Beginners Jogging Plan (8 Week)
Planning a training schedule will not only safely builds up your running distances, but it will also help you stay motivated.
Beginners Jogging Plan below is simple and will help you ease into running.
You don’t need to worry about your actual pace in terms of miles or km per hour in this activity plan. Start gently and jog/run at a pace that feels like you’re working quite hard but not gasping for breath.
1st week: Briskly walk for about 10-30 minutes. The stride will should keep your legs under your torso. Do not stretch out your legs and lock your knees. Keep knees slightly bent and landing on you mid-foot or forefoot with each stride.
| Week 1 | Duration | How? Fast or slow |
| Day 1 | 10 – 15 minutes | Brisk Walking |
| Day 2 | Rest Day | |
| Day 3 | 10 – 15 minutes | Brisk Walking |
| Day 4 | 15 – 20 minutes | Brisk Walking |
| Day 5 | Rest Day | |
| Day 6 | 20 – 30 minutes | Brisk Walking |
| Day 7 | Rest Day |
2nd & 3rd weeks: Front loading the week gets the longer walks completed. This will give you a chance to recover before introducing a change of pace and start jogging. Small jogging intervals will get you on the road to 5k.
| Week 2 & 3 | Duration | How? Fast or slow |
| Day 1 | 20 – 25 minutes | Brisk Walking |
| Day 2 | Rest Day | |
| Day 3 | 10 – 15 minutes | 1 minute Walking/1 minute jogging |
| Day 4 | 15 – 20 minutes | 1 minute Walking/1 minute jogging |
| Day 5 | Rest Day | |
| Day 6 | 20 – 30 minutes | 1 minute Walking/2 minute jogging |
| Day 7 | 5 minutes | Light stretching exercises. |
4th & 5th week: Aim at jogging 1 mile without stopping. Try jogging lightly the 1 mile route or as far as you can comfortably go. Do not use a watch. It does not matter how long it takes. You can turn round and walk home if find it too difficult.
On non-running days, alternate between walking 10-50 minutes.
Finish each workout with light gentle stretching. No bouncing to stretch farther as this puts undue stress, pulls on tendons, and can cause injury.
| Week 4 & 5 | Duration | How? Fast or slow |
| Day 1 | 20 – 25 minutes | 1 min walking/ 2 min Jogging |
| Day 2 | Rest Day | |
| Day 3 | 25 – 30 minutes | 1 minute Walking/3 minute jogging |
| Day 4 | 25 – 30 minutes | 1 minute Walking/3 minute jogging |
| Day 5 | Rest Day | |
| Day 6 | 30 – 40 minutes | 1 minute Walking/3 minute jogging |
| Day 7 | 10 – 15 minutes | Long Brisk Walk/Light stretching exercises. |
5th & 6th weeks: You are really doing great. Now go for 2 miles during this period. Once you’re running, you may feel comfortable enough to skip the walk breaks. But it’s important to take walk breaks before you feel like you need them. This will help fend off fatigue and prevent you from doing too much too soon. By taking walk breaks at the regular intervals that are scheduled for the day, you can ensure that you’ll finish each workout feeling strong.
| Week 6 & 7 | Duration | How? Fast or slow |
| Day 1 | 30 – 35 minutes | 1 min walking/ 4 min Jogging |
| Day 2 | Rest Day | |
| Day 3 | 35 – 40 minutes | 1 minute Walking/4 minute jogging |
| Day 4 | 35 – 40 minutes | 1 minute Walking/4 minute jogging |
| Day 5 | Rest | |
| Day 6 | 40 – 50 minutes | 1 minute Walking/4 minute jogging |
| Day 7 | 30 – 40 minutes | Long Brisk Walk |
8th weeks: Go for the 5k (3.1-mile) route. Jog 7-8 minutes then walk 1 minute. Repeat to complete route. Continue using walk breaks as desired.
Working your way up to jogging 1 hour without stopping is optional. It is possible to train for and complete a marathon using walk breaks. I do however; enjoy the sensation of running 1 hour without stopping. Moreover, it is a nice solid endurance base to launch racing if you so desire.
| Week 8 | Duration | How? Fast or slow |
| Day 1 | 40 – 45 minutes | 1 min walking/ 4 min Jogging |
| Day 2 | Rest Day | |
| Day 3 | 45 – 50 minutes | 1 minute Walking/4 minute jogging |
| Day 4 | 45 – 50 minutes | 1 minute Walking/4 minute jogging |
| Day 5 | Rest Day | |
| Day 6 | 50 – 60 minutes | 1 minute Walking/4 minute jogging |
| Day 7 | 30 – 40 minutes | Long Brisk Walk |
You can be flexible with this, beginners Jogging Plan or adapt it to suit your condition.
Become aware of how your muscles and joints feel. Are you feeling tightness and soreness upon rising? If you notice any swelling, use ice to alleviate. Also, you may need to back off and increase distance slower. Be open to this option as you increase the amount you can do.
This how to start running process will be the slowest of your advancement. You are building muscle, learning proper form and gaining endurance. Resist the competitive urge to beat your last runs’ time or distance. Leave the stopwatch at home.
Do not rush the process–or you will most assuredly get hurt. Instead, have fun with it and enjoy yourself.
Please do a warm up exercise indoor/outdoor before you start any running workout. A good warm-up prepares/ signals to your body that it will have to start working soon. By slowly raising your heart rate, the warm-up also helps minimize stress on your heart when you start your run. Start your runs with a brisk walk, followed by very easy jogging for a few minutes. Always end your workout with a slow five-minute jog or walk to cool down. The cool-down allows your heart rate and blood pressure to fall gradually.