The Student Room Group

NHS Couch to 5k - Fitness Phobes Anonymous

Hi Guys.
Let me just start by saying, Yes, I know there is a running thread.
This is the C25k thread for beginners (not running pros :tongue:), those that have never run before, or are easing back in after injuries or years out!

I'm not a runner, I shouldn't even be on the fitness forum. Hence why I'm making the thread. Since this forum is dominated by fit, motivated people filled with fitness knowledge and I'm slightly intimidated :s-smilie:

For those that don't know, Link to NHS Couch to 5k Program:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/c25k/Pages/couch-to-5k.aspx

For a detailed written version of the plan:

Spoiler



Tips on starting out from the website:

Spoiler



A bit of my personal background/reason I started C25K:

Spoiler



Treadmill vs. The Road/Trail

Unbiased (ish): http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/treadincline.htm
Biased towards running outside: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2490637/treadmill_vs_outside_running_which.html?cat=50
Biased towards treadmill: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/402665/running_on_the_treadmill_vs_running.html?cat=5
Treadmill mistakes: http://running.about.com/od/treadmillrunning/ss/treadmillmistakes_4.htm

Overall
According to an article published in Fitness Prescription magazine, running outdoors has the edge since it burns around five percent more calories than running on a treadmill. This is due to the lack of wind resistance indoors and the fact that the moving treadmill belt adds momentum


For anyone who has just clicked on this thread and is starting the programme, feel free to post after each run for group motivation :smile:

My Progress:
C25k COMPLETED :biggrin:
Completed my first 5k (Race for Life) Sat 31st July. 39Mins 36secs.
Hoping for sub 30 next time! :biggrin: (Park Run 10/09/11)
(edited 12 years ago)

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Reply 1
To follow up my first post:

Week 1 went okay. Number 2 was the hardest, and was also uphill as I ran a different route since I was out of town. My bf accompanyied me on this one...which was very embarrasing as he's quite fit, didn't break a sweat, and I was a mess! lol
Number 3 was better, still out of breath after 60 seconds of running, not sure how I'm going to cope in Wk2.

Laura was a god-send though :smile:
I got to week 3 then quit due to winter snow/bad weather...keep meaning to get back to it but I absolutely hate running.
:rolleyes:

Also are there podcasts where you can upload your own music? The one I dl'd had shocking music to it and the guy kept talking. :mad:
Original post by Athena21
To follow up my first post:

Week 1 went okay. Number 2 was the hardest, and was also uphill as I ran a different route since I was out of town. My bf accompanyied me on this one...which was very embarrasing as he's quite fit, didn't break a sweat, and I was a mess! lol
Number 3 was better, still out of breath after 60 seconds of running, not sure how I'm going to cope in Wk2.

Laura was a god-send though :smile:


Week 2 was this for me...I'm surprised he kept a straight face throughout tbh!
Reply 4
Original post by I<3LAMP
I got to week 3 then quit due to winter snow/bad weather...keep meaning to get back to it but I absolutely hate running.
:rolleyes:

Also are there podcasts where you can upload your own music? The one I dl'd had shocking music to it and the guy kept talking. :mad:


Yay my first reply! :smile:

Yeah, the podcasts are here:
http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/couch-5K-running-plan.aspx
Easy to download.
It's a woman's voice, quite nice really. Her name is Laura! The music sucks a little bit, but it's really helpful having someone tell me when to stop/go.

I used to use my phone....hence the quitting :frown: lol
Reply 5
Oh, whoops...not you're own music...lol. Should have read that properly.
But she doesn't talk all the way through it!
I plan to take this up as soon as my actual proper exams are over (which is tomorrow, yesssssss). I'm so unfit it's crazy :frown:
Original post by Athena21
Oh, whoops...not you're own music...lol. Should have read that properly.
But she doesn't talk all the way through it!



Original post by Athena21
Yay my first reply! :smile:

Yeah, the podcasts are here:
http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/couch-5K-running-plan.aspx
Easy to download.
It's a woman's voice, quite nice really. Her name is Laura! The music sucks a little bit, but it's really helpful having someone tell me when to stop/go.

