How to get to couch?

[MikeNunn]

I’m 69, female (despite the name at the top), never been sporty but need to improve my fitness. I’ve now completed week 1, but am struggling. I find it difficult to maintain a brisk walk and can barely manage a slow jog. I’m sure the snails are laughing as they whizz by lol. I have very mild osteoarthritis in my hips. I have lost 3 stone but still have a stone to go and struggling with that too. Any advice on how I can get on top of week 1? Thank you.

[Beachcomber66 Graduate]

Hi Mike. I am 69 too and completed C25k at age 66 following a spinal fracture. It can be done is the first thing to say. You have only one objective; follow the instructions!! Walk when told, slowly jog when told and completely forget about speed. In fact focus on being slow as if it were an art form! Your target in the end is to run, at your pace, for 30 minutes; forget any notion of completing 5k in that time. We used to say think 🐌. I can run further and faster now, but that has been built up over years. The benefits of sticking with the course are pretty immediate though. Just go for it; slowly!!

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Welcome to the forum and well done on getting started.

We recommend that you can maintain a brisk walk for thirty minutes before you attempt C25K and there is a link in the guide to the Active 10 walking programme which is a more appropriate place to start for some.

You may also be trying to run too fast which is the most common mistake of new runners. It doesn't matter if your jog is slower than your brisk walk. It is the action that will develop the correct muscles build strength and stamina.

This guide to the plan is essential reading healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

and includes advice on minimising impact, stretching after every run, hydration and strengthening exercises, all of which will help.

Enjoy your journey.

[backintime Graduate in reply to IannodaTruffe]

HiWell done for completing week 1 - that's a great first step

Don't be overwhelmed, IannodaTruffe gave you all the information you need.

Go slow, if the snails want to show off and whiz by, let them really, don't sweat the speed, especially in this heat.

Lastly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with not managing to complete a run and repeating it, loads of people do it. It really isn't failing a run, it's just part of the learning process. Some people will whiz through the programme, some people will repeat runs and weeks, but at the end of the day, 30 minutes running is the goal, it really doesn't matter if it takes more than 9 weeks or more than 27 runs to do it.

So, if I were you, my personal choice would be to start week 2 if you managed week 1 (even if you just managed it), slow down, do some brisk walking on rest days and don't forget to read all the information from iannodatruffe

[John_W Graduate Ambassador]

"How to get to couch?"

I think you want to get OFF the couch Mike!

In your situation, I think doing the C25K as a brisk walking program would be an ideal first step. So forget running or jogging even. Do the 'running' bits as brisk walks and then slow down to an amble in-between times.

Do that for 9 weeks so that you can eventually maintain a good paced walk for 30 minutes continuously and you'll be in a much better position to retstart C25K as a jogging (yes, jogging!) program.

Good luck!

[Pink4eva Graduate]

Hi MikeNunn , well done for starting the programme. It took me 2 months to get through the first two weeks. I also found it easier running on a treadmill, once the gyms opened again. As everyone has advised slowly does it, it will pay off in the end. I am, ‘slowly’, near the end of WK7 now. If it’s walking or running, don’t give up and go back to that couch😊

[TheAwfulToad]

If you haven't even got as far as "couch" yet, I would suggest (a) keeping up with the walking and (b) make a concerted attempt to do some whole-body exercise that will improve your general muscle strength, particularly core strength.

Have a look on YouTube for exercises that focus on balance and posture - you'll find these are yoga-like movements that you can do without any equipment, and you'll be surprised how quickly you make progress. Running before you're really up to the task is likely to result in injury.

[Hepsibah]

Hello, I'm a bit confused by your title like the awful toad, what exactly do you mean by 'get on top of week 1'??? You say you have completed it (yay!!) so are you not on top of it? I think part of the worry at the beginning is you don't know what to expect. I was out of breath in the early weeks, but the advisors on here say you shouldn't feel out of breath. So then I felt like I was a useless freak, but I pushed on and now my breath is under control and even (week 7, very very slow pace - Im posting about speed later). It's really hard to judge how someone feels and if they are not ready for the programme, I'd hate you to make yourself ill, I think the walking advice from the two chaps above is really good, maybe try that. Good luck, it is a struggle but shouldn't torture, be safe.

[MikeNunn]

Just like to tell you all that the Active 10 addition on my “off days” really helped. I stayed on week 1 for two weeks and now just completed week 2 and feeling that I can try week 3 on Monday. If it’s too much too soon, I shall simply drop back to week 2 again. But I really recommend Active 10 (or Active 15 for me as that’s once around the block) as a way to improve stamina slowly and carefully. Also recommended it to a friend who is very overweight as a way to improve her health. Very accessible for everyone.

[nowster Graduate in reply to MikeNunn]

Week 3 has the same amount of running time as week 2 has. It's just that two of them have been squashed together.