Skip to main content

What is ‘couch to 5K’ and should you try it?

As they say, a thousand-mile journey begins with a single step.

men running in marathon with US flag rainy
Joseph Two / Unsplash

Most of us have heard of the ‘couch to 5K’, and it certainly sounds promising for beginners as a method of training to help get you up off the couch and crossing the 5K finish line. Research highlights that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic diseases, and more. 

Being inactive and not getting enough exercise is associated with worse health outcomes when it comes to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Couch to 5K is one of the popular methods to help beginners become more active and get the benefits of running by gradually making their way to completing a full 5K. As they say, a thousand-mile journey begins with a single step. Let’s look at the couch to 5k method and the potential benefits.

Recommended Videos

What is a 5K?

legs running on track.
Olly / Pexels

A 5K refers to a 5-kilometer race or 3.1 miles. 5K is a popular distance for runners of all levels, and many people are drawn to this race because it isn’t overly time-consuming to participate.

What is a couch to 5K?

man relaxing on a couch watching tv wearing glasses
RDNE / Pexels

Couch to 5K or C25K refers to a nine-week running program or method designed to help beginners gradually work up to running a 5K. The method involves alternating between walking and running to safely increase your distance over nine weeks. Josh Clark originally created the running plan in 1996 to help his mom get up off the couch, and it’s remained increasingly popular ever since.

How does it work?

people running together men and women jogging outdoors outside
Cotton Bro / Pexels

The British National Health Service (NHS) provides C25K training plans for you to follow, and you can find different variations of the nine-week plan. Clark’s goal was to develop a new plan to motivate runners to work through manageable expectations, starting with working out for 20 to 30 minutes three days a week. Daily workouts begin with a five-minute warm-up walk, and by the end of the nine weeks, the goal is to run the full five kilometers without taking a walking break. 

Each week has a different schedule and includes strength training to lower your risk of injury and increase your running efficiency. Today, you can find a highly-rated mobile app created by Zen Labs to help you along your path to that 5K.

What are the benefits?

man running outside wearing hoodie sun shining through trees
Kyle Bushne / Unsplash

With health professionals and organizations like the NHS on board, the couch to 5K method is clearly more than just another passing fitness fad. 

The couch to 5K method provides plenty of potential benefits, such as:

  • Simplifying 5K training.
  • Giving you a guided workout plan to follow to improve your overall fitness.
  • Mixing running with walking breaks allows you to recover and adapt over time.
  • The interval training, where you run for a certain amount of time and walk for a certain amount of time, helps you improve your running efficiency.
  • Get the benefits of running, including improved mood, blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
  • Enhance your muscular endurance.
  • You can always start with slow jogging if you aren’t yet ready to go running.
  • The rules aren’t overly stringent, and you can modify the plan to suit you.
Steph Green
Steph Green is a content writer specializing in healthcare, wellness, and nutrition. With over ten years of experience, she…
Topics
Experts say the dad bod era is over — here’s what men are focusing on instead
Should you change your fitness mindset?
man in gym using bands thinking happy

Once upon a time, the "dad bod" trend was all the rage, but experts say the conversation is shifting -- and for good reason. David Freeman, Senior Director of Signature Coach Excellence at Life Time, as well as the Co-Host of the Life Time Talks Podcast, says that more men are focusing on longevity and performance as key aspects of their health and fitness efforts. Freeman has been in the fitness industry for 15+ years.

What's driving the shift in conversation to a longevity-focused approach? Here's what Freeman shared about the end of the 'dad bod' era and the shift toward longevity and performance in men's health and fitness.
The shift from the dad bod

Read more
New report exposed what’s in nutrition bars—and which ones fitness lovers should eat
Which snack bars are safe for pre and post-workout
Snack Bars

If your fitness and nutrition routine includes munching on your favorite snack and nutrition bars before or after your workout, you'll really want to pay attention to this alarming news. The Clean Label Project has just released a new report that's exposed what's really in snack and nutrition bars, revealing that every single one of the 165 top-selling snack and nutrition bars from 50 leading brands showed detectable levels of heavy metals.

The study, titled the 2025 Snack and Nutrition Bar Category Insights Report, also revealed some alarming findings: certified-organic bars contained 28% more heavy metals than conventional ones, and 97% of the bars in the study exceeded Prop 65 limits for acrylamide, a chemical linked to cancer. The findings of this study are raising major concerns surrounding labeling transparency and consumer safety, especially in a $7.4 billion industry marketed as healthy.

Read more
Why Peloton’s Kirsten Ferguson takes an hour for herself — and you should too
Kirsten Ferguson on using movement to heal
Kirsten Ferguson

In the hustle of daily life, it’s easy to think of fitness only in terms of physical results — chasing muscle tone, weight loss, or personal records. But for Peloton instructor Kirsten Ferguson, working out is just as much about mental strength as it is about physical gains. I had a conversation with Kirsten to talk about how movement, even in its simplest form, can be a lifeline for emotional well-being.

Through her Peloton classes, Kirsten encourages people to carve out time just for themselves, something she practices daily. In our conversation, she opened up about why she dedicates one hour every day to herself, how to reframe exercise as self-care, and how parents can work through the guilt of taking that time. Whether it’s a full workout or just a few mindful moments of movement, showing up for yourself can have a profound impact on your mental health.

Read more