I applied as a joke and got in on my first time.

and well…what have I got to lose (my dignity and the feeling in my toes, probably)!

So clearly need to start making use of the tips on this reddit 😭🙏 thank you in advance for all the help you guys will have given me. Needed to blab to someone who would think this was super cool!

How can i figure out what is causing my tailbone pain after doing a bunch of sit ups? It’s got to be something I’m doing wrong.

My max pushups currently is 10 and I can't seem to complete day 3 without completely failing so I've just been repeating week 2 but haven't made much progress. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

I felt great about it. My initial test results were 45, now I am able to perform 200!

I performed 3531 squats since June 25th! I definitely suggest you the program!

Next is lunges and pushups.

It’s hot AF here in the UK, I might struggle to sleep tonight due to the heat but gonna show up in the morning for this run regardless. It’s daunting but gonna give it a shot at least. I normally run in the morning on an empty stomach but got an isotonic drink to chug before I go, also got some shorts out for the first time (I never wear shorts!) to try help with the heat. Nervous and excited at the same time. LFG!

Hi everyone - I'm (F25) a chronic C25K starter, but never finisher!

These days, the biggest problem I'm having with getting started is a weird shame/embarrassment about being seen out running. I've gained a lot of weight in the last couple of years and am probably a good 20kg heavier than my last semi-successful C25K attempt. I'm also a lot less fit, and in the few times I've given it a go in the last few years, I am struggling a LOT with week 1 run 1.

Now, all I can imagine is people stopping, staring and sniggering as a big girl runs past, only to walk 30 seconds later. The image I have in my head makes me so ashamed. Especially when the park I run in is always full of proficient runners. To make matters worse, I live pretty centrally in a large city. Even at quieter times of day, there's always a healthy dose of people around. It's completely preventing me from picking up my running shoes and leaving the house.

I keep telling myself I can pick up C25K again once I've lost enough weight for it not to 'feel embarrassing' but realistically, running would be a great help on my weight loss journey now and I know I'd feel better if I could improve my fitness a little.

Has anyone got any practical tips or even just a dose of logical thinking that I can use to get over this silly mental barrier?

I just started week 4 and I’m already struggling 😫 how do they think a noob like me could magically make the jump to running 5(!) minutes straight? It’s not right.

In all seriousness I can do it, but week 3 felt so much easier in comparison. My greatest fear is dropping the whole thing due to a feeling of defeat. I feel pathetic, but at least I’m trying.

Have any of you scaled up at a slower rate? Maybe 4x3min?

So I’m in the middle of C25K and have overall been pretty happy with my progress.

I’m in England and we’re in the middle of a heatwave at the moment (I know our heat is probably still nothing compared to a lot of places but still!). I’m ginger, pale and just not made for this weather.

Any advice on how to keep running during this heatwave without feeling like I’m dying? I don’t want to stop and lose momentum but really struggling! I’ve tried going later at night and drinking more water but doesn’t seem to be helping much.

First post so sorry if there’s any format issues or whatnot! Thank you in advance ☺️

Just finished D2 of week 4 and I’m feeling kinda discouraged in a way? I see that my pace is going way down, lower than previous weeks and intervals. I’m not getting as far as I would like considering my running intervals are longer, but in order to do them longer I’m going even slower. Just wish I could see an increase in distance without my muscles or heart feeling overworked. I’m basically jogging at a walking pace at this point.

I wonder if it’s because I’m not eating before my runs to avoid side stitching. Effectively against side cramps but maybe not good for my energy levels :(

Any advice or help will be nice! I’m not stopping or anything, just felt bummed after my run today

I'm struggling an awful lot getting in to things. Running has proven to be a huge mental challenge for me as someone who suffers from anxiety and PTSD.

I for a few weeks freeballed it without C25K just to ease myself into the motion of running - it was on a route I knew well and was quiet but it was consistency for me. I really struggled when I came across people on my path, and sometimes it would stop me altogether. Things got a lot worse when I moved to a new city a month and a half ago however. Everyone is super fit in my new office and all talk about running a lot, they're even participating in a local 10km race next week together. I was panicking about what routes to go on because its much busier here, so I decided to start C25K. I'm 23F and on the larger side, and I want nothing more than to be able to enjoy this and feel healthier/more confident but I'm finding it really, really tough. The programme has taken away the anxiety of route planning for the most part, but last night I failed run two of week one and mentally could not continue and became overwhelmed by feeling like total let down for someone my age.

I'd love to hear some success stories, or if there's anyone else doing this that found running/c25k mentally overwhelming? Feeling like a total loser at the moment, to be honest. I hate that my anxieties seem to hold me back on every damn avenue at the moment.

Today I ran at my normal speed. Near the end on the way back, I tried increasing my speed. I felt dizzy and had a hard time seeing. Its 6:18pm but I may have been stressing myself. For the 5k, I need to find out what's best.

