Your muscles develop micro tears when running, which repair and strengthen on your rest days, not while running. No rest, no repair or strengthening, therefore increased injury risk.
So one workout per day then a rest day between. Doing any more will risk any further progress and could cause permanent damage.
No, don't go there! This programme is carefully structured to minimise injury and failing to finish. Which is why it's so important to stick to the rules and follow each run as it says on the tin.
The rest days between each SiNGLE run are when the magic happens and the muscles get stronger and we build our running legs. You are a very new runner and although, fitness wise, you might feel you can run twice in a day, your joints take longer to catch up and doing too much too soon will take you to the IC (injury couch) very quickly. You really don't want to go there ☹️
Of course, there's nothing to stop you running twice in one day but why would you play Russian roulette with your running body?
I've only just finished week 8 😄😄🎉! Whoop!! And I'm so very pleased as I didn't really expect to actually get this far, having failed at interval training before so please! trust the programme and control the urge to run out of sequence - patience really pays off. 😊. I had to battle with not running two days in a row especially as it's all gone so well for me... but I truly think the reason it's worked is not just the my commitment and mental attitude but staying true to the programme - it's superbly designed for our success 😃.
All the very best for many enjoyable and injure free runs 🏃♀️🏃.
there are plenty of other things to do for all round fitness besides running that you can do (and should do) every day. I hesitate to say squats, but squats for example.
I personally think it's great that you're so enthused. I've been reading a bit though and it's in the "recovery" period that you build strength and stamina. Indeed, the more you minimise stress and the better you sleep, the more fat vs muscle you will burn as you lose weight. Sleep is skinny is my new motto.
Anyway, use the enthusiasm to do other types of training for strength -- yoga, squats, juggling, walking on your hands -- something fun, I think, but not running. And sleep yourself strong and skinny
NO!!!!!!! It's amazing that you are so committed and enthusiastic about running but your running muscles need the rest days. You can do other things - there has been the occasional day when I have done a 30 minute run and then done a spinning class - but never overdo the running at this stage. Your legs need to gradually strengthen. This is the first time I have ever been able to run for more than a few minutes. I remember that about 15 years ago (I'm 45 now) I decided I would learn to run. I followed what was supposed to be a beginner's programme but it was pretty intense and much more intense than the C25K programme. After a few weeks I damaged my knee so badly that it's taken me another 15 years to even try running again. I still have problems with the knee and when it's a bit tweaky I take a few days break but I am certain that the injury only happened in the first place because I pushed my body too far too quickly. I would hate to see your enthusiasm for running landing you on the dreaded injury couch - better to be a tortoise and get to the finish line than be the hare and fall short!!!!
The programme is a whole 'thing' - it is not a matter of ticking off 27 runs. It is also ticking off the 'holding back' - the non-running days, the walking intervals. This is what builds the healthy sustainable habit. Stuff needs to happen in your mind as well as your body.
It is absolutely lovely to graduate from the programme, a sense of achievement that can never be taken from you even if you never run another step. But the objective of the NHS in putting this particular presentation of C25K out there, free, is to give people a tool and a habit for regular exercise at a safe level for a lifetime.
On my rest days I do a workout at the gym and sometimes swim. I work on core and upper body strength as well as no impact cross training or on the ski machine.
You could use the strength and flex exercises which accompany the C25K podcasts.
I also swim when I have time too.
There is no rush to get to the end of the programme. I restarted the programme last October, took it slow and steady, had a couple of spells on the injury Couch , but less than a year in I have safely just completed my first organised 10k event. So slow and steady definitely wins the race.
I had several months off running a couple of years ago after breaking lots of ribs in a tree incident. When I could finally run again I quickly moved to two a day runs. My wife left me and my dog had a third eyelid prolapse. Now we have Trump.
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