Some more Couch To 5K info that I found – Great program if you’re not familiar with it, especially if you’re just starting out:

Are you a couch potato? The good news is I have worked with individuals who saw the walk to the kitchen fridge equal to scaling Everest. Well guess what? It is possible to go from being as sedentary as a tortoise to actually running your first 5k (3 mile) run within 2 Months.

My test subject a 48 year old female from the UK weighing in at 189 pounds, suffering from clinical depression and trapped in a web of weight related diseases came to me and asked me for help. Who was I to let them down? I advised the Couch to 5k challenge, offered my help free of charge as long as I could monitor the results, mainly so I could get some subjective information on the matter.

1. The couch to 5k challenge basically sets out on the opinion that you should start off slow and easy, when you first start out running it’s not just your weight that is a mitigating factor, but your joints, ligaments and bones just won’t cut it at this early stage. Easing yourself in will help you to overcome this and by the time you end the challenge you’ll feel comfortable jogging, actually it will become pleasurable. Well that’s exactly what happened in my client’s situation. She is now running 10k races for charity and in the best shape of her life, tipping the scales at 145 pounds only 6 months later.

2. Each session of the couch to 5k challenge only takes 20-30 minutes of your time 3 times a week; I can personally guarantee that even the busiest of us can fit this time into our schedule. By the way, 20-30 minutes 3 times a week is actually recommended by numerous studies for an optimum level of fitness.

3. The couch to 5k challenge focuses on the length of time you run over the speed you run. (Basically as we mentioned earlier your joints, bones and ligaments aren’t ready for any speed work yet). My client found this no pressure approach fun and the fact it was goal orientated easy to work with. She actually told me it made the program enjoyable.

Overall I would advise the Couch to 5k Challenge to anybody who sits there eating TV meals, drives the car to the local shop or pays someone to walk their dog. Its fun will make a change to your lifestyle and open your life up to a whole new world of opportunities.

Tagged with: 10k RacesBonesDiseasesFitness ChallengeLength Of TimeOptimum LevelTest SubjectTime 3Tipping The ScalesWeight Loss Goals

Filed under: 10k5kFat LossRunner's HealthTraining

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