I'm interested in doing something like Couch to 5k.

I'm about 290 and am afraid of destroying my knees and ankles.

Would it benefit me to wear compression braces or something similar?  Is there a specific kind that works?  

Any special shoes or anything I should look into?

Walk and lose some weight first. Ease into running.

I walk a lot.

How light is ok to start running?

Go to a store that specializes in running and get fitted for shoes. Also watch some videos about proper running form. Pace management, not over striding, and the cadence of your steps is important.

I see lots of fatties that finish 5k races.

Everyone is different. I had no idea you were already walking and being active. Good running shoes and start short distances at a medium pace. Just listen to your body. Good for you, best wishes on your journey.

Check out this guide:
https://acidgambit.substack.com/p/the-ultimate-beginners-running-guide

He keeps things real simple.

I started my journey at a little over 350 pounds. I'm down to 180 pounds. I started trying to run again last year when I got to about 205. By the end of the year, I was trail-running.

My suggestion is this: 1) Keep walking. If you're no already doing so and have access to a treadmill, walk speed and incline intervals instead of constant speed/incline. 3) If you're not already doing so, start walking outdoors on uneven ground. This will make your walking more effective. 4) Add some whole body resistance training. You will lose weight faster and build the strength of your legs before subjecting them to the stresses of running. Leg strength is important for protecting the joints. 5) Set reasonable expectations. Start running for 10 seconds at a time, measuring your pulse rate at the beginning and end of each ten-second run (whole still walking). When you can run for 10 seconds without your heart rate going over 140, step it up to 20 seconds. Then 40. Then 60, and so on. If you have high blood pressure, limit yourself to a pulse rate of 130 instead of 140.

It's worth it. Believe me. Good luck!

That's solid advice.

Are you looking to lose fat as well as start running? If you're already walking a lot but not dropping weight, you probably should focus on diet. Then once you have that dialed in and it's habit that's gotten you some weight loss, add in running.

You will go through some shoes, and it is worth it.  I gave up running at 55 due to a knee issue, but at 200# I was trashing a pair of shoes every 8-12 months.  They can take only so much compression.  You’ll know when they are done.
I mountain bike now for cardio.

Keep at it.


10k Steps a day + Cardio at least 3x a week with strength training. For diet, just cut out sugary drinks/excessive drinking and sugary snacks.



Meals, just eat like a regular balanced diet and exercise reasonable portion control....its amazing how consistent small changes add up to big differences in short periods of time.

Walk and set a pace each time. You can monitor this with various aps and then ramp up the speed. You can then blend in some light "jogging" once you feel that your body has adjusted to the increase in activity

As always , diet is a huge part of it.

When you start to run  do not increase mileage more than 10% a week.

As a runner I will agree with the above advice to drop a few more pounds, and ease into running.
Far better for your body that way. Keep at it!

increase time, and the distance will come easily. Some days will be better then others....just keep at it.

the only thing that makes he hesitant with Diet things is often they are meant as a short term measure. exercising portion control and general reduction in sugary and hi-fat snacks/desserts/drinks can really add up and it doesn't even really feel like a huge change.

Ask Chris Christie….he’s always running for something

Yeah. Start on a stationary bike.

Bicycling first.  Floundering around in a swimming pool is good too.

I start running at about 5'9 275 and I hadn't run since the Marine Corps about 10 years prior, I don't remember what my total weight loss was then but that's not important. Two things for me were good running shoes, I like Brooks running. And the other thing is just remember that even if you're running at a walking pace, you're still running faster than if you were sitting on the couch. Slow and steady is still using the run muscles and helps build up.  I did try the c25k app. That helped to get started out. Now after that I was up to about 3 to 5 miles a day still in the mid 200 lb range but loving running again. Unfortunately it's been almost 3 years since that because in that time I've had two motorcycle accidents, not my fault, and broke one leg in each of them, the opposite leg of course. So now it's elliptical only for me at home. I hope somebody to get back into running again and I'm going to do the exact same thing.

I started running at about 250 (248). I took it pretty slow for the first few weeks. Started with telephone pole runs. I would jog from one pole to the next then walk to the next, then run to the next… get some good shoes, manage your stride and make sure to land with your midfoot under your knees. This will keep your knees from exploding.

