Running has never been more popular that it is today. It's evident just by looking at the number of road races, obstacle races, and triathlons (Tough Mudder or Warrior Dash) and the exponential growth in the number of participants registering for these races over the past 5-10+ years. Without at doubt one of the most popular distances is the 5k. It is a relatively short distance. The logistics for setting up and organizing a 5k relatively easy. It has become an easy way for nonprofit organizations to raise funds while promoting healthy lifestyles. Just as it's easy to organize it is conversely just as easy to train and participate in a 5k. Sure, it may seem daunting at this point in your life, but with a little commitment and hard work you can successfully cross the finish line at your local 5k.
A 5k is a short distance in comparison to other road race distances. At 3.1 miles, majority (if not all) participants are able to finish in under an hour, including leisure walkers. Chances are that you will be able to find a local 5k race with in 10 miles of your home this upcoming race season. Some popular times for 5k's include St. Patricks Day weekend (Shamrock Shuffle), 4th of July (Firecracker 5k's), Halloween (Freaky 5k's), Thanksgiving (Turkey Trot's), or Christmas (Santa Scampers or Jingle Bell 5k's). On top of there being countless 5k races in your area, there are many of us who have made a New Year's Resolution regarding our health and fitness. So, make the most of your motivation and give yourself a very defined goal of RUNNING a 5k this year. I have created a VERY beginner's program for not only completing your first 5k, but fulling running your first 5k. Along with the actually running training I have created 2 strength programs. One of the two is a introductory strength plans meant to be done on weight machines or the similar free weight exercise. The second workout is a little more intense in nature and is geared to fat loss. This program takes in consideration that you have talked with your doctor about starting a running program and that you are healthy enough to begin a running program. Simply click on the link below open the files. Below the links I explain how to use the program.
BEGINNER'S 5K PROGRAM
BEGINNER'S STRENGTH PROGRAM
STRENGTH WITH CARDIO BURSTS
This program only requires you to specifically train 3 days a week. However, I highly recommend adding days of lighter cardio workouts, such as brisk walking, elliptical, or bicycling. I also recommend some light strength training added to your weekly schedule. Here is an example of a 7 day week breakdown following the above program.
Monday: Off or Strength Training or Cardio Cross Training
Tuesday: Run Train
Wednesday: Strength or Cardio Cross Training
Thursday: Run Train
Friday: Strength
Saturday: Run Train or Off
Sunday: Run Train or Off
I structured the program to have the "longer" workouts on the weekend. Please do that workout on whichever day works best for you on a week to week basis, knowing that weekends seem to fill up quickly with personal commitments. Take at least 1 day off a week and I recommend 2 days off a week for those who are literally starting out with no prior exercise experience. I also recommend 2 days off in the first week or 2 for everyone.
When reading the program you will see that on Tuesday and Thursday I simply just list "WALK TIME" and "RUN TIME." On these two days workouts should last between 30-40 minutes total. Begin each workout with a 5 minute warm up consisting of a brisk walk. After your 5 minute warmup proceed to perform cycles of alternating walk-run intervals based on the prescribed times. End every workout with a 5 minute cool-down consisting of a brisk walk. An example of this would be (following Tuesday's Week 3 prescribed workout) WALK TIME: 1:00, RUN TIME: 2:00.
0:00-5:00 - Brisk walk for warm up
5:00-26:00 - 7 sets of 1:00 walk followed by 2:00 run
26:00-31:00 - Brisk walk for cool down
The workouts prescribed for the weekends follow distances as opposed to time. You can either use a website such as www.mapmyrun.com to map out distances, use a treadmill, or us one of many electronic distance trackers that are on the market today (such as GPS, Nike/iPod, pedometers, etc). Begin and end each of these workouts with the same 5:00 of brisk walking. Do each run interval and then either walk or rest for recovery for 1-5 minutes to catch your breath and recover to perform your next set. You want your recovery period to be as short as possible, but do not cut your time too short, that you hurt your run interval. The goal here is to run the entire prescribed distance.
The Beginners Strength program is a simplified workout for, you guessed it, beginners. It is designed to be done as a traditional strength program, were you preform 2-4 sets of 8-12 reps of the given exercise and then move on to the next exercise. Choose a weight that is challenging, but doesn't leave you grunting and struggling to get to the last repetition. As the exercise gets easier add 2-5 pounds, again avoiding the struggle to complete all the prescribed repetitions. This specific strength workout is designed to compliment the 5k training program. So if you are so sore that you simply can not run, then either cut back the number of strength workouts performed in a given week, or cut down the weight or number of sets per exercise.
The Strength with Cardio Bursts is a much more intensive workout. It is similar to how the Beginners Strength program is to be performed, in that you perform the prescribed number of sets and reps for each exercise and then move on to the next exercise. The one difference is that you perform a short 1 minute "cadio burst" between each exercise. For instance after you complete your 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps of Lat Pull Downs, then go do a cardio burst before moving onto the Shoulder Press. You do not do a cardio burst after each set, just after each completed exercise. What's a cardio burst, you ask? Well, it is a short bout of high intensity cardiovascular exercise done for 60 seconds (1 minute). It can be any form of cardio exercise, whether it be a 1 minute sprint on a treadmill, on a track, or on an elliptical, it can be on a stationary bike, a rower, or even jumping jacks, jump rope, or burpees. The key is to make it a 100% effort. Give it everything you got. Try to minimize rest between the strength exercises and the cardio bursts, but do take 30-60 seconds between each set of strength exercises.
For either of the two strength programs, please either research any exercises you are not familiar with on www.youtube.com or another trustworthy website. Please, do ever be afraid to ask the staff at your local gym if you have questions, they are there to help. The biggest mistake I see in the gym is folks performing exercises with poor form, which ultimately puts them at a higher risk for injury.
Running is not easy, if it was everyone would do it. It takes time, commitment, effort, and consistency to be able to run, especially for 3.1 straight miles. Take the time, expect it to be difficult and stay positive. Good luck with your training and please do not hesitate to email me with any questions!
Be fast, be strong, and carry on!
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