To think I can start doing Couch to 5k in my garden?

[AintNobodyHereButUsChickens]

I joined the gym just before Coronavirus went and fucked the world up. I'm so unfit and with this lockdown I'm hardly doing anything now. The daily exercise in our house is a family dog walk together.

Our garden is 100ft/30m long, I thought I could at least make a start on C25K by going down the path, looping round the greenhouse and back up again, just keep doing laps up and down the garden.

I can do this, right? Might look a bit of a pillock jogging in my garden so I might do it at night but it's better than nothing!

You could make a start that way, but you might wear your grass out! I tried jogging round my garden the other day when I'd not been out and got to .5 km according to my Apple Watch before I decided to do something else.

If you're unfit then something like high intensity intervals - low or high impact depending on your joints etc - may be a way to improve quite quickly and you can do it with no kit apart from what you'd want for running.

I've just completed wk 1 running around the block. I couldn't do it in my garden, but around the block has been great.

You could start that way but I dont think it would take you long to get bored. Have you tried HIIT workouts at home/in the garden?

There's a guy on you tube running up and down his balcony. Best of luck OP!!

Bloke ran a marathon around his dining table last week!

The start of C25k is running 1-5 mins. You could do that in your garden. Longer than that will be super boring.

You’re supposed to do 3-4 days a week on C25k. Once you’re past 5 mins running, why don’t you alternate the days between family walk and running?

Or! You could do a bit of both. Do the family walk but at the end do your run. It’s generally 30 mins max.

You need to walk 5 mins to warm up anyway.

If you are going out as a whole family (ie, theres another adult), then you can run on for the 30s, walk back for 30 , run on, walk back so you don't get too far ahead (and if you do, just run back as well as walk).

I saw a man running a marathon in his (not that big) garden on the news the other day, so I say go for it.

I mean....if your garden is 30m then that will mean approximately 83 trips up and down your garden....three times a week (even in the start of c25k they try and get you doing a fairly good distance even if you're not running the whole way) so yes you might wear your grass down and get a bit bored But it's better than nothing?

Could you do maybe ten laps of the garden in the morning, ten in the evening, and perhaps one or two goes round the block when it's quiet to break it up a bit?

I was discussing this with DH earlier. We have a long, thin garden and would have to clear the bottom garden a bit. Our garden is 70m long so DH worked it out to be 36 lengths of running to the bottom of the garden and back. I think it’ll be easy to get bored but if lockdown progresses it might get more appealing.

I’ve been doing C25K up and down my driveway so go for it OP! Good luck!

I completed couch to 5k by running around in circles on the patio and maintain running this way. Definitely can be done.

Our garden is about the same length as yours OP and DH and I have been jogging/sprinting/walking in it (in addition to our one exercise trip out per day). We did 5k yesterday. However our lawn needs reseeding anyway so we're not too precious about it looking a bit worn in places.

I'm really unfit too but we've been doing squats lunges as well as some weights and I've surprised myself how good I'm starting to feel already

Go for It!

I wouldn't be running on the grass so that's not an issue. It's just really awkward trying to go out to do it, DH works nights on a 4 on/4 off pattern so he's asleep a lot on those days, he gets up just over 3 hours before he goes back to work so I have to wrangle the crazy toddler and the dog as well as keeping an eye on DD and her bike all on my own. At least in the garden I can do it when I like even in the dark so the neighbours won't see me and think I've lost the plot

Our garden is 70m long so DH worked it out to be 36 lengths of running to the bottom of the garden and back. I think it’ll be easy to get bored but if lockdown progresses it might get more appealing.

If you compare that to swimming a kilometre in a normal 25m pool - 40 lengths - that's not bad. You're lucky to have a long garden!

It’s how I started it 🤷🏻‍♀️ Ended up running a 10k in an hour 5 months later, so not a daft idea at all