Looking to get into better shape

[Squiggly]

The title basically says it all. I'm female, 5'5" and (just guessing here) about 140Lbs. I used to be around 125 and would like to get back there by losing fat and gaining lean muscle in the process. I'd also like to increase endurance in running and overall strength. My exercise routine right now is as follows. Usually gym days overlap with running days.

2-3 days/week:

Medium-intensity gym workout, both upper and lower body. I use an exercise ball for many of the exercises and focus a lot on form and balance more so than increasing weight. However, I do use enough weight so that my muscles get pretty sore after eight or so reps. I generally do 10-15 reps of exercises employing weights and 20 reps of ab exercises. I go through a circuit three times, trying to hit as many major muscle groups as I can.

2 days/week:

Run 1-2 miles as fast as I can without keeling over and dying at the end. Sometimes (rarely) I'll do intervals with one minute hard, one minute easy.

2-3 days/week:

Run 3-5 miles. If I feel adventurous I might do 6-8. Generally if I'm going more than 4 miles my pace is (I'm guessing) 8:30-9 min/mi.

1 day/week (if I have time, which I often don't):

1 hour hard biking. I don't have a road bike so I use my mountain bike on the roads, but it serves the same purpose.

 

As for what I eat...(I'm in a dorm, so I'm a bit limited)

Breakfast:

peanut butter on bread w/agave nectar

or

1/2 c oatmeal w/spoonful of peanut butter, agave nectar, and dried berries

 

Lunch:

tofu and veggie stir fry w/rice or soba noodles (depending on what's served that day)

or

taco salad w/lettuce, tomatoes, beans, peppers, and guacamole

or

bean, brown rice, and veggie burrito

 

Dinner:

can vary a lot between veggie stir fry w/tofu (or beans)

or

taco salad (same as lunch)

or

steamed veggies w/spinach, beans, mushrooms...etc. I just kinda mix whatever's available together. Lots of veggies and usually some sort of fruit for dessert.

 

Snacks (one in between each meal and one a couple hours before bed):

apple

pear

1/2 Clif bar

1/2 Lara bar

handful of nuts and dried berries

soymilk (100 calorie chugger things sold in our campus Bistro)

 

Plus I drink 4-5 liters of water a day. Usually one with each meal and the rest throughout the day.

 

My main problems seem to be the following:

-not having the motivation to get out and run all the time (might be because I get bored on long runs. I don't want to have to listen to music. If there's any way to make things more interesting, please share )

-I have a major sweet tooth and b/c I rarely have sweet things, when I do find something sweet that I'll eat I tend to over-do it

-overeating in general/eating too fast

-getting hungry an hour and a half or so after eating (to solve this I usually just chew a piece of gum and that helps, but if there's any way to prevent it, I'd love to know how)

 

So yeah, that's basically it. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

~Shannon

[Guest]

I think your short running days are too short. Nothing is wrong with running 1-2 fast miles but in reality you should warm up for about a mile a day and cool down with half a mile for a really intense workout. This will make your run faster and keep you from getting hurt.

 

As for motivation do you have any trails to run on. I find I can run much further when not on concrete...a large part of this is due to the ground being soft but I think a lot of it is due to the ground changing my pace as well as the scenery. Why do you not want to listen to music???

 

As for the getting hungry thing I suggest trying not to eat any meals outside of your pre workout or breakfast meal. Outside of that only snack. I don't mean to limit the amount of food you eat. Eat the same amount...just eat enough to keep you satisfied and when you are no longer satisfied eat a little more food. Chewing gum may work for keeping your mind busy but if your at the point that your stomach is growling you've gone too far unless your trying to lose weight fast without regard for your running performance. Plus another benefit of only eating small snacks is that if you eat too fast you'll get over it really fast because its not all that much food.

[Squiggly]

There aren't really any trails near campus, which is a bummer considering back at home I lived half a mile from a state rec area with tons of trails that I ran on every day. The transition the past year or so to concrete hasn't been the most fun and I find I get bored a lot more quickly running around town. I try getting out on country roads but that usually requires me to run two miles to even get away from town.

