Is this a realistic workout program?

[Medic]

This is put together supposedly by some Navy SEALS as a crash preparation program for running. My question is whether it actually has realistic goals within the given time frame.

and snip a whole lotta shit

Well, a lot of the knowledge is common Army wisdom as I see it, as to whether or not it's realistic in the time goals? Well, it's a crash program. It's meant as a shortcut in a sense [even if it does take months]. I will say that once you reach a certain level of endurance, adding one more mile on one day isn't gonna hurt you... it's getting to that level that might.

The risk of training injuries, just by sheer repetition seems staggeringly high. You can't just take into account nutrition, stretching, and milage, there's also what roads and surfaces you pick, avoiding running on crowned surfaces, making sure you get the proper footwear and replace it if it's worn, and stupid stuff like modifying how you run should you develop certain recurring pains. It looks grueling unless you already do run a lot. Changing the conditions can also be hazardous, suddenly switching to boots, or hills, grass, sand, too much concrete roads, etc. The bones gradually harden, and muscle strengthen, so Running Schedule I seems almost more important to get right, so you're not hamstrung for the second one.

PS -- for minor pains use RICE -- Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.

[Molyneux]

Query: Where do you start when you cannot run more than a quarter-mile continuously?

I would LOVE to run three miles a day, but my maximum jogging distance is about 1/4 miles before I have to drop down to a walk.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

Query: Where do you start when you cannot run more than a quarter-mile continuously?

I would LOVE to run three miles a day, but my maximum jogging distance is about 1/4 miles before I have to drop down to a walk.

If walking's all you can do, then start out by walking. You'd be surprised how much you can get out of an hour or two of walking on varying slopes at a brisk pace. Jogging or running can come later, as you get fit enough to handle the walking.

[Surlethe]

Query: Where do you start when you cannot run more than a quarter-mile continuously?

I would LOVE to run three miles a day, but my maximum jogging distance is about 1/4 miles before I have to drop down to a walk.

Try strapping on a backpack, sticking a few pounds in it, and walking three or four miles, in addition to GrandMasterTerwynn's suggestion. Let me tell you, ten or twelve miles with thirty pounds on your back is quite the workout in of itself.

[Medic]

Query: Where do you start when you cannot run more than a quarter-mile continuously?

I would LOVE to run three miles a day, but my maximum jogging distance is about 1/4 miles before I have to drop down to a walk.

Try strapping on a backpack, sticking a few pounds in it, and walking three or four miles, in addition to GrandMasterTerwynn's suggestion. Let me tell you, ten or twelve miles with thirty pounds on your back is quite the workout in of itself.

Ha! The things I've learned from a broken collarbone.

Having the heartrate thingamabob on a treadmill is indespensible, but I've learned [at least at my less-than-physical peak after several weaks of muscle atrophy and no rigorous cardiovascular exercise] that a 15 degree incline and a fairly brisk pace of 3 miles an hour can get my 21-year-old heartrate up to 160 after about 5-10 minutes [it got better over 2 weeks].

Going by the metric of 220-age you reach your maximum heart rate. Exercising at %90, or 180 bpm for a 20 year old, is as high as you really wanna go. 160bpm, or %80 is a perfect zone for increasing cardiovascular endurance and I can reach that walking inclines with no extra weight.

Again though, that is with several weeks of muscle atrophy and sitting on my ass cause in the 1st 3 weeks, walking, standing and sitting upright all hurt. It always seems that there's no real replacement for running in improving your run, but that probably isn't the case with improving cardiovascular endurance and health, as you just need to reach and maintain for a good 15-20 minutes, a certain level of exertion.

Lastly: it's not like walking is hard, the point is adding weight or incline is crucial in increasing the workload of the muscle for it to start to compete with running. Lower impact to boot.

[salm]

What does 8:30 pace mean? That you have to run these 2 miles in 8 minutes 30 seconds? Or that you have to run 1 mile in 8 m 30 s?

[salm]

The running part of this workout reminds me of how i started running about a year ago. The distances and the time over which i did this seem similar. I also started with an endurance of probably below zero, so this seems doable.
I didn´t run in boots of course and don´t know how these would count into the equation, though.

[salm]

Let´s see, schedule I is 9 weeks and schedule II is 7 weeks. So after 16 which is about 4 months you´re supposed to be able to run 6 miles ~ 10 km in about 50 minutes.
That´s running at good speed but definatly possible after 4 months.

[LaCroix]

Query: Where do you start when you cannot run more than a quarter-mile continuously?

I would LOVE to run three miles a day, but my maximum jogging distance is about 1/4 miles before I have to drop down to a walk.