Eventually I could do two then three, and so on. Eventually I could run a mile. Then I did a 5k, then a 10k then a half marathon, then another couple 5ks…

Don’t over do it. If you start getting shin splints and too much knee pain, you need to back off a bit.

I weighed in at 230 Saturday morning before a 10k that I ran in 52:07.

You can do it. Just take it slow. Eventually you’ll be able to go forever. Don’t get caught up in pace, but get you a Garmin watch or something similar or take your phone with you so you can track your progress. It’ll be fun.

Wow, thanks everyone for the input.  That's more response than I anticipated getting and I very much appreciate it.  

I probably should have given some more information about myself.   During the summer my job entails tons of walking through rural properties, much of it up/down hill or side hill and on rough terrain.  I fully understand the CICO concept, it's my CI that's the problem.  I'll be turning 40 this year and I'm beginning to learn about myself.  I'm learning that I thrive on short term tangible goals, not so much open ended "lifestyle changes".  If there's a deadline coming up and I'm trying to see how much of something I can accomplish, I can push myself surprisingly hard.  It's even better if there's a measurable improvement I can see happening to myself.  However, once that time pressure is gone, so is my willpower.  I know, I'm pathetic.  That's not news.

For example I've had a road bike for a few years and ridden it off and on, but a couple summers ago I challenged myself to ride every day for 90 days rain or shine.  I did that, hit about 1250 miles, which is more bike riding than I had probably done in the previous 15 years.  Likewise last summer my work put on a 1 month step challenge, so in addition to walking during the work day I started taking 2-3 hour walks each night after putting the kids to bed, didn't miss a night.

The interesting thing is that when I'm on one of these kicks I tend to eat way better.  
It's never directly part of the goal I set for myself, but when my muscles are sore all day it's like a reminder to myself that I have put in this effort and I don't want to ruin it by eating like crap.  Like I subconsciously realize that eating a burger is going to deny myself the benefits of the effort I already put in.  The pain is like my skin in the game.

So, my plan is to keep setting more of these goals for myself so I stay on the motivation train.  

Riding a bike every day was a good intensity level but absolutely murder on my ass bones.  I know real cyclists go way longer than I do, but I've also got at least 150 more pounds pushing down on the saddle than they do.  Walking was much less painful and was very enjoyable but took so much time to feel like I'd done anything.  I've been thinking quite a bit that running might be a good fit.  There are several races around here throughout the spring and summer, usually a combination of 5k, 10k, half marathon and/or full marathon.  I think the C25K program would give me the structure and real-time improvements that I seem to need all while working up to a scheduled race event so I'd have that impending deadline/goal to keep me pushing.  The secret will be to sign up for the race right at the beginning so I can't let myself weasel out.  The entry fee will be my skin in the game.

On the day of that event I'll need to either sign up for 10k at the next one or set a cycling goal to attack next.  There's also a gran fondo bike race here each September.


BUT:
If the impact of running is going to destroy my knees then it's absolutely not worth it.  Hence this thread.

So thank you all again for the help!

You can't outrun a bad diet.

Also, you only get one set of knees. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. There's always a last time.

You really don't want store bought knees some day.

A treadmill is easier on the knees....just do it.


Sign up for the 5k and the 10k, get on the treadmill and start jogging/mild run...when you can't go anymore....walk. Then when you get your wind back, run and jog some more.


Do it for a set time, start with 15 minutes, or so...then when you can run the whole time, add another 2 or 3 minutes....soon you'll be running over a 5k as part of a daily run.



I run 3x weekly on the treadmill but anything more then 30 minutes I get really fucking bored and need to move on to something else.

I would say that your knees are going to wear out.  I used to be very active, with mountain biking, off road motorbikes, running, etc.  Eventually my knees started to swell often, and badly.  I had x-rays.  I was much lighter then too.  My ortho said that my knees were mostly shot and I was "in for a world of pain" as they would not consider replacement until a certain age point.  

He was not wrong.  I currently have severe osteo-arthritis in both knees and get shots every two months.  Some weeks are better than others, but I am most certainly done with running.  I might try getting back on the bike soon, and have purchased a chain and freewheel to get my bike running.  I am pretty sure the bike will be for sale within a month and I will be shopping for a recumbent.

