How/what to exercise

[AlwaysLonely]

I am desperately trying to get fitter.
I have been doing couch to 5k and been stuck on week 1 for about a month. I also try and do home workouts and really struggle.
It's like I have a mental block which constantly tells me I can't do it and inevitably I give up.

I am do very unfit and desperate to do better. What sorts of exercise is good for a complete and utter starter and confirmed couch potato? And how do you push through the mental barrier?

Any help gratefully received! Thank you!

Check out beginner workouts on fitness blender! The instructors are really nice down to earth and encouraging

Thank you Leah00 Are they on You Tube? Funds are tight so I can't really afford to sign up for anything.

It's free! On YouTube but better on fitnessblender.com. Their set programmes cost money but they have hundreds of single workout videos for free. You can browse through them and filter for level (if you're a beginner, start with 2), duration, type of exercise etc to put together what is right for you. I'd recommend signing up to the website, which is free and it lets you create a calendar on which you plan your workouts. I really can't recommend them highly enough, it's totally made exercising fun for me.

Start with long walks, get a podcast you like and go.

Couch to 5k is mostly mental, you can do it. But start with walking until you build up your fitness - it does work well if you do it often enough.

What is it about C25K that's making you feel like you are stuck on week one? Are you struggling to get through the 60 second runs? Have you tried slowing down? It nearly finished me off the first time I tried because I felt like I need to be running at speed, my Bil set me straight and told me to go as slow as I need to get through, even if it feels no faster than walking as long as you do the running motion you do whatever pace it takes to get you through. You work on endurance and stamina first (which comes surprisngly fast once you slow down), speed later.

I did two runs a week with a couple of home workouts in-between and my fitness has really improved. It's still not great, I have a long way to go but I can see improve now. I'm still clumsy doing the videos though - just not quite as breathless and clumsy as I used to be! I'd recommend Lucy Wyndham-read on YouTube, she has lots of home workout for all abilities

I would recommend sticking with c25k. Why are you not able to move on to week 2? Have you tried any of the workouts for that week? I think you’ll be surprised how quickly your fitness improves if you follow the program. That being said if you’re really struggling to run the 60 seconds at a time it might be an idea to do the first few weeks using a brisk walk/ recovery walk pace and then go back to the start with a jog/ recovery walk.

You get through the barriers by just keeping gong.

Need to repeat week 1 of C25K ? Not a proboem - loads of people need to repeat weeks and it really does not matter which week it is, nor however many times.

I ran as a chore for months before coming to enjoy it. If you put exercise on a daily 'to do' list 4 or 5 days a week, and just do something for 20-30 minutes, no matter how sullenly or reluctantly, you will make progress.

@Passmeabrew I can get to run 6 but then my lower legs feel like they are on fire and the voice in my head is saying on repeat "this is too hard" or " You can stop" etc.

I haven't moved on to week 2 as I tried and I couldn't complete the second lot of running. I also feel defeated after not being able to do week 1, give up for a few days and then start again with week 1.

I keep seeing people say slow down the running but I am barely running! If I slow down anymore it'll literally just be like a fast walk.

I fully know I am very lazy and look for any excuse to give up. I also know it's definitely more a mental barrier but I don't know how to push through and break the cycle. I've been like this my whole life and my default setting us 'I can't do this' which I can't seem to change whatever I try.

I’m liking Joe Wicks PE.

C25k is great for some people but for others I recommend just running free. Literally out your trainers on, leave your house and walk, jog and run for as short or far as you fancy. Run the downhills, crawl the uphills. It really doesn't matter. Walk all of it one day and throw in a few ten second jogs the next. Go out for ten minutes then the next time forty. It may be fifteen again the next time! It Really doesn't matter. Just get out. If you track your runs with an app/watch but don't actually 'care' about the numbers I guarantee you'll break through that mental wall within a few weeks and start to see your stats improving.

Oh and the point is, you take the pressure off. The only thing you focus on is 'trainers on and leave the house'. Whatever happens after that is a bonus.

I am pretty fit, have never ever been able to do C25K. I think you need to find something you enjoy. I can swim 10k front crawl but I cannot run.

But it really doesn't matter if you are doing it at a fast walk, you just go at the pace you need to go to get through it. When you hear those voices tell them you will go to the next lamp post or whatever before you stop - once you break the wall once it gets easier because the next time you hear the voice, you hear another one going 'well I thought I couldn't last time but I did' which pushes you on a but further. Look at your long term goals and then set yourself some smaller, obtainable ones that will get you there.

Honestly, I am so unfit its untrue. I first tired it last year, no other exercise other than regular walking, and I swear I thought I was dying the end of the first run. But for some reason, I went again, and again and again. There was improvement, til I injured myself. So this time, I started again in January, took it at my own pace so two runs a week with Hiit videos or indoor cycling in between to help my fitness. I still have a long way to go, but the difference in my fitness is huge. But I've taken it slowly and moved up at my pace.

Desmondo might be right and c25k might not be way for you - find the way that works for you and you will be off. You can do it!