Graduated last week - yay! - and have completed three 30minute runs this week (stepping stone music is definitely NOT for me first thing in the morning).
I am keen to know whether I really need to keep up the 5 minute warm up walk or is it safe to shorten that? I ask as I always have to start with an uphill and walking for 5 minutes makes it go on forever!
Warming up and down either side of exercise is as important as keeping hydrated, well assuming you don’t like sore muscles that is 😂😊
Unless you warm up your body with movement and stretching, continue with the five minutes walk. All athletes, dancers etc warm up. It prevents injury.
I'm not an expert but I'd be very wary especially of running on a hill without a good warm up. In a previous running life I started my run on a (not even very steep) hill. I don't know what I did to my calves, but I couldn't run for weeks after.
I'm on week 8 and the walks are still my favourite part of the couch to 5k!
Elite athletes with finely honed bodies warm up to avoid injury.........I think us lesser mortals with slightly less finely honed bodies probably need it more than them.
I still do it, longer in the cold weather!
The warm up walk
Is 5 mins warm up walk really enough? 
WARM UP
Is 5 min warm up necessary? 
Warm up 
