When can I drop walking?

[Karenlwarner73]

Sounds like a stupid question...

When can I stop / reduce the 5min walk before and after my run

Can i do a warm up at home before I venture out? Can i reduce the walk before I run as long as my heart rate is up and body moving.

[AlMorr Ambassador Graduate]

It's advisable to have at least a 5 minute warm up walk🚶 before ALL the runs🏃 on C25K, same at the end as well with a bit of stretching too, but certainly another at least 5 minute 'cooldown' walk🚶. 😊

[Deals1 Graduate]

I'm not sure. Answer might be in pinned post. I still do my 5 mins warm up and cool down, sometimes longer... As I feel better.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

As long as you do the equivalent of your five minutes brisk walk and get leg muscles warmed up and heart rate raised, then there is no reason why you shouldn't do your warm up at home, but don't stint it during the cooler winter temperatures. Stretching before a run should be dynamic, not static stretching, as described and linked to in the guide to the plan healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

That said, I still do a brisk five minutes walk before and after every run.

Elite athletes warm up and cool down...........so should we, to avoid injury.

[ArthurJG Graduate]

Yep, I graduated in July but I still do a warm up walk and a cool down walk every time because I don't want to get injured. There are other ways to warm up your muscles and raise your heart rate before you start to run but I find brisk walking is by far the simplest and as far as I'm concerned simple is good.

[davelinks Graduate]

runnersworld.com/beginner/a...

[theoldfellow]

The simple answer is you can do the warm up at home, but you gotta do it! It's more important for those of us more age-challenged.

The warm-down, I think, is just as important, but due to tiredness it's easy to leave out. Doing it at home with all the pressures there makes it even more likely something or someone will demand attention.

I plan my runs from home to always end 5 minutes away, and those I drive to, like Parkrun, I park at least 5 minutes walk from the start.

[Mercmancouchto5k Graduate in reply to theoldfellow]

Great advice, thankyou. I am fortunate in my family that as soon as I get my baseball cap on they know I am going out in the cold and nobody asks me to do anything to interrupt that. They know it is important for my health. Nobody has volunteered to date to accompany me though I have offered. Maybe my younger son today - he is home from Uni for a short break.

[Beccym Graduate]

I run much longer distances now, half marathon is my longest distance but still do the 5 min warm up and cool down walks. They're there for a reason especially the cool down as they help prevent injury.

If you cut the end one make sure stretch afterwards