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Couch to 5k!

Just a personal blog to record my progress. :smile:
I've lost a stone and a half so far with no exercise.
Now I'm ready to improve my fitness and facilitate my weight loss with a sustainable exercise plan.
Today was week 1, day 1 of the NHS Couch to 5k challenge. I chose it because it starts off relatively easy which is great for me as I am ridiculously unfit.
I found it easer than I thought it would be, but it was still extremely hard for me! I felt great afterwards, and I can't believe I managed to run (well jog) for 8 minutes (albeit not continuously)!
I'm excited to see improvements in my fitness, and I'm determined to reach my weight loss goal!

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Reply 2
Avatar for Scott.
Scott.
2
You jogged 5km in 8 mins?
Reply 3
Avatar for llamaspoon
llamaspoon
OP
17
Original post by Scott.
You jogged 5km in 8 mins?


No, it's an exercise programme with the end result of you being able to run 5k (after 9 weeks!). On day 1 of the programme I jogged for 8 minutes, which is a great achievement for me. :smile:
Reply 4
Avatar for ljoshl91
ljoshl91
Good luck
Reply 5
Avatar for Rum Ham
Rum Ham
20
Good luck with it. I recently walked 5k up Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh for Race for Life and the first 3k were all up hill. I was fine walking but no way could I have ran or jogged that far! Lol

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Reply 6
Avatar for llamaspoon
llamaspoon
OP
17
Second session was today. It was so much harder than last time, probably because my muscles were still aching. It was raining pretty hard as well, which was a bit of a downer. But I'm happy, one more session then I'll be moving on to the second week! :smile:
Reply 7
Avatar for llamaspoon
llamaspoon
OP
17
Week 1 is done! Today was so much easier than my other sessions (the cold weather probably helped too), so I feel ready and energised for week 2. I'm actually gutted that my next run isn't until Friday, as I've really been enjoying running. However, I will be at the gym between now and my next run. I feel like I'm slightly addicted to exercise, which is great! :smile:
Reply 8
Avatar for llamaspoon
llamaspoon
OP
17
Weighed myself this morning before my first run of week two and I've lost five pounds! Obviously I'm going to have lost a lot of weight because I've started eating healthily again after a week off, and I started exercising but I still thought that was quite an impressive number!
Anyway, week 2 day 1 of couch to 5k went well. I could feel the difference from week 1. Even though you only do an extra 30 seconds of running, it's still hard! However, my pace has also increased. Whereas in week 1 I was struggling to maintain a light jog, I managed a quicker pace today. I'm realising how important willpower is when it comes to exercise, and I'm proud of myself for being able to complete an entire week of the programme without wanting to stop. I'm also enjoying my runs, and I'm already looking forward to my next one! :smile:
Reply 9
Avatar for Neverme
Neverme
10
Congrats on starting this!
Before I did Couch to 5K, I could barely run for a minute before having to stop and walk. A year later, I ran a half marathon! This programme is great, so best of luck!
Original post by Neverme
Congrats on starting this!
Before I did Couch to 5K, I could barely run for a minute before having to stop and walk. A year later, I ran a half marathon! This programme is great, so best of luck!


Thanks for the words of encouragement! I would hopefully like to run a half marathon next year or the year after, but it seems so daunting at the moment. Can I ask, did you follow a specific programme after couch to 5k, or did you just run of your own accord and set personal goals?
Original post by llamaspoon
Thanks for the words of encouragement! I would hopefully like to run a half marathon next year or the year after, but it seems so daunting at the moment. Can I ask, did you follow a specific programme after couch to 5k, or did you just run of your own accord and set personal goals?


I did my own thing for a while but half marathon training starts around three months before the race, so I found a programme that worked up from 5k and stuck to that. I used the same programme my dad was using, but if I were you I'd just look around the internet until you find one that works for you. They vary a lot.
Surely anyone could jog 5k, you don't have to do it at a rapid pace, but even a fast walk at that distance is achievable straight off the couch.
Original post by Gillybop
Surely anyone could jog 5k, you don't have to do it at a rapid pace, but even a fast walk at that distance is achievable straight off the couch.


The idea is to be able to run 5k in 30ish minutes. I'm jogging at the moment because I'm unfit and it's all I can manage, but I will be running by the end of it.
Original post by Neverme
I did my own thing for a while but half marathon training starts around three months before the race, so I found a programme that worked up from 5k and stuck to that. I used the same programme my dad was using, but if I were you I'd just look around the internet until you find one that works for you. They vary a lot.


Thanks for the advice :smile:
I started with Couch to 5K and I thought it really helped! It gives you structure and an end goal. There's also Bridge to 10K which is supposed to sort of be the next step if you want to continue in this way. I never did it - just sort of ran as I liked.
Original post by katehlouise
I started with Couch to 5K and I thought it really helped! It gives you structure and an end goal. There's also Bridge to 10K which is supposed to sort of be the next step if you want to continue in this way. I never did it - just sort of ran as I liked.


Thanks, I'll look into it :smile:
Original post by llamaspoon
Just a personal blog to record my progress. :smile:
Now I'm ready to improve my fitness and facilitate my weight loss with a sustainable exercise plan.

Good luck with your weight loss, but make sure you include strength training too, I didn't when I lost my weight and cardio only is not a good final look.
Also don't focus too much on weight, just get an image in your head of how you want to look, and make it happen, you'll get obsessed over the numbers if that becomes for focus!

Oh and good luck for your 5k :smile:
Original post by leedswest
Good luck with your weight loss, but make sure you include strength training too, I didn't when I lost my weight and cardio only is not a good final look.
Also don't focus too much on weight, just get an image in your head of how you want to look, and make it happen, you'll get obsessed over the numbers if that becomes for focus!

Oh and good luck for your 5k :smile:


I'm not very clued up on fitness so I'm not sure exactly what strength training is. I go to the gym a few times a week as well, where I use the rowing machine, bike, and some of the machines (focusing on arms and abs). Is this okay? Or should I be doing something else? And what do you mean when you say cardio only isn't a good final look? Sorry for the questions :smile:
I completed it:jive: not to lose weight but rather to improve my fitness level, it helped a lot. Stick with it OP, even when it seems incredibly difficult on some runs (I struggled with week 5), but still managed to complete it.. And I am a regular runner now :biggrin:

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