Here is what I learned on my journey last year.  I started off not being able to run a 5K at the start of 2023, but by the end of the year I was up to my currently 10K distance.   This year I'm concentrating on improving my 5k time and just doing consistent long distance runs of 10k for endurance/fun. I've considered training for the half marathon or even full marathon, but that eats up a lof of time.

THINGS I BOUGHT THAT HELPED:

Nordic Track 1750 Commercial Treadmill.  

This helps me because of the soft landing it provides over running on hard surfaces like concrete, asphalt, or stone.   This also helps me regulate my pace so that I am consistent and able to easily track my performance.  It helps me regulate my heart rate by doing things like adjusting the incline or even turning on the little fans to cool me down after i work up a sweat.  I have found that being able to change up the incline consistently every 15 minutes (I will pitch it up or pitch down) helps me avoid striking my feet the same way repetitively, which helps my shins and knees not get beat up at the same damn angle nonstop.  I have been able to mostly avoid discomfort or when I've had discomfort with my knees or shins overcome it better through active recovery with walks on the treadmill until I felt ready to run again.  

You will be amazed what just changing your incline by a factor of 1 can do for your heart rate, I can drop my heart rate by about 10 BPM by lowering the incline or raise it by 10 BPM by increasingly it.  I can also lower my heart rate by working up a good sweat and then turning on the little fans, which will drop my heart rate by about 5 BPM.  This helps me keep in my ideal heart rate zone, which I'll talk about below.

GARMIN 945 Watch.

This helps me track my runs, but most importantly I use it to monitor my heart rate.  I have learned that for me training at my ideal heart rate helps me improve more than trying ot hit an arbitrary time/speed goal.   The ideal BPM for me for building endurance has been to follow a tip I learned, which is to subtract your age from 180 to get your max aerobic BPM for the zone 2 running you want to achieve in order to build endurance.  Now, some folks wil say that the watch isn't as accurate as a chest band, but I think the important thing is consistency so long as the watch isn't way off.  

Rogue Fitness Resistance Bands.

I use these to stretch out my shins and calves, there are videos on YouTube you can find for how to do it.  I believe it has helped me through shin pain and kept me from having it very often.  

Under Armour Underwear.

Keeps your thighs from rubbing together during the run so that you don't develop a heat rash.   I'll also apply some powder to the undercarriage to avoid that sweat and heat combo that can lead to rashes.  Trust me, if you run a lot you'll need this.  I have found that other brands of underwear will creep up and not stay in place as well around the upper thighs.  

Saucony Endorphine Speed shoes

These work well for, they hold up for about a year of serious running for me before I need to replace them.  They provide really good shock absorption, which will save your knees and shines.  There are other similar brands, do your research, shoes are subjective and what works for me may not work for you. Just make sure they've got soles designed to absorb the pounding you're going to be subjecting yourself to on a regular basis.

GENERAL THINGS I'VE LEARNED:

Walk before you run.

It's not so much just your heart, but toughening up your bones and getting them used to the mileage.  Especially if you're carrying a good deal of weight and not used to a lot of movement.  I'm a big believer that doing my 10K steps a day for a month before I started my running program really helped me.  Sometimes I'd try to get them all done in one big walk and sometimes I'd spread it out through the day. It's pretty time consuming and it takes some scheduling and dedication, but you can get 10K in a day even if you're job is really sedentary.  Take 15 minutes in the AM, 45 minutes at lunch, 15 in the afternoon and then another 15 or so minutes at night and you should be close to the 10K steps mark with your normal walking around added in (maybe even over).  

The Couch 2 5K App Rocks.

I used the Couch 2 5K App.  Some folks have issues with the privacy of it, I guess cookies and so forth, but whatever...it helped me.  I love that I can run it in the background on my phone and it will tell me to "walk" or "run" for intervals while I listen to music and put my brain on auto pilot.   I think it has a good three day a week schedule and the intervals definitely helped me get up to speed.  HOWEVER, when I was about 8 weeks in I did have some shin issues and so I did back off to about two days a week and that helped me adjust.  So, while it's a great tool I wouldn't be afraid to adjust as necessary depending on your unique situation. If you have knee pain or shin pain maybe take it down to two or even once per week until you're comfortable again or if you must don't be afraid to take a week off after two months or so of solid running just make sure you come back to it and don't give up.  

