What to do on the days I don't run?

August 6, 2009 6:59 AM

Doing Couch to 5k 3 days a week...what should I do the other 4?

I started C25k a few weeks ago. It took me 2 weeks to get through week 1, but I started week 2 yesterday and passed with flying colors. I really like the way running feels, but I know you shouldn't do it every day. So I am looking for suggestions of other workouts to do on my non-running days.

Some details: I'm a 36 year old woman. I am 5'4" and 196 lbs. My goal is to lose 40 lbs in a sensible fashion. I don't currently belong to a gym, though I may join the Y in the fall. I have a treadmill, a Wii Fit and some yoga DVDs. I want to do something that will improve my overall fitness and help me on my runs...I'm just not sure what will give me the best result.

posted by Biblio to health & fitness (13 comments total)

Rest or very light work such as walking or a short gentle jog depending upon how you feel. Resting in between large work outs improves the benefits from those work outs. Your muscles need to recover. Gentle use helps them by improving blood flow. Just don't stress them so that recovery is delayed.
posted by caddis at 7:12 AM on August 6

Cycling is excellent cross-training for running as there's little to no impact on the joints, but a good cardio vascular component, which will help improve your stamina while running. Or swimming, once you join the Y. The most important thing is to choose a different exercise than your main one (running) because that will work different sets of muscles (or the same muscles in different ways) which will help with overall fitness and to prevent injury.

I wouldn't recommend running or jogging any more than you are, especially when starting out, because it could lead to stress injuries from excessive impact on the joints.
posted by Kurichina at 7:17 AM on August 6

Many women really underestimate the role of weight/muscle training in a weight loss program. I'd suggest embarking on a three (or four)-day-a-week program (Women's Health magazine's site has lots of great multiweek routines (e.g., the Belly-Off Club). Another great program is Lean, Long, and Strong. I've never seen the kind of weight loss results I had when I started weight training. You won't get bulky, but working your muscles will get your metabolism up (burning more calories throughout the day). Yoga is fantastic, too (I'm a huge proponent of regular yoga practice), but I just don't think it is a substitute for weight training in a weight loss program.

Also, make sure you give yourself one rest day a week! After a week of exercise, you've earned it (and your body needs it).
posted by penchant at 7:29 AM on August 6 [2 favorites]

Since you're doing cardio using lower-body muscles three days per week, you may want to do upper-body strength-based work two or three days per week, and include one strength-based lower-body workout one day per week.

Cardio will definitely help with weight-loss, but muscle burns more calories than anything else in your body, and if you build that up, you'll not only lose fat (concentrate on "fat loss" rather than "weight loss") faster, you'll also look better, rather than the "deflated" look some people get when they just drop calories and do a ton of cardio for weight loss.
posted by xingcat at 7:30 AM on August 6 [1 favorite]

Wii fit, you say?

I've been using EASports Active on the Wii and have had much better results than I expected to get from a toy. Six weeks in I'm down nine pounds (just over a third of the way to my goal), and much fitter. Energy level is up, posture is better, etc.

I also made a couple of adjustments to my diet. Weekdays: a protein shake and a banana for breakie, no meat or dairy at lunch (a staple: soy chickenless nuggets from TJs, topped with hummus, wrapped in a tortilla), a protein, chicken usually, and plenty of veggies at dinner. Weekends are a free for all. I get the benefit of weekday austerity, but with the weekend always coming up, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

I'm not on a regular running schedule (did couch to 10k a couple of years ago), but I try to sneak in a couple of short, slow runs every week.

Double up one day a week, so you still have two days off.
posted by notyou at 7:34 AM on August 6

When I did C25k, I swam 2-3 days a week (800m-1km each time), and went for a brisk walk on the other day(s). I found it useful to prioritise one form of exercise and to allow for a little bit of slack elsewhere, so that I could still stay on track even if I was more busy (or ill) than I'd expected. Swimming in particular allowed me to exercise pretty vigourously while also being super low-impact on my knees, which are usually what cause problems for me when running.

