –2 minutes run and 1-minute walk. Repeat this eight times
• Saturday and Sunday Rest days

Week 3 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – 3 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this six times
• Tuesday – 3minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this eight times
• Wednesday and Thursday Rest days
• Friday –3 minutes run and 1-minute walk. Repeat this six times
• Saturday and Sunday Rest days

Week 4 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – 5 minutes run and 3 minutes walk. Repeat this three times
• Tuesday – 5 minutes run and 3 minutes walk. Repeat this four times
• Wednesday and Thursday Rest days
• Friday –5 minutes run and 3 minutes walk. Repeat this five times
• Saturday and Sunday Rest days

Week 5 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – 5 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this five times
• Tuesday – 5 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this five times
• Wednesday and Thursday Rest days
• Friday –5 minutes run and 1-minute walk. Repeat this four times
• Saturday and Sunday Rest days

Week 6 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – 5 minutes run and 1-minute walk. Repeat this four times
• Tuesday – 5 minutes run and a 1-minute walk. Repeat this five times
• Wednesday and Thursday Rest days
• Friday –7 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this three times
• Saturday and Sunday Rest days

Week 7 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – 7 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this three times
• Tuesday – 7 minutes run and 2 minutes walk. Repeat this three times
• Wednesday and Thursday Rest days
• Friday –10 minutes run and 3 minutes walk. Repeat this two times
• Saturday and Sunday Rest days

Week 8 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – 10 minutes run and 3 minutes walk. Repeat this two times
• Tuesday – 12 minutes run and 3 minutes walk. Repeat this two times
• Wednesday and Thursday Rest days
• Friday – 20 to 30 minutes of running at a slow and comfortable speed. Walk for a few minutes to cool down.
• Saturday and Sunday Rest days

Week 9 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for two miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for two miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for two miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 10 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for two miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for two miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for two miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 11 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for two miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for two miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for three miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 12 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for two miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for two miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for three miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 13 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for three miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for three miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for three miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 14 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for three miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for three miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for four miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 14 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for three miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for three miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for four miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 15 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for three miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for three miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for four miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 16 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for 3.5 miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for 3.5 miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval
• Saturday – Run for five miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 17 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for 3.5 miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for 3.5 miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for 3 miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 18 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for four miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for four miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for six miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 19 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for 4 miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for 4 miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for 7 miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 20 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for 4.5 miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for 4.5 miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for 8 miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 21 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for 4.5 miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for 4.5 miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for 6 miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 22 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for 5 miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for 5 miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for 9 miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 23 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for 5 miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Run for 5 miles
• Friday – Cross Training or any interval training
• Saturday – Run for 10 miles
• Sunday – Rest day

Week 24 – Overweight Runner Plan

• Monday – Cross-training or strength training
• Tuesday – Run for three miles
• Wednesday – Rest day
• Thursday – Stretch
• Friday – Rest day
• Saturday – Race day

One day before your race, take a lot of carbs that will be converted into glycogen for energy. Be hydrated; consume lots of water. Relax and focus on yourself.