Long walk on a “rest day”

[Minsy]

I wanted to get out for a walk today (about 5-6 miles) at a good pace. I’ve been struggling with week 4 on C25k. Three min runs are fine but not coping with five mins very well. I’ve decided to head back to week 3 but want to be sure that long walks on days in between are ok. I love walking and have had a couple of walking holidays. I am doing a 26 mile walk in the summer so lots of practice walking, increasing distance each week is important. I thought C25K would increase my stamina. I also do yoga and Pilates (once a week each). Any advice welcome.

[Hidden]

Long walks are absolutely fine on days in between runs. Enjoy 😊

[Minsy in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. Good to know

[Hidden]

I’ve been wondering this too, I did a 7 mile walk yesterday on my rest day and about to do run 3 of week one. I’ve managed ok so far with week one but think I might struggle as the intervals of run time get longer. There seems a big jump up from 1 minute to 3/5 minutes. How have u coped with that? Any tips?

Thanks and keep up ur good work sounds likes ur doing so well!ans pacing yourself well. You’ve got this 💪🏼

[Speedy60 Graduate in reply to Hidden]

Don't look ahead and start worrying that you 'might struggle', it will just make you anxious. Have a go and see what happens. If you find it too tough, repeat week 1 run 3, or the whole week. But you just might surprise yourself, lots of people do.😉

Walking is fine if you're used to it. I walk 40 to 50 miles a week, always have, and right through the c25k. It's also good to do some non impact activity, like swimming or yoga if you can fit it in.

Good luck

[Minsy in reply to Hidden]

You won’t struggle, you’ll be fine. Others have said ok to walk on rest days so all good. I found the step from 3 to 5 mins harder but did it a5 least twice. I can do this and so can you

[Buddy34 Graduate]

Walking is a great thing to do on rest days. I have a dog so walk 2-3 times a day 7 days a week . It helps keep the legs moving. 😊😊

[Minsy in reply to Buddy34]

Brilliant thank you

[Smelliepoo Graduate]

If you are struggling then slow down, that is all you have to do! If you think about it your increase is less from 3 to 5 minutes than it was from 90 seconds to 3minutes. If you need to slow down or stop then do, but slow down first and foremost. I suspect that your barrier is a mental one and not a physical one.

Watch this...

youtu.be/9L2b2khySLE(Not working as expected?)

You should not be out of breath! You can do this!

[ArthurJG Graduate]

Rest day only means rest from high impact exercise. Walking is not high impact as you always have at least one foot on the ground, so you are not repeatedly dropping your whole body weight on one foot as you do when you run. The reason beginners don’t run on consecutive days for the first year or so is to reduce the risk of impact injury: it’s not about cardio fitness etc. Low impact exercise like walking or swimming does not carry the same risk of injury if you overdo them. There is perhaps a case to be made for resting from strenuous exercise maybe one day a week, but otherwise, walking is absolutely fine on the days between runs.

[bellawalsh67]

It is actually recommended that people get exercise on their rest days. The ideal rest day is what's known as an "active rest day": openfit.com/active-rest-day

Bike rides, walks, yoga, and swimming are the most common activities to do during your ARD. Staying active actually allows your muscles to recover better than they would by sitting around doing nothing. Walking is especially great for an active rest day because it is low-impact, and focuses on the leg muscles, which will only help you more for running.