Fitness advice

[DM]

TVboyCanti you're wrong, you don't need to work out to lose weight, if you eat properly and stick to a diet regimen, then your body will burn calories on its own without you having to work out, because you won't be adding any extra calories to your system, except the ones necessary.

This is true, but you should really do some cardio exercise at least 3 times a week anyways, it really keeps your heart and body healthy.

 

[hxzero]

Do some light to moderate weight lifting as well, like some relatively high intensity circuit training. This works as both muscle building and cardiovascular exercise. The more you exercise, especially with weightlifting, the more your metabolism speeds up, making it doubly effective.

 

[Fireball49]

That's A LOT of running for someone who is just starting out. Plus, running everyday really takes a toll on someone's body. A rest day should defitnetly be implemented so his body/mind can take a break from running.

I recommend just running around 10-15 miles a week, spread over 4-5 days, just so you can get acclamated to running both mentally and physically. Afterwards, something like 5krunner's training schedule is a good base for one to get into decent running shape. I'd take off a mile or 2 from and leave Saturday for rest, though.

It's not that much running.I run more then the first 4 weeks,in 1 week.

I do 1.5 miles on weekends,and 6 on weekdays.

Not often.Okay,maybe someone who wants to get real muscle,but weight lifting is obviously better,and why worry at age 10?Well,anyway I run 35 miles a week,in hopes of running faster.Then I can zoom around 25 laps around our track?(Pretty small.Everyone says 5 laps=1 mile....I don't think so.More like 15=1 Mile.)

So yeah,I'd recommend probably 3 miles a day,then take a break on sundays or something,and start increasing total mileage,after 3 weeks,and keep small amounts of weekends,incase you go somewhere.But running on weekends is probably easiest,when you have time..I'll probably be doing 4.5 miles a day during 4-5th Grade,seeing how I'll usually be busy.

 

[QuickDraw]

as other people have said, a healthy diet is key to being in shape. go look up some healthy eating tips online or contact a nutritionist to figure out what is good and what isn't. secondly, because you are trying to get in shape for a marathon (crazy bastard) keep your workout to cardiovascular exercise with the occasional low weight, high repetition workouts. also stretch all the time, personally i have found that the more flexible i am the easier it is to get back into or in better shape. run all the time, start off with maybe a mile or two here and there but focus on sprinting reps. building a solid base is key and sprinting builds endurance much faster than long distance running. stairs are also god's gift to man for getting into shape. sprinting up them is a great workout, hopping up them is also great because it improves balance and agility. hop with both legs at once and then one leg per flight. these are just suggestions that worked great for me. the only thing that can get in your way is you. you just need to have the motivation to push yourself farther and harder every time otherwise you will not improve.

 

[Zee [old]]

The end of October is pretty close in terms of preparing for a marathon. There is obviously a huge difference in preparing to come in first place and preparing to be able to finish the race without looking like a fish that got pulled on the shore.

For the first month or so I would recommend a cross training exercise, such as Soccer, Lax, anything that forces you to be constantly on the go. You'll find that you can improve your overall fitness level and cardiovascular capacity while having a bit of fun at the same time. If that is not an option then lace up your shoes and start pounding the pavement. Start small and work your way up, but remember you don't have a lot of time so striking a balance between not killing yourself in preparation and being able to finish the race is going to have to be set by you.

Running can quickly take a huge toll on the body, so swimming is also a recommended activity on days when you can't run or need a change of pace. Running 3-4 days a week and swimming 2 would be a good mix, and take some stress off your joints.

Train on the same surface you will run on during the race as much as possible, although running on beach (not the wet sand) once a week will give you a pretty good boost as well. Also, try to run on even surfaces as much as possible. If this is not possible try to alternate the direction you run in daily, as this will help reduce the appearance of shin splints and ankle related issues.

If you decide to incorporate weight training into your routine, avoid doing a heavy cardio workout on the same day as this will reduce the weight trainings benefits.

One final tactic is called carb loading (or carboverload, etc). Eat good, natural sources of complex carbs daily (wheat, grains, etc...nothing refined or packed with sugar). A week before the marathon, cut them off. Two days before the marathon, begin eating them again. Your body will hoard the carbs because it hasn't had them lately, and when you go out to run your race you'll have an extra stockpile of gas in the tank.

Hope this helps and best of luck to you.

 

[Metabou]

Well, i am a junior in high school, and this is the third year that being in Cross Country. It is tough, because it is the second year the high school is up, and last year there were just Sophomore's and freshmen. Well at practice last week, for one of the work outs, i had to run 55 minutes, only to stop once or twice. I enjoy running and staying in shape. It sure is tiring but i am a competitive person i guess and enjoy challenges, like this year to run three miles at first under 20 minutes. Last year i only ran two miles and my best time was 12:24. That is why i am in Cross Country and i have a couple good friends on the team. It is good to be apart of something or do something you enjoy besides sitting inside all day doing nothing. And something that also is tiring is wii boxing, man after three or four rounds in the hard levels, you get tired. So just find something fun to do that gets you out of the house.

 

[Ripchord]

Swimming is a great way to build endurance and is a relatively fun way of doing cardio. Even if you're on a schedule of about 3 seperate 1 hour sessions weekly, you can accomplish a lot in terms of the amount of time spent doing it.

 

[Tomo]

I'm sad to say that in my opinion you will not be able to prepare for a marathon starting from scratch in this short space of time. I work out every 2 days, but with weights, not cardiovascular activities. However, I am very fit and I managed to win a 7 and a half mile race by running it in 65 mins (it was on sand which is hard to run on) as I do go running ocasionally. However, if you are nearly fainting when running, you will not be in shape to run a marathon.