Rest needed!

[Klob]

After day 1 today Thursday I was wondering if I really need the day rest between runs like it's advised on the app... Wowzers as the days gone on I'm aching ALL OVER!! 😲Great stuff... Looking forward to another run on Saturday 🏃🙌

[SueAppleRun Graduate]

Do read the guide and do take your rest days because you risk injury if you don’t let your muscles heal

Good luck

[Speedy60 Graduate]

C25k isn't just about the running; it's also about the days inbetween the running. Those are the days when your muscles adapt to the new stress you're putting on them and build themselves up - you get fitter on your rest days, not your running days!

If you're really achy, make sure you're running slowly, really slowly! Also make sure you do some cool down stretches.

There are plenty of other things you can do on your rest days- swimming, yoga, walking, cross training at the gym. Just try not to put too much impact on your joints.

Good luck. 👍

[Mands50 Graduate]

Take your rest days. I’m now running 5k after 9 weeks. As the runs get longer you will need the recovery time. Even in the first weeks you are building up fitness and stamina so follow the advice on the app, it prevents injury and fatigue.

[Hidden]

I’m half way through week 6, at the start I thought the same thing ‘maybe I don’t need to wait?’ But as others have said I now think it’s very important. Also I spend nearly 5 mins doing stretches at the end, I learnt the importance of this when I used to do a lot of cycling, it really helps with the recovery the next day.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

When you run, the impact creates microtears in your muscles, which repair and strengthen on your rest days, not while running. Without rest, repair and strengthening are compromised and injury risk increase.

Stretching immediately after every run, as recommended in the guide to the plan nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/h... while muscles are still warm and supple, pulls out contractions, avoiding carrying tensions into the next run and also improves recovery by improving blood flow.

[GoogleMe Graduate]

Yup. If you are not doing the non-running day between each session, quite simply, you're not doing C25K, you're doing something else.

There are physiological reasons, but there are also psychological ones. Not all who come to C25K are unfit, overweight, underconfident souls. There's a heck of a lot of boom and bust-ers out there who benefit from being reined in a little so that they learn to build activity into their lives and in a well-rounded way.