I think getting into the habit of being active regularly (assuming it's a lifestyle change for you) is almost the most important part - I mean, people who play sports or work out spend their time differently to people who don't, and something's got to give to allow the change. So, if you enjoy WiiFit or yoga more than cycling/swimming/walking/whatever, and they're keeping you excited about being physically active, I think committing to sessions of one of those would be very valuable too.

Also, stretching properly is incredibly important when you're running, so the yoga would work here too. (I have been doing a 15-minute set of ballet exercises after running and am finding the super-thorough stretch is making a HUGE difference to how I feel the next day.)

Best of luck with the rest of C25k! Don't be afraid to go super-slowly on the tough days, you'll still be making steady progress.
posted by carbide at 7:42 AM on August 6

The Twenty Pullups Challenge or the 200 Sit-ups challenge.
posted by HotPatatta at 8:01 AM on August 6 [1 favorite]

My vote is yoga. You might get enough muscle training from it, depending on the routine. The stretching and muscle building will go a long way toward preventing injuries from the running.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:06 AM on August 6

As a fellow C25k-er, I vote for do whatever keeps you interested.

Your goal is weight loss.

You've committed to a regular cardio program 3 days a week (C25K). That is awesome.

You listed several options for the other days -- Wii Fit, Yoga, treadmill -- plus you've gotten some good recommendations here. I would humbly submit that instead of adding another regimen to your life, you need to do any activity that appeals to you on those days (the keyword, of course, being "activity"). Yoga on Tuesday? Fine. Next tuesday you'd rather do Wii Fit? Totally fine. Now you're sick of Wii Fit for six months, and would rather take a long walk in the park or go swimming? Completely ok. Now you want to do nothing but Wii Fit for six months? Great!

Meanwhile, you are rocking out on your C25K three days a week. You are not bored, because you have all these other activities to keep it interesting. This is called leading an active life. It's part of what makes the initial weight loss sustainable in the long term.

All of these activities will help you on your runs to some extent -- weights, yoga, whatever. But the thing that will help you most in your running is to generally be active. (Activity leads to weight loss leads to less of me to drag around leads to more activity and its an awesome little cycle and thank you C25K.)

So, do whatever activity excites you on the off-days. Just do something. As for the C25K days, don't get discouraged if you have to repeat a week. I think I repeated week 4 like 3 times. TAKE IT SLOW AND EASY and the program will work for you.

Last thing... Listen to your body... if what you are doing on your "off-days" is so strenuous that you can't get through your C25K runs without pain/injury, that's no good. Don't push yourself too hard.
posted by somanyamys at 8:20 AM on August 6 [4 favorites]

Another vote for doing what you will enjoy and keep doing. I have gone through countless types of exercise, dvds, you name it, until I found the one thing that I will actually do regularly - ballet. I do a ballet-themed workout at least 3 days a week and love it. I actually look forward to getting home and spending an hour working out, which is amazing considering how many times I've tried to get into a routine and have failed. Ballet works for me because I spent 10 years as a dancer when I was younger - it holds my interest.

So my suggestion would be to think of something, no matter how off the wall, that you might enjoy (Belly-dancing? Salsa? Jump-rope?). Assuming that you are looking for something that you can do in your home, Youtube is a wonderful place to give things a test-run - I found a number of ballet-boot-camp-style videos on there that I could try out for free.
posted by tryniti at 8:57 AM on August 6

So many options! Keep them coming! You inspired me to go play an hour of Wii Sports with my 9 year old. We played tennis, boxing and golf. To keep my heart rate up I did light jogging in place during his turns in golf.

I do need to change my approach to fitness. I always tend to think in terms of routines or programs, rather than just having a fun time being active!
posted by Biblio at 9:26 AM on August 6

Bear in mind that if this couch to 3k involves lots of pounding on your knees through running (which may be harder if you're overweight - your joint mileage may vary) you should look for low-no-impact exercise on the other days. Water aerobics, swimming etc.
posted by lalochezia at 9:45 AM on August 6

Strongly seconding xingcat and penchant - some strength workouts would be perfect for you. Just approach it the same way you do C25K - slowly ramp up.
posted by canine epigram at 3:18 PM on August 6