Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Get Running with Couch to 5K

nhs.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 232 posts

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#101

Post by code_runner »

OJFord wrote: post #87
twawaaay wrote: post #48

Personally, I think aren't many better return on investment activities than spending half an hour every day on a morning jog. You can run more than that but I think half an hour steady state easy run each morning gives you 80% of results. If you love running (I do), knock yourself out. But that half an hour is enough to do wonders to your health over long periods of time with minimum chance for negative consequences.…

Personally I think (I don't do !) I'd rather go harder/faster/longer less often. Getting ready for and then showering etc. after such a brief activity every day is just annoying isn't it?

The shower after a workout is extremely satisfying. Only takes a couple minutes in any case

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#102

Post by user1234 »

blairbeckwith wrote: post #53
chongli wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you get all the way through the program? Did you have good quality running shoes? I remember it being miserable at the start, but after I finished the program (and was going beyond 5k up to around 12k) it started feeling amazing. It was really strange. It went from painful to just plain addictive! But then Canadian winters intervened and I got out of the habit and never got back to it again. Since then I’ve had a…

I'll never tell people they have to, but winter running can be really enjoyable. I committed this year to doing as much of my training outside through the Canadian winter as possible, and so far it's been a dream. I ran through the storm that ripped through Ontario right before Christmas and caught myself thinking that I wasn't sure how much worse conditions would have to be for me to stop having a good time. Like th…

Yeah man I love winter running/walking! I went out during the -45C wind chills too. That's why I had to get some ski goggles. My eyes were freezing shut! Plus during blizzards the snow is like little razors on my eyeballs.

That's the last bit of winter gear I think I needed. There's something about it though that I love. I can't force myself to get to the gym a block away but I'll go outside in blizzard conditions and really enjoy myself!

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#103

Post by misterspaceman »

I have a theory that people who want to get in shape but don't know where to start will gravitate towards running, because it's what we all remember doing in grade school gym class.

Running is great, I'm not knocking it at all. But I would also try other activities to see what sticks (hiking, weightlifting, rock climbing, social sports leagues, etc.)

There's also lots of free beginner-friendly workouts on YouTube (where you follow-along with an instructor).

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#104

Post by ipdashc »

dweekly wrote: post #55
twawaaay wrote: post #48

Personally, I think aren't many better return on investment activities than spending half an hour every day on a morning jog. You can run more than that but I think half an hour steady state easy run each morning gives you 80% of results. If you love running (I do), knock yourself out. But that half an hour is enough to do wonders to your health over long periods of time with minimum chance for negative consequences.…

Run! Even an hour of running over the course of a week has proven benefits to morbidity and mortality. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4131752/ "Running, even 5-10 minutes per day and slow speeds <6 mph, is associated with markedly reduced risks of death from all causes and cardiovascular disease."

Is this specific to running, or just any kind of daily strenuous exercise?

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#105

Post by adrianmonk »

bulldog13 wrote: post #45

What do people think about during their runs? Anything over 30 minutes I find very mind numbing and boring.

I like some time to think about just whatever is on my mind and let my mind wander. I find it kind of relaxing.

For me, running is consuming enough that my brain can't really operate at 100%, and it's more like 75%. Sometimes this is wonderful because normally my mind tends to go overboard with stuff, but while running my mind doesn't have the appetite to make things heavy and involved.

Another thing is to just stop focusing so much on your inward thoughts and look all around you. Running is a great way to explore and observe an area because you can pick up way more detail than while driving but you can also cover more area than walking.

It also helps to avoid focusing on whether you're done. A watched pot never boils. Asking yourself "how much distance do I have left?" every 2 minutes is sure to make the run seem like it lasts forever.

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#106

Post by nonrandomstring »

From close experience of watching friends I'd say this is unreasonably effective and well designed fitness programme. I've seen two people who really struggle to exercise massively benefit from c25k.

