Why “Couch to 5K” Doesn’t Work for Everyone (and What You Can Do Instead)
The Couch to 5K program has helped many people get into running. It starts with a small number of runs, has a structure that’s easy to stick to, and ends with the ability to finish at a normal race distance . But this plan has its downsides, and it’s not the only way to become a runner . Here’s what you should know before you try it, especially if you’ve already started and feel like it’s not right for you.
What is Couch for 5K?
Originally published on the now defunct website Coolrunning.com , the best place to read about Couch to 5K is now here, from the NHS . You can download the app from this page or find any of the Couch to 5K apps or podcasts that will break it down for you. There is also a written version here . Some of the apps you can find have slight differences in the schedule, so make sure you find the nine-week version if you want the original schedule.
It’s essentially nine weeks of walking and running training. The running segments get longer each week and the walking breaks get shorter. For example, here is the first workout of the first week: “…you will start with a brisk 5-minute walk. After this, you will alternate between 1 minute of running and one and a half minutes of walking, for a total of 20 minutes.” By week four, some of your running intervals will be five minutes long. By week 6, you are running for 25 minutes without stopping for a walk.
Last week you will go for a 30-minute run. Some faster beginners may be able to run five kilometers in 30 minutes, but this is not necessary. If you can run for 30 minutes, you are definitely a good enough runner to complete the 5K distance. Some people choose to “graduate” by running a 5K, no matter how long it actually takes.
The Good Side of Couch to 5K
Run/walk programs like Couch to 5K have many benefits. Many lifelong runners (myself included!) got into the hobby thanks to this or a similar program. Before we talk about the disadvantages, here are the reasons why it works for people who have found success with it.
Easy to get started
The best thing about Couch to 5K is that it is affordable. If you’ve already tried to run and defecated within a minute or two, don’t worry! The first week’s workouts only require you to run for one minute at a time. You can do it.
Short pauses teach you to keep up the pace (in theory, anyway).
Timed rest intervals also help. You’ll quickly realize that you can’t push as hard as you can for a minute and be ready to go again after just a minute and a half of walking. This way you will learn to slow down.
Ideally, this program will teach you proper pacing. When you get to the week six workout that requires you to run 25 minutes in a row, you’ll think, “Well, I just did two 10-minute runs on my last run, with a short break in between. If I slow down a little, I can do it without any problems. (This isn’t always the case, but we’ll save that criticism for the next section.)
Gradually increasing your pace will get your body used to running.
Running is harder on the body than walking or biking, and new runners often end up with sore shins or knees if they increase their mileage too quickly. A run/walk plan is a smart way to increase your running volume while building the habit of running regularly (each workout lasts about 30 minutes, three times a week).
Couch to 5K teaches you how to follow the program
Another big plus is that using the program takes your attention away from the question “How fast am I?” or “Am I really a runner?” to “Okay, I just need to get through the next run.” You have to trust the process if you want to make progress at anything, and any good program gives you a specific way to do this.
Why Couch to 5K often doesn’t work
Couch training for a 5K is the path to running. After nine weeks you will be able to leave the program. But too many people get stuck in a program, thinking they can’t move forward and complete it.
That’s what I mean by “the program doesn’t work.” The goal of Couch to 5K is not to get you to run a 5K, although it is a great way to celebrate completing the program. Rather, the goal of Couch to 5K (or any other beginner running-walking program) is to teach you to be a runner . And he often fails to cope with this task.
People often finish this program never being able to run at an easy pace and think there is something wrong with them. It’s also common to simply never follow through; I’ve seen people repeat week four over and over again because they were afraid of running 20 minutes continuously in week five.
This is why I don’t always recommend Couch to 5K to new runners. This often teaches you the opposite of what you need to learn as a beginner. Only do this if you think you can avoid the pitfalls, which I’ll explain below:
It’s tempting to turn your runs into interval training.
When you need to run and then walk, it’s natural to sprint and recover by walking. People often assume that the program is about improving your cardio fitness so that your sprint pace on the first day becomes a long run pace at the end.
But that’s not true! Your cardiovascular system does not adapt as quickly. To complete a 30-minute run at the end, you need to run slower than in one-minute bursts. And if you don’t learn to slow down ( almost every new runner needs to fucking slow down ), you’ll just end up banging your head against a metaphorical wall.
Browse any C25K forum and you’ll find people talking about how they “had to” repeat certain weeks or how they “couldn’t” complete all the running intervals of a given week, even the first week. This is what happens when you don’t learn to slow down.
If you actually do your first minute run on W1D1, you won’t be able to recover in time to do your next run. It’s not that you can’t run second intervals, it’s just that you weren’t prepared for it. And maybe you got through the first three or four weeks by running intervals, but that strategy stops working as the runs get longer. If you keep failing or dropping out of C25K, that’s probably why.
Walking a 5K on your couch makes walking seem like a failure.
Since the goal of C25K is to get you to run more and walk less, people are starting to pay attention to whether they walk while they run and if so, how much. And they condemn themselves for it. In real life, no one stops people crossing the finish line of a marathon and asks them how many minutes they’ve walked. If you covered a distance by running or jogging, you covered the distance even if you had to walk when you got to a big hill or when you took a sip of water.
