Another c25k question

lillianelise

I am doing the ZenLabs c25k app. It is supposed to be 3 times per week. I did days 1-3 on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Is it really necessary to only do the program 3 times per week with a day of rest in between? Or if I shoot for 4-5 x per week am I setting myself up for failure or injury? I have Never run so I honestly don't know! And if I am supposed to have a day of rest in between then is it okay to still do some other form of cardio on the off days? I realize that a lot of you do but I am asking in the context of - since I am just starting out, should this be the one thing I focus on and stick to the program with nothing else until I get through it and then start adding other things? I would just like to succeed with no injuries.

hb0611

I would recommend doing the 3x/week as the app says. Especially since you are a beginner I would not push for extra days. You may very well end up with an injury by not giving your body a chance to recover in between. As far as something to do on your off days? I would say to try and build in strength exercises- this should help build up your muscles enough to support all of your joints but not turn you into a muscle-bound hulk. Hope this helps!

Cait_Sidhe

I do think doing it 4-5 days a week is a bit overkill and you'll probably be setting yourself up for failure. Rest days are important.

dbevisjr

Everybody's body responds differently. If you are already in fairly decent shape you could probably do more. I finished c25k in April. I think I could have done more during weeks 1-3 but late week 4 it started to catch up to me. I would suggest doing 3 days only with a day off in between. If you can do more then cross train on your days off. Walk, bicycle, swim, upper body strength training or anything else you can think of to keep moving. It's only a suggestion. In the end only you know what your body is feeling so the decision is yours to make.

KyliAnnHobson

I did a different version of C25K, but it stressed how important rest days are from running. It's okay to cross train (strength training, bicycling, walking, etc.) on your off days.

I followed the program exactly as intended and had zero problems. However, after I was finished with C25K, I made the mistake of increasing my mileage too much too soon and had some knee pain, so I had to take an entire week off.

AmyRhubarb

I used the same app, and only 3 days per week. I usually ran on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and then either Saturday or Sunday. I found that having two or three days off resulted in a better run for me - still do in fact. For me, the rest days in between are necessary - resting from running, that is, I still do strength training of some sort and a little cardio on my non-run days.