It's all in the psychology and Josh Clark is on to some good ideas wrt motivation. I listened to a bit of the audio, of the "personal trainer Laura" - an excellent voice artist for the role fit (I worked in radio and know what I'm talking about). Plus there's been a few celeb motivators doing the narration including Jo Whiley who is pleasant to listen to and not overly jarring. Personally I'd probably prefer Lee Ermey.

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#107

Post by twawaaay »

criley2 wrote: post #96
twawaaay wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think all those studies that say running even 5-10 minutes makes you almost invulnerable from death should be taken with caution. One problem is that people who run regularly are just different from people who do not. People who will run will make a lot of other choices that are also better for their health, for various reasons like being probably more intelligent (to see the reason), having means (to be able to ca…

This is a classic example of correlation and causation. You're basically saying that running is correlated with a longer life, not causative of it. Causality is undergraduate level science and any paper of any quality will discuss causality and correlation in depth. For example, in the study that we are discussing here, it says > It is possible that healthy people may run more, which could lead to reverse causality.…

Some time ago I discovered a health issue with me and it prompted me to spend a lot of time trying to understand how proper nutrition should look like.

I discovered that almost everything I have been taught, told by doctors or red on the internet about proper nutrition is lies. And those likes usually have intelligently sounding papers behind them that are not worth the paper they are printed on. And then repeated ad nauseam by thousands of health "experts" that do not seem to be really concerned about validity of any of it other than their personal life goals.

Like the lies that you should eat breakfast to start your day or multiple meals or that fats are bad for your health or that you should limit intake of salt as much as possible. Or that you have to avoid foods that have cholesterol in them. Or that whole grain bread is healthier than the one made from white flour (it is not). Or that you need to eat fiber to have healthy gut flora or to avoid constipation (I have mercilessly removed all carbs of any kind from my diet for over a month and my gut flora is perfectly ok and there is no constipation).

You know, all that stuff that we have been bombarded with from childhood.

I know all about correlation and causation (actually, I studied theoretical math and have a lot of experience with statistics. I have even given a lecture on logic to first year students once when I was asked to do it by my prof).

Let's just say, there is a lot more ways to make improper than proper inferences from your study. And that saying you know about causation absolutely does not mean the person who did the study actually understands it and took it into account properly. And also that a lot of people start with an opinion or a vested interest to show a particular result and then are trying hard to prove what they already "know".

In the end the problem is that all those people who make those studies are forced to crank out results or perish in their field. Conducting a study very carefully and honestly costs many times more effort than just getting it to a point where somebody will take and publish it.

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#108

Post by leksak »

misterspaceman wrote: post #103

I have a theory that people who want to get in shape but don't know where to start will gravitate towards running, because it's what we all remember doing in grade school gym class. Running is great, I'm not knocking it at all. But I would also try other activities to see what sticks (hiking, weightlifting, rock climbing, social sports leagues, etc.) There's also lots of free beginner-friendly workouts on YouTube (wh…

Running can also be very high impact on joints and if a person hasn't moved around much for quite some time might be asking them to do more than they are ready for.

Re: Get Running with Couch to 5K

#110

Post by mr_mitm »

jeltz wrote: post #64
mr_mitm wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every sport is for everyone. I feel the same. I even ran some 10Ks, but I hate every second of it. Maybe I'm too heavy or my joints are already screwed up too much, but I much prefer weight lifting and basketball.

Obviously not everyone like running (I especially get the boredom argument) but I doubt your joints are screwed up if you do weight lifting (stresses the joints quite a bit) and basketball (totally massacres joints). If your joins can survive basketball then your joints should have zero issues with running unless it is something very specific.

Basketball and similar activities probably are what killed my joints. I have MRI pictures of my knees and lower back showing different kinds of damages in each and had sprained ankles several times. These were gradual damages according to my doctor. My hips have felt funny lately, too.

These days, I can barely walk for three days after playing basketball or running, but weight lifting still works.

Anyway, all I can say is that running always made me feel much worse than the short sprints and jumps in basketball, whatever the precise reason may be.

Post reply on HN