How I Went From 5 to 30+ Minutes of Running (Beginner-Friendly Plan)
I never thought I would enjoy running, much less writing a post sharing how I started it! But if you're thinking about new goals and resolutions for this year and running is one of them, here's my 2 cents!
Mind you that I now have a medal to certify my runner degree lolol joking, but I'm very proud of it though!
A few months ago, I couldn’t run more than 5 minutes without stopping.
No athlete background, no “runner body"..And remind you that I'm still overweight according to the scale, even though I lost some in the past few years!
What mattered was that I kept going. As cliché as it sounds, consistency is the key to everything, including running.
So, of course, I asked ChatGPT back then to be my coach lol. This is the simple progression I followed.
Rule #1 — Run slow enough to breathe through your nose. If you can’t talk, you’re running too fast. I'm always with the music on so if I can sing along, I'm at a good steady pace.
Rule #2 — Never increase both time and intensity. We only increase time. Pace stays easy.
Rule #3 - A nice warm-up before everything can do wonders. I normally do some leg and foot stretching and 5 minutes of walking.
Rule #4 - If something feels hard, stay in that phase a bit longer.
I won't be adding how many times per week and how many weeks per phase, do it at your own routine, but I've been running 2/3 times a week and followed each phase for 1 to 2 weeks.
Phase 1 — Build the base
Run 1 min
Walk 2 min
Repeat 8–10x
Goal: get your heart, joints and lungs used to impact without overload.
Phase 2 — Extend the run
Run 2 min
Walk 2 min
Repeat 7–8x
Then progress to:
Run 3 min
Walk 2 min
Repeat 6–7x
Phase 3 — Real endurance
Run 5 min
Walk 2 min
Repeat 4–5x
Then:
Run 8 min
Walk 2 min
Repeat 3–4x
Phase 4 — Transition to continuous running
Run 10 min
Walk 1–2 min
Repeat 2–3x
Then:
Run 15 min
Walk 1–2 min
Run another 10–15 min
Phase 5 — Continuous running
20 min → 25 → 30 min
No walking. Just relaxed, steady running.
There will be days that you can't run continuously as much as you wanted, and that's ok! A not-so-good night's sleep or not enough or even too much food before can influence your running and, again, that's ok!
Just slow down, walk for a bit and start again!
We are not training for a marathon here! Unless you want to lol
This is just another way to keep your body moving! And, in my case, to keep my mind at ease!
I hope this helps! If you have any questions, you know what to do down below :)