The Couch-to-5K Running Plan

By Josh ClarkPosted Wednesday, 25 October, 2006

Too many people have been turned off of running simply by trying to start off too fast. Their bodies rebel, and they wind up miserable, wondering why anyone would possibly want to do this to themselves.

You should ease into your running program gradually. In fact, the beginners’ program we outline here is less of a running regimen than a walking and jogging program. The idea is to transform you from couch potato to runner, getting you running three miles (or 5K) on a regular basis in just two months.

It’s easy to get impatient, and you may feel tempted to skip ahead in the program, but hold yourself back. Don’t try to do more, even if you feel you can. If, on the other hand, you find the program too strenuous, just stretch it out. Don’t feel pressured to continue faster than you’re able. Repeat weeks if needed and move ahead only when you feel you’re ready.

 A few minutes each week

Each session should take about 20 or 30 minutes, three times a week. That just happens to be the same amount of moderate exercise recommended by numerous studies for optimum fitness. This program will get you fit. (Runners who do more than this amount are doing it for more than fitness, and before long you might find yourself doing the same as well).

Be sure to space out these three days throughout the week to give yourself a chance to rest and recover between efforts. And don’t worry about how fast you’re going. Running faster can wait until your bones are stronger and your body is fitter. For now focus on gradually increasing the time or distance you run.

 Run for time, or run for distance

There are two ways to follow this program, to measure your runs by time or by distance. Either one works just as well, choose the option that seems easiest for you to keep track of. If you go with the distance option, and you are not using a track to measure the distances, just estimate. It’s not important to have the distances absolutely exact.

Before setting out, make sure to precede each session with a five-minute warmup walk or jog. Be sure to stretch both before and after. Read “Stay Loose” for some suggestions.

The Cool Running Couch to 5K program is now available for download in Active Trainer. It’s the same program that has helped thousands of runners across the finish-line, published to your personal online training calendar. Active Trainer allows you to log your progress against the program. Try the program today!

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following: Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds) Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes) Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes) Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then: Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes) Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes) Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.
7	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

 

FAT!!! Everything you need to know…and more.

 

  

 To say you haven’t heard the phrase “good fat/bad fat” would indicate that you’re either suffering from amnesia or you have spent the last decade reading only Harry Potter.Or maybe you’ve worked for the American Heart Association for 40 years and didn’t get the memo that even they have changed their recommendations away from avoiding all fat to instead include “good fats.”My futile attempts at humor aside, most of us know there are “good fats” out there — fish oil, some nuts, flaxseed oil, olive oil… The list goes on depending how much money you’re willing to wave at the health food store clerk. But most of us just want to know if we have to have a certain amount of fat, if it will help or hurt our attempts to lose weight, and how we can get it in our diet easily. Save carbon chains, hydrolysis, free-fatty acids and gluconeogenesis for grad students — just tell me what to do! In a nutshell, saturated fats are bad, unsaturated fats are good. So they tell us. Saturated fats come from animal products like beef, pork, high-fat dairy, and egg yolks (fish being the exception) and unsaturated fats come from plant sources as mentioned above. The terms saturated and unsaturated refer to their chemical composition and stability. Saturated fats are bigger and more stable and therefore harder to break down to use for energy. Think of them as big clumpy, sticky molecules that clog up your arteries – a big, yucky hairball in your drain. Unsaturated fats are more easily digested and used as energy and they actually have some amazing benefits.They are used by the body to create cholesterol-derived hormones, some of which are helpful in metabolism and even things like mood and libido. They contain essential fatty acids that are used for cell repair, cell membrane maintenance, the nervous system, the immune system and will even help increase the good cholesterol (HDL) in your body while reducing the bad. So instead of just avoiding all fat, if you make an effort to sneak in some of the good, you’ll increase your health and potentially lose weight, if it’s part of a good overall plan. 

In addition to the direct fat-loss effects, you may find that additional fat in your diet helps control carb cravings and it becomes easier to eat less. Studies with protein have demonstrated the same — when kids were made to eat a certain amount of protein per day, but then could eat anything they wanted, they ate hundreds of calories less per day just due to being more satisfied/full after eating. Fat does the same thing. If you add fat as a regular part of your diet, add good fat.

When I’m dieting, I do make an effort to add good fat and it works – it’s not theory and it’s not merely academic. Start with flaxseed oil. Why? It’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are hard to find in nature (if you don’t want to eat salmon every day), are the most helpful for every reason on this page and more and are easy to integrate. Simply add half of a tablespoon to a meal or two where it fits nicely. I usually recommend about 20 percent of calories coming from fat when dieting, and certainly more is allowable when maintaining weight. For the average female, that equates to about 25 to 35 grams per day and for men around 45 to 55 grams per day (depending, of course, on calorie intake which depends on things like age, activity level and metabolic rate). Cook with olive or canola or even grapeseed oil. Make or use salad dressings with olive oil. Some nuts like almonds also have high percentages of unsaturated fat and unique health properties. I certainly don’t like to see someone go to one extreme or the other (no carbs or no fat) but many dieters are terrified to add fat. Consider this a polite prompt and permission to try it. You can even get a note from your doctor; I’m sure he or she would agree. I think you’ll find it easier to lose or maintain your weight, your brain will be happy and I’ll bet even your hair and skin look better — who wouldn’t like a nice, shiny coat?! Some people, because of good genetics and/or a great lifestyle, can end up too low in total cholesterol, LDLs, triglycerides, etc. Most struggle in the other direction for sure, but here’s the correlation: Being in a dieting state for long enough can mimic my client’s condition. Though I’m not a fan of dieting on a very-low carb diet and eating a ton of saturated fat, a lot of people could benefit from keeping some of their fat intake coming from saturated sources. The hormones I mentioned that are cholesterol-derived can’t always keep up when the diet is “too clean.”