How to get off the couch and run a 5K!
So I had a client ask me last week,”What would I need to do to train for one of those race things?” I explained that the first and most important thing would be to pick a distance of a race and begin to start towards the goal of being able to complete a race of this length. For where this particular client is at physically and where I think the best place for most people who have never ran an organized race should start at would be a 5K. I am writing this blog to give people who have never ran a race a program to get off the couch and run a 5K.
To start of I would like to let everyone reading this know that a 5K is 3.1 miles in distance which is an important thing to know before you start to train for this race. I think that for someone who has a low fitness level if you work hard at this program you can complete a 5K in eight to nine weeks. I suggest running three days a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Then give yourself two full days to recover over the weekend. It is not 100 percent necessary to space your days out like this so if something comes up just do two workout days in a row or adjust as necessary. Make sure that you always do at least 5-10 minutes of walking at a moderately fast pace before you run so that your body has time to warm up and remember to always stretch at the end of your workout.
I am going to give you one workout to repeat three times a week that will gradually increase in time and distance as we progress through this program. Try to space the days that you train out evenly but if you get in a bind it’s most important to just complete three workouts a week.
Week 1
5-10 minute warm up walk
Jog for 90 seconds
Walk for 60 seconds
Repeat this for 20 minutes
Week 2
5-10 minute warm up walk
Jog for 90 seconds
Walk for 60 seconds
Repeat for 25 minutes
Week 3
5-10 minute warm up walk
Jog for 90 seconds
Walk for 90 seconds
Jog for 3 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Repeat this circuit 3 times
Week 4
5-10 minute warm up walk
Jog for 90 seconds
Walk for 90 seconds
Jog for 3 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Repeat this circuit 4 times
Week 5
5-10 minute warm up walk
Jog for 90 seconds
Walk for 90 seconds
Jog for 3 minutes
Walk for 3 minutes
Repeat this circuit 3 times
Week 6
5-10 minute warm up walk
Jog for 1/2 mile
Walk for 1/4 mile
Jog for 1/2 mile
Walk for 1/4 mile
Jog for1/2 mile
Week 7
5-10 Minute warm up walk
Jog 2.5 miles with no walking
Week 8
5-10 Minute warm up walk
Jog 2.75 miles with no walking
Week 9
5-10 Minute warm up walk
Jog 3.1 miles with no walking
Happy Training!
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