Hello everyone! I've recently decided that I would like to start running every day to get some exercise. However, I’m very out of shape and have a pretty low stamina as of now (and I’m a little over-weight as well), so I’m not really sure how to start. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to build my stamina up or how to start warming up to longer runs? I’m really just unsure how to get started because I know I can’t just start out going on really long runs at the beginning, so any suggestions or ideas that anyone has would be greatly appreciated! :)

I recently started exercising as well and as it turned out - I am not good with running! So I'll just share the advice that was given to me c: The plan is that I'll run (like, at a nice running pace) for about a minute and then walk at a decent pace for about a minute and then speed up again. Keep this up for 15 minutes and then gradually increase the time span to 20 and eventually 30 minutes. If I cannot keep this up: run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes --> so basically, work towards longer times and eventually you'll want to walk less and run more :)

And another advice I was given, since I run out of breath pretty fast, is to focus on breathing from the beginning. Breath in through the nose, breath out through the mouth. In the beginning it might seem a bit strange, since you're not out of breath yet, but it did help me to run longer.

DON'T PUSH YOURSELF. Everyone has their own level of 'skill'; just cause you see someone beast modeing 5miles, doesn't mean you can. You have to build up to it, just like thay did. Everyone was ONCE were you were at!!! Don't get discouraged. Starting is the hardest part! Don't focus on other people, just yourself.Drink a little bit of water before running. (I do about 1/4 to 1/2 a water bottle), then I start out jogging. When I was new, I could only jog 1/8 of a mile and i'd be PANTING, gasping for air. I was sooo out of shape. I just started jogging until I was 'comfortable' with stopping (don't go till you collapse). I pushed myself to about 80% tired, power walked (like a mall walker :p) for the same amount i jogged, then jogged once more. Turns out now I can jog 1/2 a mile without being exhausted, gasping for air. Which is good, I'm glad. I normally power walk the rest of the mile. Now, I don't run every day. I only run a couple times a week. If you're jogging every day, you can lose weight (and gain stamina) much faster.

Another story, My bf would just powerwalk the track until he couldn't do it anymore, every day. Soon he started to job the curbs and power-walk the straights. He moved to jobbing the straights and walking the curbs. Soon, he was able to jog most of it. Working up and up...he's now able to jog miles without getting tired.

Don't try to follow time rules (run for 30min ect). Do it until your body feels its done enough. You are your own judge.

I took up running a few months ago, and its honestly been a great decision for me :) I personally was thrown in at the deep end and started out doing 5k runs (with many stops at first haha), but if that doesn't seem feasible, I know there's a good programme called Couch to 5k designed by the NHS (UK national health service) which helps you work up to that distance comfortably. Here's a link to it. I don't know if you'd want to download the podcasts and everything, and I haven't tried it myself so i can't give a personal recommendation as such, but I think the general idea of running for a short time, then walking, then running again, can help you build up your stamina and get you comfortable with gradually longer distances. I would also say that there is an element of pushing through the pain involved if you want to really work up your stamina. Sometimes you will feel like you can't go on and you want to stop, but if you just keep moving you'll find your body can usually surprise you with how much it can take. Obviously im not saying run until you pass out or injure yourself, but remember that if you just stop every time you're a little out of breath you won't progress as fast as if you push yourself and test the limits of what you can achieve.

I agree with . But I also agree with on pushing through the pain. Sometimes, you just have to push through it even when you feel like you are done. You'd be surprised on how far your body can go. It has a lot to do about mindset. I always run with music which helps me to keep going. Try your best not to focus on how tired you are. Also remember that you will see small improvements over time, but don't give up.

I found THIS and THIS which were both helpful when I started!

Also if you need a little motivation, I like THIS!

Good luck - running is a great way of keeping fit and it can actually be nice to do it alone and have that 30 minutes to yourself in the day!

kind of touched on it with the second infographic, but take a look at the couch to 5k program. Alternatively, if you are near a free or cheap gym, YMCA, etc, I find ellipticals a lot more enjoyable than just running the treadmill.

I've been running consistently for three years now and I'm still learning what's best for me. When you've been running for awhile you'll know when you've hit your limits, but when you're first starting it's way easier to push yourself further than what's healthy for your body. My advice for the first week or two is not hit exhaustion at all, otherwise you will probably be in pain the next day and possibly all week. You probably won't know that you've injured yourself until much later on after your run. This happened to me when I started running--I ended up with some really painful shin splints that lasted an entire summer. I still get them every once in awhile but I have a much better understanding of how to avoid them now that I know my body more. I've also noticed that my body doesn't ache as much if I run on a softer surface like a dirt nature trail or grass as opposed to cement, but maybe that's just a tiny preference for other people, idk.

It's hard for any of us to give a really accurate explanation of how to get started running since we're not you. I would just remember that it's better to take it light in the beginning than to feel like you need to power through it all. Also remember to STRETCH!! It will save you a world of trouble if you do some dynamic stretching before your runs and then some winding down stretching at the end.

The best way to start running, bar none, is to look up the Couch to 5k plan (someone mentioned it earlier in the thread, from what I skimmed) and do that.

It starts you off real slow. For example, from what I remember, the first week you just run for a minute, walk for 1.5m, for 23m or so. This gradually ramps up (run for 2m, walk for 1m, etc) until you are running 5k straight up (which is usually about 30m worth of running).

Other suggestions -- where are you running? I was always so much more interested in running back when I lived with my parents in a very residential town. I would do the plan up and down the streets there. I find that I am by far less motivated by treadmills, which tend to be very same-y and boring.