Hi,
Joined today and completed W1D1 of couch to 5K this morning. Coped better than expected however legs are a little sore tonight. Do people usually have rest days or do what they can on consecutive days. Any advice would be gratefully accepted.
Thank you
I’m on my second week and I’ve been running every other day. I find it gives me chance to recover! Good luck!
Thank you, I enjoyed today and felt better for it afterwards.
DEFINITELY have rest days. Your body and muscles need time to recover from the stress, especially in the early stages. When you’re a couple of weeks in, pick up some strength exercises to give yourself a boost.
Ok will have a rest day in between. I’m eager to get moving but know I shouldn’t rush it. I’ll look into strength exercises. Thanks for the tip! 👍🏻
I made the mistake of trying to rush it but my body was having none of it. There’s no quick fix to becoming fit and your body will repay your patience!
Take a look at the Q&As here - loads of useful tips healthunlocked.com/couchto5....
Focus first on getting your technique, gaining confidence and basic fitness then incorporate some strength work on your alternate days when you’ve got the hang of it 
Welcome to the forum and well done on getting started.
This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...
Always take your rest days, they are as important as run days, stretch after every run and take it nice and steady.
Enjoy your journey.
Welcome and congrats on getting run 1 under your belt 👏👏👏
You defo need the rest days as they are important for muscle repair but that doesn't mean do nothing. You could do Pilates, yoga, walking or stretching etc on your non run days. All of these will help ease muscle soreness. Have a read through the guide that IannodaT has linked to. Lots of useful stuff on there. Take note of staying hydrated as this does make a difference
Keep up the good work, this is a great program
Keep us posted on your progress too 👍
I will keep you posted, thank you. 😊
Great job getting started... as above, “rest” days are important... look at strength & flex via the guide.
I’ll look at that thank you for replying 👍🏻
Everything I’ve read from this forum and the advice on the app etc really really stressed the rest days so I’m definitely sticking to them. Although still aiming to be more active on the rest days than I would have generally been otherwise. I’m finding keeping moving is helping to keep the stiffness at bay a bit!
I’ll stick to rest days. I’ve just been reading through links posted so am planning a long walk tomorrow.
I fear I may have stiff legs tomorrow, slightly sore this evening.
Day 2 of recovery was worse for my. My calves are killing me! Keeping hydrated has definitely helped me I literally drank gallons the day after my first one.
You need to drink 2-3 l!itres the day before your run, not afterwards.
Well done! I’d recommend a rest day, it will do you good, as you can recover and look forward to the next one. Due to certain circumstances, I would sometimes have two days between. Keep positive you’ve taken the first steps to a new you. I’ve finished the programme and am doing regular park runs plus my own runs during the week. Trust me it’s worth it 👍😊 onwards & upwards but have a rest day😎
Always have a rest day. Have 2 if you need to. I’m on W5D2. I wouldn’t have thought two 8 minute runs in one session would be possible when I started. Well done for starting and keep going!! 👍
Absolutely have the rest days. Follow the plan and you can’t go wrong. Personally I run on Tue, Thur and Sat. Giving me a day off between runs and 2 days off between weeks. Rest days are crucial to give your body time to heal. Something else I’ve learned over the past 6 weeks is to keep hydrated. Drink plenty of water on both running and resting days.
Hi and well done on starting. I’m two weeks after completing c25k and I’m still running 3 times per week. I always had rest days in between and never ran on consecutive days. Good luck!
Well done Peaches55! Keep going.... it’s definitely worth it.
I am on week 9 now and I can run for 28mins non stop! My legs (and bottom) are slimmer & firmer and even my arms! It’s an amazing programme. 👍😍
Hi. Well done in starting the couch to 5k! I am
On week 3 and my legs still ache, it’s all new and your body takes time to adjust. I would definitely have rest days in between, you only have to do it 3 times a week so every other day or even have a two day break before the last one. There is no point in rushing and hurting yourself as you will be more likely to give up. For example this week I’m doing Monday, Weds and then Saturday. Hope all goes well x
Rest days re non negotiable on the C25K plan.. we want everyone to get to Week 9 safely and injury free
Please read the link from IannodaTruffe for Newbies..it contains tried and tested advice on running this C25K plan.
Slow and steady is the mantra.. and there is plenty of non impact work to supplement your running on some of your rest days too
Well done for starting 🤗. Personally I think the hardest thing when starting s/thing new (or revisiting a ‘lost’ exercise) is getting out and beginning - you soon get the bug and want to be out there as much as possible, but don’t over do it as it could put you off/lead to injury. Think tortoise and the hare - go at your own pace, you can always repeat a section (there’s nothing wrong with that) and above all...enjoy 😎🙂
Well done - you've done the hardest bit by starting! All the advice says to leave a day between runs and I've always done that - no major injuries so far, so it's worked for me. Good luck and happy running!
Well done for completing first run! This is a great programme, I started it not really knowing whether I'd be able to stick to it, or how far I'd get & I've got the last run to do tomorrow. Terrible cliche but it has been 'a journey' for me, I'm not thrilled by sport or exercise usually but really enjoyed C25K. Couldn't have done it without rest days though, you need recovery time, really!
Good luck with the rest of it😎.
Hi. Have a day's rest before your next run. Also get into a stretching regime. Warm your leg muscles up with a 5 minute brisk walk then stretch out your glutes, hamstrings, quads and calfs. You can find lots of stretches on YouTube. Keep well hydrated as dehydration can lead to pulled muscles. Good luck. You're on the way to becoming a runner. 😎
C25K Day 1 - observations 
Day 1 - few questions 
Day 1 C25k COMPLETED!!!
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