My Girlfriend's dream of jogging

hello ladies and gentleman, my Girlfriend has always wanted to jog.  Whenever she tries, she gets winded very easily and then starts wheezing.  It sounds very serious, but I was just wondering if anyone could suggest a way for her to either overcome this, or suggest a less strenuous way for her to get in her daily cardio. (serious comments only please)

jogging is 1000 times more different than say treadmill. You will find that if you are a first time jogger that it is quite a bit more taxing on the body. What does she do for cardio right now and does she smoke ?

First, I would suggest that you do it together - make it a fun, social activity.

Second, start slowly!!!  At the end of my running technique page I have a suggested staged approach for how to start running.  Basically do intervals of walking and jogging.  Start out with long periods of walking (say 2 minutes) interspersed with short duration of jogging (say 15 seconds).  Slowly over the weeks, make the walking periods shorter and the jogging periods longer.  Eventually she will be able to jog for the entire duration of the workout but it might take 6 months to build up to that.

I have asthma.  I'm also a runner; normally 6 mi/5 days wk.  I vary my runs between  10 min/mi and 7 min/mi.  I use an inhaler and a peak flow meter to manage my asthma.  There is actually a form of asthma called exercise-induced asthma or exercise-induced bronchospasm in which only physical exertion triggers an asthma attack.  If she is wheezing, coughing, and/or experiencing tightness in the chest during or after exercise, she really should see a doctor.  My recommendation would be an allergist or pulmonologist, both specialize in respiratory problems.  I see a allergist on a regular basis.  I believe it's important she be checked out to know for sure; I recently had an asthma attack while at the gym that required first aid by EMT's.  My athma had been under control form about 18 months until that point.  My doctor then added new medication to control my asthma.  But on the plus side, one can live a very active life with asthma: I run, cycle, and lift weights 5-6 days a week.