{"id":472772,"date":"2025-10-04T04:35:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T04:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/472772\/"},"modified":"2025-10-04T04:35:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T04:35:25","slug":"plus-size-mum-says-running-programme-couch-to-5k-changed-her-life-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/472772\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Plus-size mum’ says running programme Couch to 5k changed her life \u2013 here’s how"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Bethany Robinson<\/a>, up until last year, fitness meant nine years of intense CrossFit training. Then she started Couch to 5k. As a coach and personal trainer, she shared a video on YouTube<\/a> titled ‘I HATED running before: Couch to 5k as a plus-size new mum’ explaining her journey to running: \u2018I could have programmed my own running plan, but I decided to do Couch to 5k \u2013 partly because I had never done it before and wanted to see what it was like, and partly because I wanted to understand why people often drop out halfway through.\u2019<\/p>\n

It was when she was 11 weeks postpartum that she decided to commit to the programme. \u2018They don\u2019t recommend you do any running until 12 weeks postpartum, but I paid for a specialist checkup and they advised that as the first week of Couch to 5k is mostly walking, it would be fine. My pelvic floor was fine, my scar (from a c-section) wasn\u2019t causing any issues and I was good to go,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

She did CrossFit training throughout pregnancy and with her \u2018sights set on another Hyrox\u2019, she knew she needed to train to run because she \u2018hadn\u2019t run for a year, and even before pregnancy, CrossFit didn\u2019t involve much running\u2019. So, she signed up to Couch to 5k, \u2018determined to train properly with running multiple times a week\u2019. Here\u2019s everything she learned, and why she recommends the programme for everyone \u2013 no matter your age, size or fitness level. <\/p>\n

What to Read Next1.Strength and endurance are very different \u2013 and both need training\"couchYouTube<\/p>\n

Bethany previously did CrossFit training<\/p>\n

\u2018At 11 weeks postpartum I started, and my first run was awful. I wore barefoot shoes and had terrible calf pain. I wasn\u2019t out of breath \u2013 my cardio fitness from CrossFit was fine \u2013 but my endurance shocked me. Despite being strong, I really struggled to run. <\/p>\n

\u2018I had done a Hyrox before and only trained with CrossFit, and while I completed it, I was awful at the running sections because I hadn\u2019t trained for them. I\u2019d bought into the CrossFit idea that it prepares you for everything, which isn\u2019t entirely true.\u2019<\/p>\n

Walk\/run intervals work \u2013 but increasing the runs in small increments is key for progress<\/p>\n

\u2018I loved the Couch to 5K format \u2013 run, walk, run. It felt manageable. My cardio fitness was fine, but my legs weren\u2019t conditioned for running. At first, even running 60 seconds was painful, but quickly I adapted. After a couple of weeks, 90 seconds felt no harder than 60, and soon I was running 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 8. The progress shocked me \u2013 I didn\u2019t believe I could improve so fast.\u2019<\/p>\n

2. Speed isn\u2019t important<\/p>\n

\u2018By week 5, though, there\u2019s the infamous jump from 8 minutes to 20 minutes of running. As a coach, I thought that was too big a leap, but I decided to try it anyway. I went as slow as possible, determined just to complete it, and to my surprise I managed the 20 minutes. \u2018From there, the programme gradually increased \u2013 24 minutes, 27 minutes, then 30. I panicked when the walk\/run intervals disappeared, but I kept going, and eventually I was running solid 30-minute runs. I couldn\u2019t believe it.\u2019<\/p>\n

3. Running is therapy \"couchYouTube<\/p>\n

Bethany says running gave her joy<\/p>\n

\u2018Running gave me moments of pride and joy. I remember cresting a hill, seeing the view, and feeling euphoric. Running became a mental health outlet for me, almost meditative. My therapist explained that running might work similarly to EMDR, helping process stress and anxiety, and I think that\u2019s true for me. At first I didn\u2019t enjoy running, but by the time I hit 30 minutes, I loved it. Psychological theories like the mere exposure effect, habit formation, and positive reinforcement all make sense \u2013 I started to associate running with feeling good, and over time it became something I wanted to do.\u2019<\/p>\n

4. Your body will change<\/p>\n

\u2018Along the way, I noticed unexpected changes. My body felt better with less CrossFit and more steady-state training. My knees didn\u2019t hurt like people said they would. I wasn\u2019t training for weight loss, but my body changed anyway \u2013 I lost inches around my waist, my running belt needed tightening, and clothes got baggier. I don\u2019t weigh myself because of past eating disorder struggles, but it was clear my body was adapting.\u2019<\/p>\n

5. The jump in week 5 is daunting \u2013 but doable<\/p>\n

\u2018Now, I can\u2019t imagine not being a runner. I plan to keep running long-term. My training includes one 30-minute tempo run, one long steady run where I add 10% each week, and one interval session at threshold pace. I\u2019m using my Garmin to track distance and pace, and I\u2019m focused on evidence-based methods like balancing most runs at low intensity with occasional harder efforts. If I ever repeat Couch to 5K, I\u2019ll remind myself that the week 5 jump is tough but doable. And if others are starting, I\u2019d tell them the same \u2013 you can do it. Running has become such a positive force in my life, and now I\u2019m hooked.\u2019<\/p>\n

RELATED STORIES\"Headshot<\/p>\n

As Women\u2019s Health UK\u2019s fitness director (and a qualified yoga teacher), Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism. She secured her first role at Look Magazine, where her obsession with fitness began and she launched the magazine\u2019s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!. Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner\u2019s World and Red.<\/p>\n

Now, she oversees all fitness content across womenshealthmag.com.uk<\/a> and the print magazine, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as \u2018Fit At Any Age\u2019, where we showcase the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise. She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks \u2013 all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how.<\/p>\n

Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For Bethany Robinson, up until last year, fitness meant nine years of intense CrossFit training. Then she started…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472773,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[1329,157238,1331,1630,105,1330,157237,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-472772","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-content-type-feature","9":"tag-contentid-d1b5b3cc-eb26-4df0-9095-350a47c02466","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-fitness","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-locale-gb","14":"tag-shorttitle-plus-size-mum-shares-couch-to-5k-review","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115314041202691618","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}