I have been running 6 miles on my treadmill everyday for the past few weeks. My knees and legs are starting to get sore, making it kind of painful to finish my runs. I must add that during my runs I sprint for 1 minute every 5 minutes (intervals)--adding up to about 8-10 intervals with each run. Anyway, I love running, but I don't want to injure myself if I keep pushing so hard. I was wondering what other machines I could use that would be equally intense??? Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for reading!

whoa, whoa, whoa! WAY too much, hon, that's what your body is telling you!! nobody should run 6 miles a day every day consistently. you're not training for anything are you? running is too hard on your knees and joints and by doing it that often, you're really increasing the risk of injury.

and i'm a runner, so don't think i'm just some quack telling you random advice. :) luckily, because running is such a great workout, you don't need to do it as far or as long as you would some exercise machines. try 4 miles per run and do it 5 days a week. that's still a TON of exercise (could do less if you wanted), but with less mileage and two rest days, you'll be feeling great in no time!

I gotta agree. Either use a different piece of equipment (eliptical) or drop running to a couple days a week and start walking or biking or something else. Be kind to your knees. If you jack them up once, they'll never be the same again.
What are your goals? Is this just to stay fit or you trying to lose weight? Are you going to a gym or is the treadmill yours?

I use the treadmills at the gym. I also incorporate the elliptical machine into my workouts everyday. I just want to find a workout that is really intense...just not so hard on my knees. I'm just trying to stay fit and healthy.

Use the elipticals more. MUCH easier on the knees and if you increase the resistance you can get an equally intense workout (high resistance + high speed = sprints). Don't nix the running altogether, just lighten that load until your knees get some recovery time.

Also: take at least 1 day off every week or two. If you're just trying to stay fit, the excess exercise will end up causing weight loss (possibly lean muscle loss) and could end up creating some detrimental side effects unnecessarily. Even for weight loss, high intensity exercise every day is too much.

I am soon hitting 50 and my eventual goal is running.

For now I am just walking an average of 6 miles a day. ( Weekly goal of 40 miles. )

I plan on walking for at least another 5 months before I even begin to run. ( Playing it safe. )

I have been incrementing in small steps. I think it is best for the body to say when it is ready. I place the daily walk mileage results on a spread sheet, and then create a graph of my performance.

This helps tell me how well I am doing, and what ability improvement I can expect each following week.

Adding short intervals of light jogging (maybe 1-2 minute spurts to start) into your walks will help you to build the endurance to get to the point of full-on running. Trying to just start running one day may lead to injury and is definitely not the most efficient way to go about it. Take baby steps in that direction and it will serve you better. Good luck. :) I hope you reach your goals.

hi applecheek-

I have to side with the others. I am actually training for a 1/2 marathon in January and I don't even run that much. Generally my schedule would be something like this:

Monday - Light jog or run 20-30 minutes
Tuesday - 20/20 crosstrain (20 min eliptical/20 on bike)
Wednesday - Run 3 mile pace run (timed run)
Thursday - 20/20 crosstrain
Friday - 3 mile pace run
Saturday - OFF but if I do decide to workout - 20/20 cross
Sunday - 5 mile run

This is a 18 week schedule and the only thing that changes from week to week is sunday from a 5 mile run gradually up to 12 miles and then back down to a 5 miler.

Running too much puts extreme stress on your joints and especially your knees. You might not notice anything now but you could have problems later in life. I suffer from shin splints when running too much. I was on the same track as you and running too much when they developed. They are extremely painful but generally don't give me any trouble if I alternate my days and ice my shins after running long distances.

Treadmills are good they help cushion your runs but are not equal to a road run. So if the treadmill isn't challenging enough for you try running at a 1 or 1.5 degree slope (this would be equilivalent to a road run). It isnt much but you would definately feel the difference.

Another great class is spinning if your gym offers it. Its a pretty intense class depending on the level of your instructor and will a great workout with out causing much harm to your knees.

Hope this give you some ideas!

-S.J.-