Are couch to 5k apps worth trying?
I’ll be up front and say early on that, yes, these apps are brilliant. But read on for why they work so well and how you can use them to get the best for yourself.
Structure to your running
Couch to 5k apps offer a good degree of structure to get you started on your running journey. There are many available now after the success of the initial versions such as the NHS programme. You’ll run 3 times per week, with increasing durations of run and decreasing walk breaks.
The progressions aren’t always linear in some programmes, giving you a slightly easier run than the previous session at times, to allow you to recover.
They’re based on good science
When you first start running, your cardiovascular fitness isn’t high enough to run for extended periods of time. You need lots of breaks to keep your heart rate elevated for long enough to improve this element of your fitness, but it also serves to gradually improve muscle endurance as well, another key part of running.
The work and rest intervals have been calculated to utilise our knowledge of the human body and it’s various energy systems, pushing close to the theoretical (but often accurate) limits of what we can do before we need to stop or slow down.
Narrator choice
Some of the apps give you a choice of narrator. Two people I’ve worked with during and after their use of the NHS couch to 5k app, have chosen Sarah Millican to talk them through the early weeks of running.
Finding someone you know of and either admire or like, can be a big boost to motivation when compared to an unknown narrator, especially with some of the US apps which for us Brits can seem a little fake and condescending. A cry of “You got this girl/man, nothing can stop you” is more likely to be greeted with utterances of rude words by us than thoughts that we want to keep going.
Flexibility as well as structure
Whilst there’s a gradual progression to the runs, and in theory you can go from week to week, everyone progresses at different rates. If you have a particularly busy week, have been sleeping poorly or found the last week a bit too challenging, you can always repeat the odd week along the way.
From there you can choose to either celebrate the fact you’ve been consistent still, or compare to the previous week and look for signs of your fitness improving if you’re using a run tracking app, smart watch or sports watch, by running further in the workout, or having a lower heart rate for the same distance.
Couch to 5k apps are definitely worth trying. If you know someone who’s used one, ask them which they used, what they liked and didn’t like. Even if they weren’t successful in keeping it up afterward the programme finished, you can continue and maybe, just maybe, you’ll inspire them to join you or try it again too.
Written by Kyle Brooks, Running Coach based in Norwich, Norfolk
