Training for a run?

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lucycassingena
lucycassingena Posts: 110
in Fitness and Exercise
My house mate and I are training for a 5k run. Neither of us have ran in the past and struggle lol.

We are going this couch potato to 5k runner at the moment which consists of alternate walking and running three times a week. The time in which we run and walk increases each week getting harder to motivate you to run for longer. It works out as about a half hour workout in total.

However I was wondering will this help with fat loss and toning. We do it every other day in the evenings after Uni but have weekends off as we both work in retail and are standing and moving around all day.

I just feel with the alternate run then walk then run that I am not pushing myself as my body builds then cools, will this be helping our weight loss though? Obviously I cant expect to go out and run 5k without building my body up.

Replies

  • nornyb
    nornyb Posts: 224 Member
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    This program really does work.....I've done it a few times over the last 5 years. I don't really like to run, so I will do it just to prove to myself that I can and then do other things for a while before coming back to it. Any exercise is going to burn calories and help you achieve your goals.
  • junkie_99
    junkie_99 Posts: 26
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    There's walking, then there's WALKING. All I found with a quick google search is general descriptions of the C25K programs.

    Anyway, when I think of walking and losing weight, I think it's more than a stroll around the block. I'm assuming the C25K walking means walking fast enough to get your heart rate up to a "weight loss" rate. The rate depends on your age. see: http://www.heart.com/heart-rate-chart.html

    Weight loss is on the left side and cardio fitness on the right. Essentially, you have to walk fast enough to get your heart rate up above the number on the left to promote weight loss. (Think power walk!)

    Look around, maybe there's more information :)
  • shytrevoak
    shytrevoak Posts: 95 Member
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    I've lost 20 lbs in the last 4 months and alot of it was due to just walking. But not like a stroll. Fast walk.

    I'm also doing the C25K right now, on week 3. My walk is 4.0 mph and my jog is 6.0 mph. That's the first thing, you do want to keep your heart rate up enough to maintain during the walking parts. Just my advice.
  • JingleMuffin
    JingleMuffin Posts: 543 Member
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    I've lost 20 lbs in the last 4 months and alot of it was due to just walking. But not like a stroll. Fast walk.

    I'm also doing the C25K right now, on week 3. My walk is 4.0 mph and my jog is 6.0 mph. That's the first thing, you do want to keep your heart rate up enough to maintain during the walking parts. Just my advice.

    please tell me your ticker is of your fridge.
    im coming over
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
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    The program works, and will certainly tone you up. I've got some dead sexy legs now.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    It does help and will help tone. Before too long, though, you will likely need to switch to weights (or a combo of the two) to continue seeing real gains in fat loss from the exercise (deficit eating will still work though). For me, it stopped having much impact after I finished the 5k and started training for the 10k.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    It does help and will help tone. Before too long, though, you will likely need to switch to weights (or a combo of the two) to continue seeing real gains in fat loss from the exercise (deficit eating will still work though). For me, it stopped having much impact after I finished the 5k and started training for the 10k.

    I finished C25K around the time I reached my goal weight, then slacked off on strength training as I continued to increase my running distances. I gained fat doing that - not weight, just fat - and lost strength. My cardio and strength training were in much better balance as I was going through the running program and I definitely lost fat then.
  • lucycassingena
    lucycassingena Posts: 110
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    Thanks for all the replies its deffo motivated me to continue with it, my natural walk is super fast according to other people so I shouldn't really be slowing down between I try to keep my pace up as much as I can :-) whilst pacing myself with the jogs.

    Weigh in tomorrow and early days with the running yet so hopefully I will see results x
  • shytrevoak
    shytrevoak Posts: 95 Member
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    I've lost 20 lbs in the last 4 months and alot of it was due to just walking. But not like a stroll. Fast walk.

    I'm also doing the C25K right now, on week 3. My walk is 4.0 mph and my jog is 6.0 mph. That's the first thing, you do want to keep your heart rate up enough to maintain during the walking parts. Just my advice.

    please tell me your ticker is of your fridge.
    im coming over

    :laugh: Why yes it is! :drinker:
  • JingleMuffin
    JingleMuffin Posts: 543 Member
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    NICE

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