I used to use my phone....hence the quitting :frown: lol


Haha tis cool..I'm guess I could be nifty and make a podcast-but I know I'm too lazy.
Seriously, power through the 9 weeks! You will never regret it.

Allow me to paint you a word picture:

5'9 male weighing in at 16 stone, fat boy with a fat red face who smokes near enough 20 a day and has a diet that consists of:

Breakfast: Leftover pizza from last night
Lunch: Chicken Palace (KFC's nasty, cheaper baby brother)
Dinner: Large Pizza, garlic bread, other extras. Leave a few slices for breakfast.
Snacks: Chocolate, crisps, coke, redbull relentless, well over 2 pints of coffee, dough-nuts, pretty much ANY sweets that are reduced in price from Sainsburys.

All day, every day. No exercise since birth. I'm serious, nothing, ever none.

Today, that 5'9 guy weighs 12 stone, and is still losing fat. Runs a 5k in about 25 minutes, hits the gym 3 times a week, runs 3 times a week, eats all healthy, is starting to get a nice bit of muscle definition and is about to join the RAF.

And all it took was 18 months, the first 9 weeks of which were Couch To 5k!
Reply 9
Original post by mikestraws
Seriously, power through the 9 weeks! You will never regret it.

Allow me to paint you a word picture:

5'9 male weighing in at 16 stone, fat boy with a fat red face who smokes near enough 20 a day and has a diet that consists of:

Breakfast: Leftover pizza from last night
Lunch: Chicken Palace (KFC's nasty, cheaper baby brother)
Dinner: Large Pizza, garlic bread, other extras. Leave a few slices for breakfast.
Snacks: Chocolate, crisps, coke, redbull relentless, well over 2 pints of coffee, dough-nuts, pretty much ANY sweets that are reduced in price from Sainsburys.

All day, every day. No exercise since birth. I'm serious, nothing, ever none.

Today, that 5'9 guy weighs 12 stone, and is still losing fat. Runs a 5k in about 25 minutes, hits the gym 3 times a week, runs 3 times a week, eats all healthy, is starting to get a nice bit of muscle definition and is about to join the RAF.

And all it took was 18 months, the first 9 weeks of which were Couch To 5k!


I like this. Well done buddy.
Original post by Athena21
To follow up my first post:

Week 1 went okay. Number 2 was the hardest, and was also uphill as I ran a different route since I was out of town. My bf accompanyied me on this one...which was very embarrasing as he's quite fit, didn't break a sweat, and I was a mess! lol
Number 3 was better, still out of breath after 60 seconds of running, not sure how I'm going to cope in Wk2.

Laura was a god-send though :smile:


Every week I thought that, but decided to push myself anyway. And everytime I was surprised (and pleased) that I was able to complete each run. I've just done Week 5, Run 2, which meant I ran 2x8min sessions, and felt really good the whole way through :biggrin: Although I have a 20 min run on Saturday, which I'm not looking forward to, but no doubt I'll be surprised again!

Honestly, stick with it, it makes you feel so good about yourself. Good luck!
Reply 11
Original post by mikestraws
Seriously, power through the 9 weeks! You will never regret it.

Allow me to paint you a word picture:

5'9 male weighing in at 16 stone, fat boy with a fat red face who smokes near enough 20 a day and has a diet that consists of:

Breakfast: Leftover pizza from last night
Lunch: Chicken Palace (KFC's nasty, cheaper baby brother)
Dinner: Large Pizza, garlic bread, other extras. Leave a few slices for breakfast.
Snacks: Chocolate, crisps, coke, redbull relentless, well over 2 pints of coffee, dough-nuts, pretty much ANY sweets that are reduced in price from Sainsburys.

All day, every day. No exercise since birth. I'm serious, nothing, ever none.

Today, that 5'9 guy weighs 12 stone, and is still losing fat. Runs a 5k in about 25 minutes, hits the gym 3 times a week, runs 3 times a week, eats all healthy, is starting to get a nice bit of muscle definition and is about to join the RAF.

And all it took was 18 months, the first 9 weeks of which were Couch To 5k!


