I'm tall and skinny but I can't run?
I'm in the Army and I'm 19 years old. In order to pass my APFT test I must run a 2 mile in at least 15:54. Being a tall (6'1"), skinny (157 pounds), black, male, people are shocked when they see me failing my APFTs running usually around 16:30. It bothers me because people think I don't try and are always telling me to "take bigger strides because you have long legs." I've also gotten comments like "you give tall skinny black guys a bad name." I know how to run fast, its obvious and I CAN run fast. I just get tired really fast and wish I knew what I was doing wrong with my running. I do the breathe in through your nose and out your mouth thing, and I know not to start off too fast and to run at a steady, casual, jogging pace. I just get tired fast and If I run any faster I'll end up exhausting myself and walking. I've never smoked, I don't have asthma and I've never been overweight. If anyone has any suggestions on how to conserve energy while running or anything I may be doing that hinders my performance, please respond to this, thank you.
Do I have to be skinny to run fast?
Well depends in the world of sprinters,No you have to be muscular. Movement comes from muscle.. and speed comes from power and power comes from strength and strength comes from muscle which causes movement and etc. For example tyson gay is ripped, Michael Johnson was ripped and even Usain Bolt has a great deal of muscle mass. It is just that he is tall and the muscle is distributed throughout his whole body. But since your doing a marathon which is mostly long distance it is all mostly endurance and keeping a faster pace and that comes from being in shape so you can't be too overweight/Obese, But some muscle wouldn't hurt.. So i guess being skinny is more beneficial than being overweight,
Can I run if I'm skinny?
Why not have a try? You can do it.
If I'm skinny should I not run?
I'm about 5' 9" and around 120lbs. My problem is that I have a ridiculously high metabolism. I eat alot but never gain any weight. Is running a bad idea? Usually people run to lose weight but it's also good for your heart and all that so I guess I'm just wondering if I would lose more weight if I ran? Can I still run?
Can I jog if I'm skinny?
anyone can jog, physical activity is necessary for everyone! you'll only lose weight if you burn more calories than you eat, so if you're currently burning the same amount of calories that you eat and you want to begin jogging, simply eat a little more. you'll get nice muscle tone, and trust me, that's super attractive :)
I'm skinny. But I can't run to save me life?
Being in good physical condition is not a matter of height and weight, but what you can do athletically. There are many overweight people who exercise hard and can perform surprisingly well on tasks of endurance, strength, speed, etc., and there are skinny people who are not in good shape because they don't exercise regularly. A 14 minute mile is only a little faster than what a person can do walking, so I wouldn't characterize you as being in pretty good shape for running. Your physical condition might be better for martial arts (because you practice that more), but I don't know how we would gauge that from your running time. I would have thought the physical requirements for getting a black belt would provide you with better physical fitness.
If you have skinny legs, will you run faster?
uhh I don't think it's that simple You can have skinny legs and be the best in the state. You can also have skinny legs and be one of the worst runners ever. Less weight, without the cost of muscle, can benefit you in distance events, but its only one factor. A 5'9, 120 pound distance runner can easily get owned by a 5'9 145 pound distance runner. My point is that there are MANY factors that can determine how fast you run, and those factors vary depending on the distance your talking about. If you are a long distance runner, your body, may naturally develop skinner legs. Your muscle fibers develop more for distance running and you require less muscular power and rely more on pure endurance and running efficiency. But then if you go and competed against guys in the 1500m or 800m who have "jacked" thighs and quads, you would probably get owned because you are lacking the power and speed needed for those distances that would come from having more muscular legs. But you could also compete against a guy in the 800 who is very muscular, but lacks endurance almost completely. In this case you would probably beat him based on your excellent endurance. (the 800m is about 60% aerobic and 40% anaerobic). Now if that same muscular 800m runner had at least decent endurance/distance ability he could beat you. In conclusion, just having "skinny legs" doesn't necessarily mean you will be successful at any distance. Many factors play a role in you overall speed at that distance and those factors depend on the distance. Naturally, one can not posses enough muscle power with "skinny legs" to be a 100-400m sprinter. (I would think) The person's legs might just seem skinny because they are tall as well. You should think twice about this.