Minimum workouts needed?

every second day, you lazy piece of [censored].

Quoted message said:

This might sound weird, but I would like to be able to run/jog 3 miles
easily by the spring time.

Hmmm, any idea how far you can run now? And if you're trying to keep up
with some buddies, how fast / often do they run? ie. you may need to do
more than minimum if you're trying to keep up with some fast friends.

Some active people can just go run 3 miles with no prep, others need to
build to it, either with run/walk program or starting with short runs
and extending them. Some can get by with 1 run/wk, some need more.
Generally somewhere around 3-4/wk (every other day) is a common minimum
amt of running, but some folks with lots of other activities may do 1-2
runs/wk.

One of the big considerations is running at a conversational pace - so
you can talk with your buddies (no, that's not the real reason). Harder
than that and you are likely to collapse in 100 yds unless you train more 😉

Dot

--
"So many people get stuck in the routine of life that their dreams waste
away. This is about living the dream." - Cave Dog

I had the cardio to run 10 kms but my legs will only allow me to run
about 20 minutes at slow pace without getting shin splints or
tendinitis. I guess it is because im 42. Or, i really injured myslef by
starting up too fast and it has taken a year to recover. damn!!!!

Quoted message said:

This might sound weird, but I would like to be able to run/jog 3 miles
easily by the spring time.

You could probably do it now if you're not overweight and go slowly enough.
Get on a treadmill, put it on a really slow pace (5mph) and see if you can
manage 3 miles. I bet you can.

Depending on how fast your friend is, that might not help you much.

In other words, it all depends on how fast you are now and how fast you want
to be able to run.

Quoted message said:

Currently I lift weights 3 days a week, and train martial arts 3 days a
week.

What is the minimum amount of workouts needed to reach my goal?

The notion of a "minimum" suggests that

(a) you have an obligation to do a certain amount of running
(b) once you do that "minimum", there is no need to do more.

(a) is simply false, and (b) is true, but misses the point -- because you
didn't need to do that "minimum" in the first place either. It's all up to
you. My personal "minimum" is about 50 miles a week. But I don't expect you to
do that.

You get out of this what you put into it. It's ultimately up to you to decide
how fit is "fit enough".

As a general rule I'd suggest you start by running (very slowly -- make your
training runs easy) 20 minutes about 3 times a week. But that's just a
boilerplate general training program, doesn't have much to do with your stated
goals (though you will certainly get faster over 3 miles if you run a few
times a week)

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi
http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/

I recommend three times a week.
Many find when running gets easy, they get restless on
off days, so run most days of a week.

Im in a running club that runs together one day a week.
I notice the people who only run that one day a week always struggle.

Quoted message said:

This might sound weird, but I would like to be able to run/jog 3 miles
easily by the spring time.

Currently I lift weights 3 days a week, and train martial arts 3 days a
week.

What is the minimum amount of workouts needed to reach my goal?

I just want to be able to run 3 miles, if a friend ever says "lets go
jogging today", and I wont embarrass myself by collapsing after 100
yards.

after I achieve my goal, what is the minimum number of workouts to keep
it?
I'm not even looking to really improve upon it, just keep it.

Thanks

I started running after many years' absence at 3 days a week about a
month ago. Now I run 4 days a week and will increase to 5 days once I
get a few more miles under my belt. I woudl say at a minimum, start at
3 days. Who knows? You may love it so much, you'll want to run more. :
)

Martha