You are probably running to fast, a common mistake of beginners.

If you are out to go running, take a pal with you. Just run as fast as you BOTH can still talk easyly to each other and chat along. You will be surprised of your "milage". As your stamnia increases, you will run faster while still talking.

Important note: If the friend is a runner, tell him about your intention. he will have to take him/herself back a lot for you to catch up.

If you are running alone, try singing. as long as you can still sing a song, you are not running to fast.

[salm]

True. Also don´t be ashamed of being overtaken by girls. Sounds stupid? I know a guy who would rather fall over dead from running way over his limits than being overtaken by a gril.

[aerius]

It's realistic but you'll have to push yourself pretty hard, possibly harder than you thought you could. Someone in good physical condition should be able to pull it off without too many problems. I know that when I was running cross country in high school we actually did a faster ramp up in mileage and I got through it just fine. We got to about Schedule 2, week 5 of the program in about 2 months starting from about Schedule 1, week 4. We didn't do the other PT exercises, but we sure ran a bunch.

[Big Phil]

Just be damned careful not to over-exert yourself. Even in high school when I was in GREAT shape and playing sports, I always had some sort of injury... a tight hamstring, a pulled groin, a knee sprain, bruises, aches, pains, etc. You WILL hurt yourself if you push too hard; the last thing you need to do is pull or tear a thigh muscle and set yourself back a couple of months because you push to fast too soon. Take your time, do what you can, and listen to (and take care of) your body.

[Molyneux]

True. Also don´t be ashamed of being overtaken by girls. Sounds stupid? I know a guy who would rather fall over dead from running way over his limits than being overtaken by a girl.

Huh...

You'd think that any hetero male (of which the overly-macho type generally is, in my experience) would appreciate the ability to run BEHIND a girl...it's got a nicer view, anyway.

[Kettch]

RUNNING SCHEDULE I

WEEKS #1, 2: 2 miles/day, 8:30 pace, M/W/F (6 miles/week)

WEEK #3: No running. High risk of stress fractures.

WEEK #4: 3 miles/day, M/W/F (9 miles/wk)

A whole week off running and then jump to 3 miles a day? OK, I'm a runner starting in hight school CC. To my experience this is bad advise. The rule of the thumb that we operated under was one day off allows for recovery, but two days off leads to loosing 1/2 of what you built up in the past week. Now that may have been a bit over stated, but I don't like the implication that you can run those two weeks take a whole week off & then come back while tacking another mile on. The point of running alternate days in the beginning is to allow that muscle & bone recovery.

Jumping from 2 to 3 miles immediately breaks this site's advice on stress fractures:

How can stress fractures be prevented?

Bones only adjust to increases in stress very gradually. This requires a continual process of bone remodelling as bone breaks down under the stress of training. If the rate of breakdown exceeds the rate of remodelling, micro-fractures start occurring. If the level of training is not reduced at this stage then these microfractures may coalesce to form a stress or even a complete fracture.

Following the 10 % rule means not increasing your total distance, intensity, and time spent training by more than 10% in any given week. This would definitely reduce the frequency of stress fractures as it is thought that the skeletal system can only cope with this level of increase in training load.

Poor equipment can be involved in the onset of stress fractures. Worn-out shoes, or changing to a shoe with reduced shock absorption or to a shoe not appropriate for a particular foot-type, may mean a runner is less able to cope with their running load.

If you are more intrested in running, Cool Running has some sample training programs, including a couch potato to 5k training schedule.

[Kettch]

True. Also don´t be ashamed of being overtaken by girls. Sounds stupid? I know a guy who would rather fall over dead from running way over his limits than being overtaken by a girl.

Huh...

You'd think that any hetero male (of which the overly-macho type generally is, in my experience) would appreciate the ability to run BEHIND a girl...it's got a nicer view, anyway.

The best is when you find a girl who is just a bit faster than your normal pace. She keeps me going & I reel her in. If I pass I look for the next person to reel in. If it is close to the finish, I just make sure to pass her in the sprint

And if she still beats me well more power to her.

[wilfulton]

Before you subscribe to ANY of these Navy SEALS workouts, do keep in mind that 90% of the candidates FAIL the course.

The other problem with all these workouts is that they are generally not fun, and are not something most people are actually going to stick with, which is probably the most important part of any workout routine.

Also keep in mind that you can exercise to the point where you actually injure yourself (I've done this, in my case achilles tendonitis) and that will take you a long time to recover from.

I generally like to run every other day at most. Then again, I weigh ~200 lbs, if I try running every day, I'm going to hurt myself. That's what happened last time, and I spent about 6 weeks recovering.