Thanks for the advice on the warm ups, though. I should definitely do that considering I often have problems with my hip flexers getting strained when I do hard runs. The thing with the music is just something of mine that I've never liked. I like being aware of the sounds around me. *shrugs*

 

Also, how would I get enough food if I weren't to eat meals? Would I split the food up into more snacks throughout the day? About how many calories do you think I should have per snack and how many snacks in a day?

[Tasha]

There aren't really any trails near campus, which is a bummer considering back at home I lived half a mile from a state rec area with tons of trails that I ran on every day. The transition the past year or so to concrete hasn't been the most fun and I find I get bored a lot more quickly running around town. I try getting out on country roads but that usually requires me to run two miles to even get away from town.

Thanks for the advice on the warm ups, though. I should definitely do that considering I often have problems with my hip flexers getting strained when I do hard runs. The thing with the music is just something of mine that I've never liked. I like being aware of the sounds around me. *shrugs*

 

Also, how would I get enough food if I weren't to eat meals? Would I split the food up into more snacks throughout the day? About how many calories do you think I should have per snack and how many snacks in a day?

 

Why do you run ? You know if you get bored easily? That's no fun.

 

Music helps my training. I don't listening to it while I'm cycling. But running sure makes a difference if you're by yourself in the cold winter! Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!!!

[Guest]

If I were you I'd just try snacking and experimenting. If you feel run down that doesn't mean you need bigger snacks...that means you need more of them. I'm not sure about calories but you can get just as many this way...it may mean eating something every hour though but I think it''ll be worth it.

[Tasha]

You should try eating a lot more fruits in your diet

[markc7]

What is you running goal specifically? You said you want to incrase endurance, but are you lookin gto just increase how far you can run at your current pace? Or are you trying to go faster too? Do you have a goal race or anything like that that you're working towards?

 

If you're serious about increasing your running endurance, I woudl suggest doing a program that includes several easy runs (3-5 miles), one faster workout (intervals, total of maybe 3 miles), and one long slow run (8ish miles at >9:00/mile). Right now you're not doing enough slow running to build your aerobic endurance.

 

As far as the boredom thing is concerned, is there anyone you can run with? A campus running group maybe, or just some friends?

[Squiggly]

Why do you run ? You know if you get bored easily? That's no fun.

 

Heh, it's kind of an interesting thing, really. I get bored/lonely but there's something about it that draws me to do it when I need something to do. After I'm done I always feel wonderful, and if I don't run I get pretty depressed (had it happen this summer when I sprained my ankle and couldn't run for two months or so. I tried biking regularly, but it wasn't the same ).

 

What is you running goal specifically? You said you want to increase endurance, but are you lookin gto just increase how far you can run at your current pace? Or are you trying to go faster too? Do you have a goal race or anything like that that you're working towards?

 

I'm trying to go faster at the same distances. I don't have a goal race, but I've never really had one in all the time I've been running. I just do it for my somewhat twisted sense of 'fun'. I'm not a very competitive person.

 

If you're serious about increasing your running endurance, I would suggest doing a program that includes several easy runs (3-5 miles), one faster workout (intervals, total of maybe 3 miles), and one long slow run (8ish miles at >9:00/mile). Right now you're not doing enough slow running to build your aerobic endurance.

 

As far as the boredom thing is concerned, is there anyone you can run with? A campus running group maybe, or just some friends?

 

Thanks for the tips there. Yeah, I was doing something like that back in the spring when I was training for a half marathon and it really seemed to work for me, mixed things up well. I think I'll try going back to that again. As for finding others to run with, I am part of a running club, but thus far they've been rather inactive and I haven't heard from any of them. Maybe I'll try to hook up with some others that I know of who run.

[markc7]

I'm trying to go faster at the same distances. I don't have a goal race, but I've never really had one in all the time I've been running. I just do it for my somewhat twisted sense of 'fun'. I'm not a very competitive person.

 

Cool. I love racing, but mostly I just run for the sake of running so I know exactly where you're coming from. One thing I like about having a goal race even if I'm not planning to run it hard, is that it keeps my training more consistent and generally alot better.

 

Good luck with your training!