The key is sticking with it, not how quickly you finish it.  So long as you're making progress you're good even if it takes you a bit over the 12 week program to end it.  

Heart Rate is Everything.

Obviously, you need to have a healthy heart and should go see a doctor before any running programs especially if you're overweight.  If you have high blood pressure that's probably a warning sign, you need to get a check up before undertaking a serious running program so you don't get a heart attack or stroke.  For me, the best thing I've ever done is to run at the pace that puts me at that max or below aerobic BPM for the zone 2 running for endurance.  That's the 180 minus your age to figure out your MAX BPM for that zone 2, should be under it slightly through most of your run.  Use a smart device like a fitness watch to see what your average BPM and max BPM is per run so that you're not going over your max on endurance runs.  For my interval runs working up to the steady runs I do push my heart rate up into the threshold Zone 3 catagory, which for me is above 140.  I like pushing my BPM up to the 140 -145 BPM range and working on speed during my intervals (running fast for a set amount of time than walking then running fast again).   For me, this helps me get my speed up so that I can run those endurance runs faster with the ideal aerobic BPM for zone 2.  

I cheat my heart rate by changing up incline on my treadmill and by using the fan to cool me off after I've worked up a sweat. I also run on my treadmill in consistent temperature, so that's removed as a variable that I have to contend with.  I also find that running on an empty stomach in the morning really does make a difference for me, by about 10 beats per minute.  If I eat anything with sodium before a run I do see it show up with a higher BPM.  As you sweat and heat up your heart rate will increase, but the sweat will help you cool down if you have a nice fan, air conditioned then turned on, or nice breeze that in turn will get that heart rate down just a bit.  

I also find that staying well hydrated the day before makes a big difference on the day you run.  My body loves to be hydrated even though I personally hate having to go to the bathroom constantly, it is what it is.

Music Helps Me

Everybody is different.  I know guys that like to listen to audiobooks, some guys like country, some guys like metal, some guys like motivational speeches...whatever gets you focused or at least thinking about something other than "Oh my God why am I still running."   For me, I actually like pretty chill synthwave style music with a real steady beat I can sort of keep a cadance to while I run even though for weight lifting I prefer Melodic Death Metal.  Once and awhile I'll break out a motivational speech or just listen to an audio boook.  I find music that is chill and relaxing more helpful for running and staying relaxed with a nice heart rate than "angry" music that I'll use for weight lifting.  Honestly, my runs now are pretty "Zen" like and I actually need them for my good mental balance throughout the day.  Running used to suck for me, I hated it, but now it's a great stress relief.  

MAIN TAKE AWAYS

You run for your heart, you run for yourself.  What made me hate running when I was young was running to try to perform like my super tall thin friends on the Cross Country team, you know the beanpole guys that are all tendon and have a stride about a mile long.   When you're pushing yourself to the max every run it's really damn hard to progress.  I had far better luck when I started to just concentrating on my heart and getting my heart slowly and progressively stronger without worrying about my speed as much.  As you build your heart your speed will come especially as you start to lose weight.  Build the heart, lose the weight, and speed will follow.  

For weight loss though, remember this, you're never going to outrun a bad diet.  Cardio will make you hungry as Hell, especially if you're not used to it.  If you're burning 700 calories on a run then in a deficit of 500 calories, wow, you're going to be torturing yourself.  Take great care to adjust your calories to your cardio output so that you're not overeating or way undereating, you want to find your Goldilocks zone for calorie intake so it's best to start off actually trying to get yourself to a maintenance level of calorie intake first when you're starting a running program.  Once you do go start to cut the calories you consume try hard to aim for that 1.5 lbs to 3 lbs. a week weight loss goal.  If you go too overboard you're going to be miserable and probably increase your chances for injury.  The happier and more injury free you are the more you're going to stick with things.