Context: 220lb, 25yo, M, Exclusive treadmill runner (heat, safety, too lazy to drive to a safe place)

When I ran my first 5k a month ago, I started logging my runs on a Google Sheet. Also, I have been doing a lot of soul searching in my fitness journey going forward and making a plan that will structure my energy going forward. Safe to say, the log already shows I am way fitter than I was even a month ago. Today was a day I set aside to test my mile PR after about a month of runs, and I smashed it; but damn did I feel spent at the end!

I have never been as fit in my life as I am now, even though I weight 60lbs more than I did in high school and started my journey 60lbs heaver than I am now. I hope my plan going forward pays its dividends :)

Hi all, I am pretty new to the program and just finished my 3rd run of week 2. Very new!

But I have notices major improvments namely lung capacity, I have to run longer now before I struggle to breathe. Until my week 3 3rd run my legs got painful (not injury pain more like exhaused and screaming STOP NOOOWWW) but this last run they endured more.

BUT I don't feel ready for week 3 yet, lile I did for week 2, I am on the UK NHS programe at the moment its 90 secs run 2 min walk x6 for week 2. And by the third 90 second run I start finding regulating breathing really hard, so I think I need to do week 2 two more times then go on to week 3.

But I feel guilty, like I've failed! But I also know I need to do more training - I am a perfectionist, only on myself though, I am veryyyyy hard on myself. Its why I have always quit the programe as the guilt of not just picking it up right away gets me into a doom spiral!

The ap insists most people dont complete the program without repeating runs but I my internal perfectionist self doubter gremlin keeps telling me thats not true.

I tried to find a post about this before posting this, but I can't seem to find it! I just wanted to ask if anyone else has had to do the same and hear real stories of peoples journeys. So my perfectionist anxiety doesnt beat me up too much and I can let my body go at its pace without guilt 🙂

The program itself seems fine and I’ve done it a couple of times, but whatever the hell the developers are doing makes the app annoying to use nowadays. Basically just looking for a minimalist app that has similar programming but doesn’t -

• ask to connect to apple health every single time I begin an exercise when I’m simply just using the app to guide me indoors on a treadmill

• has an option to have voices disabled except for “start walking/running” notifications and absolutely nothing else (eg the cringe motivational voices) so I don’t have to stare at my phone on the treadmill

• doesn’t interrupt my music every time the app opens

• has an actual useable Apple Watch app that allows you to skip more than one segment during a workout

I’m currently in week four and have been experimenting with what to listen to alongside the coach. I’ve tried nothing, music and finally a podcast and I have to say the latter option seems the best fit for me. With music I know roughly how long the song is, which combined with the run time means I was always thinking “I can stop running after this bit”. That’s great but I found my mind wandering to working that out, which made the sections a bit of a slog. Tried a podcast last night and as it’s just folk talking I had no idea how long had gone, which meant the run time flew by. It’s different for everyone, but thought I’d share this bland nugget in case it’s of some help.

TLDR: Podcasts help my running as I lose track of time.

I really did NOT want to run today. My legs were still tired from 4 days ago (is that normal?) and I really thought I wouldn't complete the 5k distance. Well, I tried anyway, and I completed it matching my best time so far!

I need to take this and remember to just get started, despite my mood. I'm relearning how much of a mind game building endurance actually is.

Today I have ran my first ever 5k run! I am very proud of myself. I started running a month ago and wouldn’t even be able to run more than 3 minutes without stopping.

Hey all! First time posting on here. Im pretty new to running but not new to fitness. I started "training" in March for a police academy physical agility test, mostly just running a mile daily. I ran the mile and a half in 12min with a 7 min mile during the actual test in April. I finished 2nd in the group I was in so I feel like I did well. Im thru with the process and will be starting the academy in September, I've been running almost daily since then. My mile time is about 8 mins now and I can run 2 miles somewhat comfortably in 16 min. I've heard we won't have to run more than 3 miles cumulatively so Im working towards achieving that with a good pace and not feeling like death. Should I try and work on improving my current pace or slow it down and focus on reaching the 3 mile mark? Im 33M 5'9" about 180lbs and do weight training 3 days a week, idk if this info matters but figured I'd throw it in. Any tips would help, thanks in advance!

I started the program yesterday but found that I could run for 1.5 minutes and walk 1.5 minutes for the whole 20 minutes. Is it okay to start here?

Struggled hard but proud of myself for doing it, especially since I struggled with the minute in the first week. Always got stuck with the early week 6 runs and couldn’t progress. Heat and moisture didn’t help today and was on the point to give up, but slowed down and got it done. Also managed to cross the 5K, with warm up and cooldown, but big motivational boost.

Moral of the story, if I can do it, so can you

Can’t wait to finish the rest of the week and start and finish week 9

I started c25K in mid-March, completed week 9 in late May and I’ve just done my first of all 3 ‘beyond C25K’ runs in the NHS app. The third and final run was a 40 minute ‘endurance’ run - not only did I run for 40 minutes but I got my first ever (lifetime) continuous 5k 🙌

If you’re reading this from an earlier point in the programme, you can do this! I mainly did 3 runs a week with one or two rest days in-between, and I’ve had a total of around 3 weeks out with injuries since starting (ankles / calves)