C25K Question!

jessicajoy87
jessicajoy87 Posts: 905
edited October 2 in Health and Weight Loss
It says to run three days a week for the c25k program. Is this what everyone does? Would I get better results if I did it everyday?

Replies

  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
    No you would not. The rest days are there to allow your body to recover and get stronger from the previous session.

    When you exercise, you cause stress on the body which is repaired during your down time between workouts.

    You'll get the best results following the program as it's laid out, that'll ensure your body is prepped and recovered from the previous session so that you can give it your all with each new workout.

    Cheers!
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
    You need to give yourself recovery time between the workouts, I personally don't do it any more than every other day, sometimes if I need the extra day to recover, I'll take 2 days off between or do a walking workout on the off day.
  • OneBryteSmile
    OneBryteSmile Posts: 808 Member
    The program does not recommend consecutive days of running and I wouldn't either. You need to give your body a rest and time to recover. I did 3 days a week and other exercise on the other days and I've had great results. I actually just completed the last week of C25K and have my first 5K next week Saturday.
  • mcmoosehall
    mcmoosehall Posts: 36 Member
    I am just on wk 2, if u do it on consecutive daysI think it can cause injury. Wk 1 not too bad I did do it 4 times, wk 2 harder may do an extra session over the 8 days to get better.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    The program is designed to incorporate recovery days. You can do another type of workout on the other days if you want, but you should just do the program as written.
  • kfitz10103
    kfitz10103 Posts: 354
    Most training schedules for 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathon etc give you 2 days off per week. I would say maybe you could do 5 days per week, but your body needs a rest. Or maybe do 3 days per week running and 2 days doing something else. (Maybe strength training?)
  • photorific
    photorific Posts: 577 Member
    I started out doing it every day, but found that the progressions were easier with a day (or two) of rest in between. (The rest days usually involved walking a mile or two, but not "training".)
  • kfitz10103
    kfitz10103 Posts: 354
    The program does not recommend consecutive days of running and I wouldn't either. You need to give your body a rest and time to recover. I did 3 days a week and other exercise on the other days and I've had great results. I actually just completed the last week of C25K and have my first 5K next week Saturday.

    Good luck on your 5k! Congrats on your accomplishment of finishing the program!
  • udallmom101
    udallmom101 Posts: 564 Member
    No you would not. The rest days are there to allow your body to recover and get stronger from the previous session.

    When you exercise, you cause stress on the body which is repaired during your down time between workouts.

    You'll get the best results following the program as it's laid out, that'll ensure your body is prepped and recovered from the previous session so that you can give it your all with each new workout.

    Cheers!
    I have to totally agree there!
  • OneBryteSmile
    OneBryteSmile Posts: 808 Member
    [Good luck on your 5k! Congrats on your accomplishment of finishing the program!

    Thank you! :happy:
  • dogwhisperette
    dogwhisperette Posts: 177 Member
    No you would not. The rest days are there to allow your body to recover and get stronger from the previous session.

    When you exercise, you cause stress on the body which is repaired during your down time between workouts.

    You'll get the best results following the program as it's laid out.
    Very good point. This is what I believed and did for years and then I found the 30 Day Shred DVD which says to do the program daily. Its only 20 minutes long so that may be the reason. It was very strange for me to do the same work out everyday for 10 days before moving on to the next level but it seems to be working. Go figure?
  • Nolynoelia20
    Nolynoelia20 Posts: 57
    I had that same exact question when I started 3 wks ago.. But if u dont rest, ur more likely to hurt yourself or cause an injury!! Im going to finish wk 3 day3 tomorrow. I usually do c25k Mon, wed, & either fri or sat depending on the week! The other days, I do 40 mins of circuit training! Good luck :bigsmile:
  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
    Very good point. This is what I believed and did for years and then I found the 30 Day Shred DVD which says to do the program daily. Its only 20 minutes long so that may be the reason. It was very strange for me to do the same work out everyday for 10 days before moving on to the next level but it seems to be working. Go figure?

    Programs like 30 Day Shread have their unique benefit based one the fact that it can help a sedentary person start a new habit towards a healthier lifestyle, by making a relatively easy commitment to themselves for 20 minutes a day. In that sense, doing Something is better than doing Nothing.

    That being said, such programs are generally not ideally sustainable in the long term as the body adapts to the basic stress levels and progress does eventually plateau down the road. When you're doing more intense specific training, you need the recovery time between sessions to allow the muscles to regenerate and get stronger.
  • Egger29
    Egger29 Posts: 14,741 Member
    I had that same exact question when I started 3 wks ago.. But if u dont rest, ur more likely to hurt yourself or cause an injury!! Im going to finish wk 3 day3 tomorrow. I usually do c25k Mon, wed, & either fri or sat depending on the week! The other days, I do 40 mins of circuit training! Good luck :bigsmile:

    I would like to note that the main thing I see overlooked in a lot of people is that "Rest means Rest". If you're doing an alternate form of training on the "off days", it's really not an off day at all as you're still working the muscles while they're trying to regenerate and thus are actually working against the gains you're trying to accomplish.

    If you're really set on doing something more than the one program....do them both on the same day and leave yourself the off-days to recover and re-build.

    Cheers!
  • billsica
    billsica Posts: 4,741 Member
    When you are doing the program, do the program.

    I would say if you need to do something in between, go for walks or work on the upper body.
    After you get past week 9, you will have tons of stamina and be used to it, so you can run more than 3 days a week.
  • jessicajoy87
    jessicajoy87 Posts: 905
    Thanks guys! I figured that I neede the rest periods, I thought maybe it worked better if I did it everyday! But I will do it every other day. Thanks again!
  • Nolynoelia20
    Nolynoelia20 Posts: 57
    I had that same exact question when I started 3 wks ago.. But if u dont rest, ur more likely to hurt yourself or cause an injury!! Im going to finish wk 3 day3 tomorrow. I usually do c25k Mon, wed, & either fri or sat depending on the week! The other days, I do 40 mins of circuit training! Good luck :bigsmile:

    I would like to note that the main thing I see overlooked in a lot of people is that "Rest means Rest". If you're doing an alternate form of training on the "off days", it's really not an off day at all as you're still working the muscles while they're trying to regenerate and thus are actually working against the gains you're trying to accomplish.

    If you're really set on doing something more than the one program....do them both on the same day and leave yourself the off-days to recover and re-build.

    Cheers!

    I should have said that I do take probably 1 to 2 days off a week!! So im def resting ;) & even when I do my c25k, I also do abs & arms those days too!!
  • l3ugjuice
    l3ugjuice Posts: 233
    Probably not, at least not starting out. Certainly not if you have been very sedentary for years.

    I'm not so big on the 'rest means rest' thing, though. Do what your body will let you do. I participated in competitive sports for many years and trained daily, as do gazillions of other people across the world. You do need rest, but you need to exercise as well. The first time my personal trainer tells me 'dont do anything for 4 days a week!' is when he is immediately fired, heh.
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