NHS 12-Week Fitness Plan which can be started during the C25k Consolidation Period

[CBDB]

Have you recently graduated C25k and not yet integrated any Strength and Flexibility workouts in your routines? You are in the right place!

You have been telling us that many of you desire a plan for after graduation. I know I did when completing C25k. So we have been working away behind the scenes to offer a good plan, for those who have just graduated on the C25k forum. So if you are one of the graduates with a new set of legs: HUGE CONGRATS AND WELCOME TO THE Strength and Flex forum!!! And if you are looking for the next plan, READ ON, as this might be it!

A printable version of the plan is available in pdf format at

drive.google.com/file/d/14k...

This is a plan for C25k graduates that have completed all 9 weeks of the Couch to 5k programme but have not yet started to integrate strength and flexibility workouts in their running programme.

THIS IS FOR YOU: This activity plan is for C25k graduates as well as runners combining running and strength and flexibility workouts which will get you into the habit of regular exercise in a few weeks, before moving on to C5k+ Stepping Stones, Stamina and Speed podcasts.

The plan is structured but flexible enough to allow you to fit the exercise sessions around your other weekly commitments. Don't forget to factor in 1 rest day per week (on a day of your choosing) and do not run on two consecutive days. Consider the notion of a ‘week’ quite flexible, and if you need an extra recovery day from your runs, that’s ok! And in general, if you feel you’re not having fun or feel the runs are quite difficult, slow down!

All you need to get started is a smartphone and a pair of running shoes (and the one off resistance band, but you could use a stocking or bicycle inner tube).

Get ready by downloading 5K+ and Strength and Flex podcasts and you can print or bookmark the 10-minute workout series.

● NHS C25k+ Running Podcasts for C25k Graduates:

Where to get the podcasts:

* nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/c...

* or directly from Apple podcasts at podcasts.apple.com/gb/podca...

* or from an alternative server healthunlocked.com/couchto5...... thanks to Andy

● NHS Strength and Flexibility Podcasts:

Where to get the individual instruction videos?

* nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/s...

Where to get the podcasts:

* nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/s...

* directly from Apple Podcasts podcasts.apple.com/gb/podca...

* or from an alternative server healthunlocked.com/couchto5......

● NHS 10 min workout series:

Where to get the instructions:

* web.archive.org/web/2021012...

(Originally www nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1... )

 

Week 1

❏ Day 1: C25k Consolidation Run 01 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: Strength and Flex – Week 1 (36 minutes) (Podcast at itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast... )

❏ Day 3: C25k Consolidation Run 02 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: Strength and Flex – Week 1 (Podcast)

❏ Day 5: C25k Consolidation Run 03 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: Strength and Flex – Week 1 (Podcast)

❏ Include a rest day

Week 2

❏ Day 1: C25k Consolidation Run 04 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: Strength and Flex – Week 2 2 (37 minutes) (Podcast at itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast... )

❏ Day 3: C25k Consolidation Run 05 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: Strength and Flex – Week 2 (Podcast)

❏ Day 5: C25k Consolidation Run 06 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: Strength and Flex – Week 2 (Podcast)

❏ Include a rest day

Week 3

❏ Day 1: C25k Consolidation Run 07 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: Strength and Flex – Week 3 (36 minutes) (Podcast at itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast... )

❏ Day 3: C25k Consolidation Run 08 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: Strength and Flex – Week 3 (Podcast)

❏ Day 5: C25k Consolidation Run 09 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: Strength and Flex – Week 3 (Podcast)

❏ Include a rest day

Week 4

❏ Day 1: Run 10 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: Strength and Flex – Week 4 (45 minutes) (Podcast at itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast... )

❏ Day 3: Run 11 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: Strength and Flex – Week 4 (Podcast)

❏ Day 5: Run 12 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: Strength and Flex – Week 4 (Podcast)

❏ Include a rest day

 

Week 5

❏ Day 1: Run 13 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: Strength and Flex – Week 5 (44 minutes) (Podcast at itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast... )

❏ Day 3: Run 14 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: Strength and Flex – Week 5 (Podcast)

❏ Day 5: Run 15 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: Strength and Flex – Week 5 (Podcast)

❏ Include a rest day

Week 6

❏ Day 1: Run 16 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: 10-minute cardio workout web.archive.org/web/2022012... (Original www nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1... )

❏ Day 3: Run 17 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: 10-minute abs workout web.archive.org/web/2022012... (Original www nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1... )

❏ Day 5: Run 18 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: 10-minute firm butt workout web.archive.org/web/2022030... (Original www nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1... )

❏ Include a rest day

Week 7

❏ Day 1: Run 19 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: 10-minute full body toning workout web.archive.org/web/2022032... (Original www nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1... )

❏ Day 3: Run 20 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: 10-minute upper arms workout web.archive.org/web/2021012... (Original www nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1... )

❏ Day 5: Run 21 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: 10-minute firm bums, legs and tums workout web.archive.org/web/2021012... (Original www nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/1... )

❏ Include a rest day

Week 8

❏ Day 1: Run 22 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: 10-minute cardio workout web.archive.org/web/2022012...

❏ Day 3: Run 23 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: 10-minute upper arms workout web.archive.org/web/2021012...

❏ Day 5: Run 24 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: 10-minute abs workout web.archive.org/web/2022012...

❏ Include a rest day

 

Week 9

❏ Day 1: Run 25 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 2: 10-minute firm bums, legs and tums workout web.archive.org/web/2021012...

