From what I have read there is no more benefit except for enjoyment and that usually comes with season. Your muscles need down days to rest and repair in the beginning.

Today will be w1d2 for me and my jogging partner....excited but I am still a bit sore. Looking forward to it still though.

W1D2 down.

Rose you are doing such a great job! 25 minutes is such a huge accomplishment....I am glad you are proud of yourself because you should be. You are inspiring me!

Jackie congrats on completing day 2!!! And knowing I've inspired you has just made my day! I just completed W7D2 and I feel amazing! It was hard this morning and I may have to repeat W7 but I don't mind! I am loving my new athletic abilities! :)

Curious Rose...have you taken your measurements and found that your body has changed quite a bit? Have you seen yourself changing clothes sizes?

Jackie, I did take my measurements on June 5th and then again on July 3rd. In those 4 weeks I lost 1.5 inches from my waist and 2 inches from my hips! I definitely see a difference. I have a pair of size 16 jeans that I simply cannot wear. They are just huge on me now and don't look good anymore. People have noticed the weight loss and I've only lost 8.6 pounds in the last 7 weeks.

I had lost close to this same amount of weight from February of this year, when I weighed 205 pounds, to April when I dopped down to 198. The difference between those first 7 pounds is I did no exercise at all. I lost the weight through calorie restriction alone and no one noticed a weight loss. I felt a little better in my clothes but my body did not change as much as it has now, doing the c25k 3Xweek plus the 30 Day Shred 3Xweek. It's a total of 2 hours of exercise per week, definitely not that difficult to squeeze into a regular work week.

Hope this helps!

*Update* I am doing 1 mile (4 laps on a 1/4 mile track) 3 times a week. Each lap I run 1/4 lap and power walk the rest. So, in total I'm running 1/4 mile and 3/4 mile power walking. The running is really hard and the walking is a breeze. I'm hoping to gradually improve. Keeping my calories at 1800 or less per day. Love my new running shoes. 8)

W1D3 done...but it was soooo hot! I struggled with the last set of running but we did it.

Rose...that is very encouraging and it sounds like you are doing great and seeing results regardless of the scale. I love the hear stuff like that...our bodies tell a better and more truthful story than the scale. Thanks for sharing.

You guys are doing amazing!

I'm about to start running again. My back still hurts a bit but I feel I'm ready to start trying to run a bit. I'm going to start at week 3 and see how it goes. I may just do one day of week three, one day of week four and so on and see how much endurance I've lost in the past three weeks. It is so frustrating to have lost all that effort I put into this program.

i just started the couch to 5k program- lightly adding in jogging into my daily walking routine 3/week.

I am on the third week- i am running 6 minutes and walking 24- but man...it is starting to hurt; shins are killing me.

also the thought that i could run 3 miles scares me a bit- it doesnt seem like it could happen...?!

Avelina, good for you for getting right back on the c25k horse! I hope you feel back to normal sooner than expected!

Kaitlin, believe me I never ever thought I'd be able to run 3 miles. My whole life I thought running was awful and I couldn't understand how anyone could enjoy it... but then I started power walking and one thing led to another and here I am on Week 7 of the Couch To 5k program and I am LOVING it! Just try it and don't put any pressure on yourself. If you don't feel ready to move to the next week, repeat the week you are currently doing. I repeated Week 6 and I might repeat Week 7 too.

A very funny thing happened to me this morning! I was running day 3 of week 7, so 25 minutes of running, and I use an iPhone application to run to. Well, when there was 4 minutes of running left my phone rang and I answered it only to say that I was running and would call the person back. The phone call must have lasted 10 seconds, so I didn't miss a beat. I kept running and running... and running and thought that this was the longest 4 minutes of my life. I was thinking that there was no way I could move on to week 8 because these last 4 minutes of my 25-minute run felt like they were going on forever. Finally I became convinced something was up so I looked at my iPhone and wouldn't you know it the Couch To 5k app was on pause! So I had actually been running for 11 minutes! No wonder those 4 minutes seemed so long. In the end I ended up running for a full 31 minutes continuously! So I guess I am ready for Week 8.... BRING IT! :)

Finished W2D1 and felt great.

Rose that is so cool.....31 minutes is amazing... but I also think it is amazing that you just kept going....gr8 job!