I do use knee sleeves, thin ones, for when I think my knee is bugging me for active recovery.  When my knee flared up in the past depending on how bad it is, I'll either space out my runs farther apart (maybe 2 a week instead of 3), I'll switch to just walking with my sleeves on, or I have taken a full two weeks off before to recover.  That kind of thing is really damn subjective and dependent on you.  Talk to a Sports Medicine doctor or your General Practioner about any knee or joint issues, get that figured out and sorted to make sure you're not going to make things worse, because maybe running isn't smart for you and something like a bike or rower would be wiser.

Good luck.

Great post.

Yes thank you!!

You're welcome guys!

Hope you enjoy it and just remember start easy, take it slow, and a little bit of steady progress will end up taking you a long way.

Running is one of those life long things, if you haven't been running since you were a kid with proper form, best to go real easy on it. So many people start running with horrible form later in life and it doesn't do them many favors.

Other than running from something dangerous or to someone that needs help I see no real reason to do it now, you can get into those same heart rate zones with a lot less impact on joints.

Walk a lot, get stronger, build your endurance, and then run when you need to.

Keep walking, up your pace.
Cut calories.
You can "walk" a 5k.

I wound say anything helps. Run for 30 seconds and walk for a minute if it’s all you can do. Consistency will be more
Impactful than doing something like ‘run 3 miles twice a week then take two weeks off because life gets in the way and come back trying to run 6 miles in a day.’

Build slow. Do what you can. Don’t be full of pride. Don’t let your ego determine what the goal is or the purpose is. Just work towards the goal.

I mastered my endurance in 2023 by going from not being able to run a 5k to now running three 10ks a week.

2024 is my year of respectable speed. God willing I'll reach my 2024 fitness goals.

Have you considered biking or perhaps a stationary bike?

Stationary bike is excellent for any level of runner., I prefer the airbikes (the ones with fans) like my "Assault Bike" that I picked up from Rogue Fitness many years back.

Remember, cardio is first and primarily about the heart.  Running will take its toll on your joints and bones, so you're not well served just running for cardio alone.  It really helps to have non-running cardio days where you're giving your bones and joints a break, but pushing your heart up into the Zone 2.   That's going to help you build and eventually maintain that strong efficient heart you're going to need for running.

Concentrate on slowly keeping that heart more and more into the Zone 2 or 3 range through interval training on any cardio machine and that's going to help you build heart strength.  Eventually, if you can do zone 2 on a bike for 30 minutes straight and you can walk 10K steps a day than especially as you diet and lose weight you'll get to a point where you can comfortably run.  So, if you're like 30 lbs overweight that bike is not a bad place to start and even once you get to a health weight range and you're rocking your runs three times a week or so the bike remains a good supplemental tool to use to keep improving or at least maintaining your strong heart on the days you're not running.

Zone 2 running is a thing.  

Stay off the machines.  Go outside.

One of the things I'm going to experiment a bit with in the coming months is switching up my running program  to emphasize speed.    

I have been for about two solid months now just running three 10K distance runs and one speed run per week, but that is just too much for my mid 40's body so I'm going to switch it up and concentrate on speed and shorter 5K distances with some sprinting interval run workouts thrown in.  So, my running schedule starting next week is going to be a 5K fast run, with a 10K endurance run, and then a day where I'm just doing interval sprints.   I will be supplementing that with machine cardio three days a week.  In terms of weight training I'm just doing one leg day a week right now. I'm going to let my body acclimate to the new running schedule and if I'm cruising nicely I'll add a fully body weight training day to my schedule, which will bring me up to four days of lifting a week.  

My biggest struggle has been macronutrient consistency and tracking.  My nutrition discipline has been far better in the past, but my wife and I like to eat out a lot and that makes things tough when it comes to staying on track.  Plus, being hungry suck and I've just always been bad at eating those low cal veggies that will fill up your stomach without adding to your carbs and calories too much.   I'm definitely someone with an addiction to fatty, salty, high cholesterol foods and that's not a good thing.

For five years solid I was on point with my macros, but that was after spending those first three years with a nutrition coach to help hold me accountable. It might be time to shell out the big bucks and get a new nutrition coach to hold me accountable again for a bit until I regain my nutrition discipline.   Sometimes you need some mercs providing support by fire to take your objectives.