❏ Day 3: Run 26 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 4: 10-minute firm butt workout web.archive.org/web/2022030...

❏ Day 5: Run 27 (workout duration: 30 minutes)

❏ Day 6: 10-minute full body toning workout web.archive.org/web/2022032...

❏ Include a rest day

Week 10

❏ Day 1: 5K+ Stepping stone (30 minutes) itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast...

❏ Day 2: 10-minute firm bums, legs and tums workout web.archive.org/web/2021012...

❏ Day 3: Stepping stone

❏ Day 4: 10-minute full body toning workout web.archive.org/web/2022032...

❏ Day 5: Stepping stone

❏ Day 6: 10-minute firm butt workout web.archive.org/web/2022030...

❏ Include a rest day

Week 11

❏ Day 1: 5K+ Stamina (35 minutes) itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast...

❏ Day 2: 10-minute cardio workout web.archive.org/web/2022012...

❏ Day 3: 5K+ Stamina

❏ Day 4: 10-minute upper arms workout web.archive.org/web/2021012...

❏ Day 5: 5K+ Stamina

❏ Day 6: 10-minute abs workout web.archive.org/web/2022012...

❏ Include a rest day

Week 12

❏ Day 1: 5K+ Speed (16 minutes) itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast...

❏ Day 2: Strength and Flex – level 5

❏ Day 3: 5K+ Speed

❏ Day 4: Strength and Flex – level 5

❏ Day 5: 5K+ Speed

❏ Day 6: Strength and Flex – level 5

❏ Include a rest day

Well done on completing the 12-week plan! You can continue using 5K+ and Strength and Flex level 5 (no intro version) to keep your activity levels up.

[teamfridge]

The timing on this is wonderful for me, thank you!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to teamfridge]

That’s fabulous! Enjoy!

[drun]

I graduated C25K at the end of October and have been doing consolidating runs ever since, I can run 5.3k in about 35 minutes. I,m going to start this 12 week fitness plan because I haven't done anything like this yet.

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to drun]

Oh well done! It’ll get you into cross training and also get to know the NHS website resources for strength and flexibility cross training. So hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. My journey through the programme I documented here: healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Enjoy your journey and let us know how it’s going!

[Running-rings]

Thank you for the plan! It will definitely keep me challenged and interested!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Running-rings]

Big welcome to Strength and Flex and a belated: CONGRATULATIONS 🥳 👏 🎉 on your graduation! Awesome!

Hope you’ll love the consolidation plan as much as I did! Let us know how you get on!

[Running-rings in reply to CBDB]

Started the Strength and Flex podcasts today with my 6 year old! Hoping he will join in with me for my S&F podcast days!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Running-rings]

Ooohh what a brilliant way to do S&F! 👍🏽💪🏃🏼‍♀️

[Running-rings in reply to CBDB]

I was tempted to bring the kids on my Couch to 5k journey but I'd have ended up doing piggy backs with my 4 year old 😅🤪 so will stick with S&F with them 😄

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to Running-rings]

Good call! 😂😂

[DiogoC]

This plan feels great, but you're just basically running 30 mins again for 9 weeks. What about the whole 10% thing? Shouldn't it go up a bit each week?

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to DiogoC]

Yes, what I did was keep the 30min for the first 5 weeks and then increased (10% per week), but it just happened and rather unplanned. But by the end of the plan I was running 60minutes. So yes, but I’d stay at 30 min for quite a few runs. We did think of adding this to the plan as an option so it is certainly a possibility.

Brill! Hope you enjoy it!

[DiogoC in reply to CBDB]

Thanks for replying. I have been told by a few people here to indeed "consolidate" before attempting even the 10% rule. I will keep to 30mins and build from there.

[AppleB]

Thank you for this!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to AppleB]

You are welcome. Have fun!

[TimeInNature]

The live-well links on weeks 6 through 12 are now all going to nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/ instead off to a specific workout. Some I can find (abs - nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitne... , firm butt may have become nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitne..., arms maybe nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitne... but I can’t find cardio

Any clues would be gratefully received. I graduated from C to 5k yesterday and one of the ‘what to do next’ posts on the forum pointed me over here which looks great.

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to TimeInNature]

Hi, well done, first of all and congrats for graduating C25k!

Yes, we are aware and have been in dialogue with the relevant NHS team. They have reinstated some pages but not all, annoyingly.

Here is a useful page of exercises often sought but difficult to get to: nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitne...

We are also slowly going through our links and replacing them, but we haven’t gotten to all yet.

So I will get to amending the 12 week plan at some point, but not in the next few weeks, I fear.

[TimeInNature in reply to CBDB]

Thanks for the reply. I’ve created a copy of your plan and adjusted it with the exercises I could find links for. And improvised in other places!

Maintaining links to things is hard I know.

Thanks for the plan. It’s great to have something to follow along with

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to TimeInNature]

Brilliant! It’s a great consolidation plan, so have fun!

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold in reply to TimeInNature]

You probably have seen this: we’ve put together the 5-week plan in a new post here healthunlocked.com/strength... and those 5 weeks are obviously integrated into the 12 week plan.

Hope you’re doing well.

[TimeInNature in reply to CBDB]

I hadn’t. That’s super helpful. Thank you

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

UPDATE: Updated all links to NHS webpages with internet archive ones, which should (fingers crossed) stay permanent .