How to go from sitting at a desk all day to running 5k
Before you start your workouts, make sure you warm up properly by walking for 5-10 minutes. Each session should take about 20 or 30 minutes, three times a week. Be sure to space out these three days throughout the week to give yourself a chance to rest and recover between efforts.
Week One
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Week Two
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
Week Three
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
- Jog 90 seconds
- Walk 90 seconds
- Jog 3 minutes
- Walk 3 minutes
- REPEAT
Week Four
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then:
- Jog 3 minutes
- Walk 90 seconds
- Jog 5 minutes
- Walk 2½ minutes
- Jog 3 minutes
- Walk 90 seconds
- Jog 5 minutes
Week Five
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then:
- Jog 5 minutes
- Walk 3 minutes
- Jog 5 minutes
- Walk 3 minutes
- Jog 5 minutes
Week Six
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then:
- Jog 5 minutes
- Walk 3 minutes
- Jog 8 minutes
- Walk 3 minutes
- Jog 5 minutes
Week Seven
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog for 25 minutes.
Week Eight
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 28 minutes.
Week Nine
Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then jog 30 minutes.
Benefits of running
Some of the benefits of running include:
- Weight loss - Running is an excellent form of exercise for losing weight because it requires a great deal of energy. This energy requirement means the body burns a large number of calories while running.
- Improved cardiovascular health – running helps by lowering the blood pressure and helping the arteries to maintain their elasticity. You are not only working out to improve your physical appearance but also the overall function of your body. In doing this the risk of heart attack and stroke becomes significantly less.
- Improved bone health - The bones grow and become stronger by responding to physical demands. Those who lead a rather sedentary lifestyle do not put this type of demand on their bones and as a result the bones may become weaker. When this happens the individual is more likely to be susceptible to osteoporosis as they age.
- Improved mood - Running actually has the ability to alter an individuals moods because hormones called endorphins are released while running. These hormones create a sense of euphoria often referred to as a runner’s high and can result in an improvement in the runner’s mood. Running has also been reported to alleviate stress in most runners.
Remaining injury free
Most common running injuries are due to overuse, overtraining, improper shoes or a biomechanical flaw in body structure and motion. The good news is that many injuries can be prevented.
- Avoid overtraining - its important to go easy when adding km’s or intensity to your training. You can still push your limits, but take a gradual and patient approach. By building up slowly, you can save yourself pain and frustration, and still reach your goals.
- Treat your feet right – be sure that your shoes aren’t worn out and that you have the right style of shoe for your feet and running style. The wrong shoe can aggravate existing problems causing pain in your feet, legs, knees or hips. Go to a specialty running shop where you can be properly fitted for running shoes or if you have a biomechanical problem with your feet, you may also look into getting fitted with orthotics.
- Right surface – ideally you want the ground to absorb shock, rather than passing it along to your legs. Avoid concrete as much as possible – it’s about 10 times as hard as asphalt, and may be the worst possible surface for running. Try to find grass or dirt trails to run on, especially for your longer runs.
- Stretch – a regular stretching program can go a long way toward injury prevention. Be diligent about stretching after your runs – your body will make you pay if you get lazy about it.
- Keep your balance - Injuries sometimes pop up when you're paying too much attention to your running muscles and forgetting about the others. For example, knee injuries sometimes occur because running strengthens the back of your legs more than the front of your legs. Your relatively weak quads aren't strong enough to keep your kneecap moving in its proper groove, which causes pain. However, once you strengthen your quads, the pain will often go away.
Keiran Russell
Healthwise Team Leader - Australia, New South Wales