I did a day of week 3 yesterday and my back felt great! Tomorrow I'm going to try a day from week 4 and see how I do. I'm so excited to be running again!

Congrats to everyone! Today in W1D1 for me! Tomorrow I'm going to cross-train with some swimming.
Edited to add: How do I get my starting, current and goal weight to show?
Thanks
Kathleen

Hi Kathleen! Welcome to Couch to 5k! I hope you enjoy it as much as I am. I just finished W9D2 today which means I have only one run left until I have completed the program. I can't even tell you how proud I am of myself and how amazing I feel! I really LOVE running now... something I never thought I'd say. :)

If you want to add your stats to your signature, you have to go into "User CP" which is at the top on the left of the tool at the top of the thread. Select "Edit signature" and then add the info you'd like everyone to see and you're done!

Thanks mtl for your help and the warm welcoming. I just got home from work and my legs feel like jello. I don't even want to go get dinner. Lol maybe that's a good thing. I am looking forward to swimming tomorrow! Yeah!

You're welcome Kathleen! It's a great idea to balance the running with swimming which puts no stress on your joints at all. I should do more swimming! And of course it's normal that your legs feel like jello after the first workout. Mine did too!

I also do a workout DVD, 3 times a week that focuses on weight training and burning fat. It's the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred workout and it's only 20 minutes so I find it easy to squeeze into my work schedule.

Wow, we have almost exactly the same stats! I joined Fitday back in February but wasn't really following any kind of regular program until the end of May which is why May 26th is my official start date but back in February I weighed 205 pounds and I am 5'3" and we have the same goal weight! ;)

Just remember when doing the C25K, that you should feel free to repeat a week if you don't feel physically able to move to the next level. I repeated a couple of weeks. I just didn't want to put too much stress on my joints while allowing my muscles time to strengthen around them to prevent injury. Go at your own pace, it's very rewarding!

I did it!!!!!
 

Hey Everyone! I am thrilled to announce that I finished the C25K program today! WOOHOO!!! :D

Now I will focus on speed and distance. I am actually going to run my first 5K race on August 22nd! Do you think I'll win? LOL

Congrats Mtlgirl! I can't wait to be in your shoes!! :)

It will happen before you know it, Kathleen!

Wow that's so awesome mtlgirl! Congratulations! I just read about this program today in another thread and am fascinated by it. I've never tried running before, and still can't imagine myself doing it, but it sounds like a pretty simple plan to follow.

Good luck in your upcoming race! Let us know how it goes.

Thanks Smoosh! :)
I will definitely keep you posted and I encourage you to give C25K a try but go at your own pace.

Okay, confession time. I didn't run after my last post till last week. I started once again on week 3. I think I just got lazy, plus with moving I haven't been making my fitness a priority. Today I completed week 3 so week 4 starts Sunday!

Rose, you are going to run in a 5K already. Good for you! Congrats on finishing are you planning on doing the one hour program or the other one. There are two programs to follow after c25k if you want to keep pushing yourself along with a program. Check them out.

Hi Jackie,

I will definitely pursue those programs but since I am leaving for Italy soon, I don't want to start a new program and then leave it for 3 weeks. For now I am using the Nike Plus on my iPod and just working on improving my time in the 5k. It takes me about 38 minutes to run a 5K, unless it's very humid then I usually take a little longer. Let's hope I have good weather on the day of the race, it's in a few days!

Best of luck with your program. Just go at your own pace. You will get there before you know it.

Week #1 of C25K COMPLETE!! Woo Hoo

I know it's only week 1 but I'm proud of myself for sticking with it!

Rose can you tell me a little more about the NikePlus and how it works with your ipod? Also which ipod? I have a nano v3

Thanks

Debbie, awesome job! Way to go for completing week 1!!!!!

The Nike Plus kit is compatible with the iPod Nano, which is what I have. It's basically a sensor that you can clip onto the top of your running shoe (you have to buy a clip if you don't wear Nike shoes) and you have another little adapter that plugs into the bottom of your iPod. Then you basically use it as a sort of personal trainer while you run. It will coach you through a predetermined run. You can choose the workout duration according to time or distance and it calculates how far you have run, your speed and how many calories you burn. It's great!

Here's more information Apple - Nike + iPod - Run