What is a couch to 5K?
A “couch to 5k” is a programme that takes people from their couch to running a 5k race in nine weeks.
5K is short for 5 kilometres, or 5,000 meters or 3.1 miles.
The training over the nine weeks involves three runs a week
Some advice before you start
- Start each of your sessions with a warm-up stretching out your shoulders, spine, hips, knees and ankles and then a 2-3 minute brisk walk.
- Warming up helps gently prepare your body for the run and helps prevent injury.
- Make sure to warm-down at the end of each session by slowing down the intensity for 2-3 mins and then do some stretching, this will help prevent sore muscles.
- Rest days are rest days, they give your body a chance to recover and repair the muscles, try to do some stretching on these days to help aid recovery.
- Exercises like body weight ones including squats and lunges are a good way of strengthening the leg muscles and again help to prevent injury.
- Dress for the conditions you’re going out in, but remember that you will warm up a lot so light layers is a good idea and ones that you can take off if it’s too warm. Good comfortable running shoes are also important.
- Make sure to listen to your body during the training place, if you’re not feeling well or tired, then rest. If you’ve any worries about medical conditions you have, contact your gp.
- The “Couch to 5k” plan is a guide, you can change up the days to suit your own schedule once you get the three running days per week in.
Couch to 5K programme
Week 1
For your 3 runs in week 1, you will begin with a brisk 5-minute walk. After this, you will alternate 1 minute of running and 1-and-a-half minutes of walking, for a total of 20 minutes.
Week 2
For your 3 runs in week 2, you will begin with a brisk 5-minute walk. After this, you will alternate 1-and-a-half minutes of running with 2 minutes of walking, for a total of 20 minutes.
Week 3
For your 3 runs in week 3, you will begin with a brisk 5-minute walk, then 2 repetitions of 1-and-a-half minutes of running, 1-and-a-half minutes of walking, 3 minutes of running and 3 minutes of walking.
Week 4
For your 3 runs in week 4, you will begin with a brisk 5-minute walk, then 3 minutes of running, 1-and-a-half minutes of walking, 5 minutes of running, 2-and-a-half minutes of walking, 3 minutes of running, 1-and-a-half minutes of walking and 5 minutes of running.
Week 5
There are 3 different runs this week:
Run 1: a brisk 5-minute walk, then 5 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking, 5 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of running.
Run 2: a brisk 5-minute walk, then 8 minutes of running, 5 minutes of walking and 8 minutes of running.
Run 3: a brisk 5-minute walk, then 20 minutes of running, with no walking.
Week 6
There are 3 different runs this week:
Run 1: a brisk 5-minute walk, then 5 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking, 8 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of running.
Run 2: a brisk 5-minute walk, then 10 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking and 10 minutes of running.
Run 3: a brisk 5-minute walk, then 25 minutes of running with no walking.
Week 7
For your 3 runs in week 7, you will begin with a brisk 5-minute walk, then 25 minutes of running.
Week 8
For your 3 runs in week 8, you will begin with a brisk 5-minute walk, then 28 minutes of running.
Week 9
For your 3 runs in week 9, you will begin with a brisk 5-minute walk, then 30 minutes of running.
And off you go
The programme is designed for beginners to build up their running ability so they can eventually run 5k without stopping.
You can, however, repeat any one of the weeks until you feel ready to move on to the next week.
You will have good runs and bad runs – accept it, and do not spend too much time analysing the how and why.
Even a bad run is good for you, you went and did it.
Enjoy yourself