The last thing you need as a beginner is to realize that adjusting your pace to save energy is somehow a failure. You don’t want to finish that big 5K race and feel like you did everything wrong because you didn’t walk enough. Walking breaks are a useful tool. It’s best to keep the perspective that while you’re moving, you’re not taking a “break” at all.
Couch to 5K does not differentiate between a race and a training run
In this way, the program will help you go from sitting on the couch completely untrained to running 5 km, or about three miles. Chill. But what many C25K fans miss is the concept that when runners talk about “5K,” they’re talking about a race . And a race is different from a training run.
Let’s say you’re a regular runner. You can go for an easy five-kilometer (3.1-mile) training run at any time. Let’s say this usually takes you about 35 minutes. After completing a few of these, you can sign up for a local 5K race . You pay an entry fee, get a T-shirt, maybe raise money for charity. You line up at the start line, and since it’s a race and not a training day, you push yourself to run faster than your normal training run. Your heart rate skyrockets. You huff and puff. Your legs are burning as you pick up the pace to cross the finish line. Time: 30 minutes. Hell yes! What a good race you had.
This is a 5 km run. This is what a runner means when they say they run 30 minutes for a 5K. This doesn’t mean they typically cover five kilometers in 30 minutes every time they go on a training run.
But C25K runners (and, frankly, many new ones) often focus on the 5K distance and time spent on the 5K as a measure of their fitness. Don’t treat your training runs like races . It’s like trying to get a higher test score by just taking tests over and over again. Students need to open the book and study; Runners should perform training runs at a training pace.
If you didn’t like Couch to 5K, you’ll think you don’t like running.
This is probably my biggest complaint about the C25K’s popularity: it has become synonymous with learning to run and even run.
The feeling of progress for many C25K runners comes from the app rather than the running as a whole. If you tried C25K and couldn’t make it past a certain week, or if you graduated and are sad that you’re still a “slow” runner, you might think that you just hate running or that you’re not destined to do well. on this.
But C25K is just one of many programs that work. You can start differently. (More on that in a second.) Also, when you’re done, you can discard it .
I see too many people finish the C25K and then realize the next step is to run the C25K again but faster, or look for a similar run-walk program to help them get up to 10K. But that’s not the main thing! The whole idea of the C25K is to be the gateway to the market. Once you can run for 30 minutes continuously, you can simply go out and run a few miles a few times a week. And you can start increasing the length of those runs or the number of them because, after all, you are a runner now! Go and run!
Now you can choose a training program for any desired goal. This could be a 10K run— here’s a good beginner program that starts with running two to three miles three times a week—but it could also be a mid-level plan for training for a faster 5K time. There are many runners, including collegiate and professional runners, who specialize in short and middle distances. They don’t run the C25K over and over again; they use other training programs that are better suited to their goals.
Couch Alternatives for 5K
Okay, what else can you do?
First of all, although the programs are good, you may not want to use them at first. You can simply go out for half an hour (or whatever time slot is convenient for you) and run and walk whenever you are in the mood. We have an article explaining this as “intuitive running,” but many runners have started with something similar without even naming it.
You can run on your own, read a little about running and decide what you want to do next. I hope you’ll find that the key to running sustainably is slowing down enough to avoid getting out of breath all the time . Remember how I said I started working on a program similar to C25K? After about a month – and I assure you I was unfit and unathletic at that point in my life – I realized I was running slower and slower as the intervals got longer and wondered if I could handle it. my usual running route without stopping to walk if I ran slow enough. I did it and was shocked to run for 20 or 30 minutes straight when I had never run for more than five minutes or so before.
Once you unlock this little insight, you can run on whatever schedule you like. And if you need a walk break every now and then, just take it. My first race was a 10K and I had a lot of little 30 second walk breaks just to catch my breath when I realized I was going too fast. I still finished with a decent (for me) time.
Okay, are you ready for the program? Good news: There are many of them, and you can choose the ones that fit your schedule and goals. Hal Higdon’s plans are free (or available in the app with free and subscription tiers if you prefer). Here’s his plan for building a beginner base that will be a great alternative to the C25K. The first week includes two 1.5-mile runs, one 30-minute walk and two three-mile runs. This is what our editor-in-chief Megan Walbert started with when she wanted to learn to run . You can add as many walking breaks to your runs as you need.
Or maybe you’ve completed C25K and want to take the next step. This intermediate 5K plan adds some speed work (fast laps on the track with rest breaks in between), while keeping most runs short and easy, and lengthening one weekend run (it’s 7 miles by the end). ).
There are countless other programs. If you have a fitness tracker, such as a Garmin or Coros watch, it likely has customizable running plans that you can follow. Apps like Runkeeper and Nike Run Club also have virtual coaches to help you, as well as one-time workouts to help you add variety if you create your own plan.
And don’t forget about your local running clubs. Your local Road Runners club or running store probably has a group that trains together. They may be able to introduce you to a coach or provide a written program that you can follow. Spending time with other runners is also a great way to learn the ins and outs of running training, rather than having to figure it all out on your own when you’re starting from scratch.