Go from walking to running in just 12 weeks—and jog a 5-K (if you want to).
The secret to picking up the exercise pace is getting your body accustomed to a higher intensity by slowly sneaking jogging into your usual walking workouts, says Jane Serues, women’s running coach and founder of First Strides, a beginner walking and running workshop for women. Serues designed the following 12-week walk-to-jog program to prepare new runners to run a 5-K (3.1 miles)—even if they have no desire to actually enter a race.
Before you begin any new exercise, check with your doctor to make sure the plan is right for you. You should be able to walk for 20 minutes comfortably to start this plan. (If you can’t walk for 20 minutes, use one of our walking programs to build up to that first.) After 12 weeks, you should be able to jog for almost 45 minutes.
The program: Follow this12-week plan to boost your speed gradually from walking to running.
The payoff: Running blasts away about 340 calories in 30 minutes. Plus, it leads to better overall health.
Bonus benefit: If you run a 5-K at the end of your training, you’ll get a cool T-shirt and usually some free stuff—plus you’ll have pride knowing you did it! Choose a 5-K that’s raising funds for a good cause, and feel even better when you cross the finish line.
Walk-to-Jog Plan
Note: Before each workout, walk for 5 minutes to warm up, and cool down for 5 minutes afterward. Stretch your muscles after you’re done. In the first weeks, try to give yourself a day of rest between workouts.
Week What to do Reps Total Time* Days per week
1 Walk 4 min, jog 1 min 3 15 min 3
2 Walk 4 min, jog 2 min 3 18 min 3
3 Walk 3 min, jog 2 min 4 20 min 3
4 Walk 3 min, jog 3 min 4 24 min 3
5 Walk 2 min, jog 3 min 5 25 min 3
6 Walk 3 min, jog 4 min 4 28 min 4
7 Walk 2 min, jog 4 min 5 30 min 4
8 Walk 1 min, jog 4 min 6 30 min 4
9 Walk 1 min, jog 5 min 6 36 min 4
10 Walk 1 min, jog 7 min 5 40 min 4
11 Walk 1 min, jog 9 min 4 40 min 5
12 Walk 1 min, jog 10 min 4 44 min 5
