How important is cross training for a new runner who is overweight?

I saw this (or something very similar) on Reddit.

The easiest way of improving from a physical effort viewpoint is to lose weight by changing your diet - the rule of thumb is all things being equal a pound of excess weight costs 2 seconds per mile.

Cross training - yes, but along with that, those ancillary exercises that arent sexy. Things that will build up knee, hip, ankle and glute strength/stability.

There were some earlier posts on rucking which would be a good exercise while you build out/lose weight.

And shoes...good shoes. You may go through shoes more often, but that cost will pale in comparison to issues from poot footwear.

That rule of thumb was popularized by Tom Osler. Jack Daniels has a formula that comes up with a similar number.

As for the OP’s question, I would just walk easy for an hour the other four days of the week.

As others have mentioned diet is probably going to help get weight off moreso than activity. You can definitely add in a cycling workout to complement the running, it will help. I wouldn't shy away from doing something everyday of the week, but ease into the running because it is high impact.

You got this. Idiot.

Cross training can be useful to gain initial aerobic ability and make running easier. You should look up John Trautmann, he was the US 5K champ in the 90s and then went to work on Wall Street and got up over 200 pounds. He eventually started training again and got back down to race weight and ran an age group masters world record in the mile. Obviously it’s an extreme example, but he talks a lot about how, along with dietary changes, he used the arc-trainer and elliptical at first because he couldn’t handle the physical stress of running.

First, you're not fairly heavy, you're obese.

Eat less. Walk more, much more. Do pushups and squats in sets of ten to get some muscle tone. Forget running intervals, just jog real slow.

wow the top reddit post is so much better than anything on this board so far, that's interesting. don't know why you're calling this guy an idiot he's trying isn't he?

Because this place is a garbage heap some of the time.

Yes!

Start VERY slow on running.

I started running again a few months ago at 205# BW and got shin splints and knee pain within 3 weeks. Reduced running to once per week with 4-5 days of stationary cycling at Z1 (115-120bpm) for 30-60 mins (with a few 70-80 mins).

My 5k time went from 20:35-18:46 over that time period.

Cross training works! I promise!

Adding in a few days would absolutely improve your aerobic capacity.

As for the weight loss, adding in some more cardio will help a bit, but losing weight is all about how much (and what) you are eating.

The people downvoting you haven’t been on LRC for long.

Totally agree. You are 106kg, Until you get under 90kg I would jog 2x 20min per week - but do a lot of non impact cardio (cycling, swimming, elliptical, stairs.), increase jogging (zone1) as you get closer to 80kg. Start running for real when under 80kg (assuming normal body type, not a gladiator on roids). Also invest in squishy super foam trainers. All off this is to preserve your knee and hip joints long term.

As for the original question, yes, but go for more reps (12 to 20) because you are going for weight loss not hypertrophy.

Yes, and you can do way more than what you're proposing.

When I was injured a couple of years ago, I took up cycling to maintain fitness, and went from 0 to 14 hours a week of cycling and had no injury issues.

I've continued to keep 3-4 hours of cycling in per week, whilst also running 100kms a week, and it has improved my running greatly. Previous 10k PB was 36 high, now it's 34 mid.

Not really, that post ignores that he has a significant amount of weight to shift that is making it harder and increasing his chance of injury and although exercise definitely helps, the secret to that weight coming off is in the kitchen.

My own experience of getting back into running after gaining a decent amount of weight was that I really struggled with maintaining consistent efforts and avoiding injury when I was only running. Three-four attempted build ups were derailed by injury.

Adding in cycling has made a huge difference for two reasons:

1) I'm able to workout every single day without getting injured. This has been huge for building positive momentum and consistency, especially when considering motivation

2) I'm spending way more time than I have before at an easy aerobic effort. That's making my runs easier too, and I suspect it's helping me avoid injury.

As other people have said, most of the work of losing weight is done in the kitchen. But adding in cycling was the variable that helped me stay consistent everywhere else.

You need to change your eating habits. That is just as important, if not more so, than your exercise program.

Correct. I am far more competitive at 120 than I am at 128.

Aqua jogging is the most running-specific non-impact cardio you can do. If you have access to a pool, get an aqua jogging vest and get your butt in the pool.

Aqua jogging is actually great to do after you run because the pool will help bring your core temperature back down so you aren't sweating for the next hour after your run.

Any running you do should be extremely slow. At this point you are trying to burn more calories than you take in so you can get weight loss going. In the long term, the best strategy is to do exercises that have a low likelihood of injuring you or making you so tired that you blow off tomorrow's run.

Once you lose weight and your body can handle the pounding of faster running, you can risk faster runs.