Running for beginners

With the Cork City Marathon taking place this June bank holiday weekend we thought it was good timing for this article. While the idea of running a marathon is beyond comprehension for many people, you must remember that everyone starts somewhere. A marathon may not be for you but having the ability to go for a relatively short run is hugely beneficial to your overall physical and mental health. If you have a spare 20-30 minutes then a run is an incredible use of your time. It’s a lot better use of your time than staring at your phone or the television for 30minutes

Maybe you are interested in starting running to improve your general fitness but don’t know how to approach your training when in the gym or on the road? Well we have a simple plan to take you from 0 minutes to 30 minutes of running in just 5 weeks. Cork has seen a huge surge in the number of people taking to the roads running for both fitness, weight loss and general health in recent years, and you know what they say, if you can’t beat them….run after them!

Running is a very low cost and accessible form of exercise. Throw on a pair of shoes, open your door and off you go. Alternatively, if our wonderful Cork weather is a little too unpredictable for you then hop on the treadmill and brave the conditions another time.

This programme is geared towards complete beginners or those that have not taken part in exercise for sometime. It follows a gradual increase in running time each week to get you up to speed.

For the first 4 weeks each session will consist of a 30minute routine broken into 6 x 5 minute sets.

In the 5th week you will have 3 different sessions to finally bring you up to your 30min run.

Remember to always have a small warm up before each sessions to get the blood flowing and reduce risk of injury. Go at your own pace! Remember, no matter how slow you are going you’re still lapping everyone on the couch J

Aim to have at least 1 full day rest in between each walk/jog session.

If you have not exercised recently then please consult your doctor before taking part in any new activity.

running beginners cork