I knew TSR would be a good place to find motivation!
God I'm gonna hate myself for sounding so cheesy but this is very inspirational! You have a lot to be proud of, I hope I do as well as you! :biggrin:
Reply 12
Original post by xXxBaby-BooxXx
Every week I thought that, but decided to push myself anyway. And everytime I was surprised (and pleased) that I was able to complete each run. I've just done Week 5, Run 2, which meant I ran 2x8min sessions, and felt really good the whole way through :biggrin: Although I have a 20 min run on Saturday, which I'm not looking forward to, but no doubt I'll be surprised again!

Honestly, stick with it, it makes you feel so good about yourself. Good luck!


Thanks :smile:
It's good to see that it's not impossible to make it that far!
I'm kinda excited for my next run, which is tomorrow! :smile:
If you want to lose weight make sure you move onto something more tailored to that when you're ready. C25K is good for your overall health and can help you lose weight but there are other workouts that are much more focused on fat burning, such as HIIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

Not saying C25K isn't a great start, but when you're ready I'd suggest something like this. Most people will just "go running" involving a standard 70-80% constant workout and it doesn't really help you lose weight.

Good luck :wink:
Reply 14
Right, so I was meant to post this yesterday but I didn't get a chance to get on the internet.

Thursday morning was my 1st run of Week 2, which I was quite worried about!

I definately would have quit by now if I was doing this by myself (ie. trying to make myself run with no definate plan), as I normally tried running and never went again after the second run!

Every time I've run so far I've been blessed with good weather, and my route takes me down to the river and through the woods so the scenery is lovely.
My parents laughed at me when I described it as "trail" lol

The run went okay, tried not to go to fast as apparently it's a common mistake, but I couldn't help speeding up as I past dogwalkers....I don't want people to think I'm unift! :s-smilie:

Was out of breath by the second 90s run, found that the 2 minutes recovery walk was suprisingly enough to gain my breath back! :smile:
But the 90s feels sooo long compared to 60s....I imagine running for 30mins will feel like an age!

Roll on run 2!
Reply 15
Original post by LethalBizzle
If you want to lose weight make sure you move onto something more tailored to that when you're ready. C25K is good for your overall health and can help you lose weight but there are other workouts that are much more focused on fat burning, such as HIIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

Not saying C25K isn't a great start, but when you're ready I'd suggest something like this. Most people will just "go running" involving a standard 70-80% constant workout and it doesn't really help you lose weight.

Good luck :wink:


Thanks for the advice.
I'm such a terrible quitter that I'm going to keep on with C25k until exercise becomes a regular part of my life.
I've heard of this before, and will definately give it a whirl when I want to up my regime.

Luckily I only have to loose 5lbs before I'm back in the healthy weight category, so the C25k will hopefully achieve that for me short term!
But obviously I'm gonna keep going after that :smile:
Reply 16
I have decided that i want to be able to do a 10k run in less than 3 hours by this time next year.

As such, i will be starting with the Couch to 5k as well as going to the gym.
Just completed week 5! Am so proud of myself :biggrin:

Ran just under 2m in 20 minutes. I want to get a bit faster so I'm running a 10min mile or faster, but given that today I ran double the distance I've ever run in my life, I'm quite pleased with that time :smile:
Grr, I just made the really silly mistake of buying a treadmill. Already dispatched, going to return it and just get a gym membership instead and start C25k again.

Last year I finished on, I think week 6 or week 7... but then I stopped exercising completely come September.

Hopefully I can keep going this time, but I need to return that damned treadmill first...

So, what's the better option here? Do C25k runs on Sun, Tues, Thurs with 30-45 minute cycling runs on Mon, Wed, Fri with Saturday as a break?
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 19
Original post by wanderlust.xx
Grr, I just made the really silly mistake of buying a treadmill. Already dispatched, going to return it and just get a gym membership instead and start C25k again.

Last year I finished on, I think week 6 or week 7... but then I stopped exercising completely come September.

Hopefully I can keep going this time, but I need to return that damned treadmill first...

So, what's the better option here? Do C25k runs on Sun, Tues, Thurs with 30-45 minute cycling runs on Mon, Wed, Fri with Saturday as a break?


you could just do it on the treadmill? although if you do join a gym that would make it a big waste of money

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