Run–Walk Planner for Lifters: Build Your Starting Plan
Start running. Keep lifting.
For beginners and returning runners. Two easy runs a week.
One question · Optional weekly schedule · No email neededWhere are you with running right now?
Run slowly enough to speak in full sentences.
Want help choosing your running days?
Your download will say Session 1 and Session 2. Leave at least one run-free day between them.
Any days you cannot run? (Optional)
Leave blank if every day is possible.
Your suggested week
| Day | Training |
|---|
A starting suggestion, not an optimal-week guarantee. Recheck the fit as runs get longer; repeat a stage if recovery suffers.
See the rest of my plan
Do each stage twice. Move at most one stage a week, only after two easy, pain-free sessions and normal walking and stairs the next day. Repeat or step back if needed.
| Stage | Both sessions | Total |
|---|
Includes 5 minutes of walking before and after. Include the final walk interval. 1:30 means 1 minute, 30 seconds.
30 minutes is not necessarily 5K (3.1 miles). Once comfortable, keep one run around 20–25 minutes and gradually extend the other, for example by 2 minutes a week when recovery feels good. Walk breaks are fine.
For adults who can walk 30 minutes comfortably and have no pain or medical restriction on running.
More guidance & sources
Stop running if pain appears. Persistent, recurring or local bone pain needs assessment. After a break, restart from recent comfortable ability, not an old personal best.
This tool is for beginners, returning runners and people building an easy running habit toward 5K. It does not prescribe race pace, faster 5K training or a 10K plan.
The stages and starting points are THG coaching suggestions, not a validated prediction of your progress. The NHS beginner plan uses three sessions a week; this tool uses two and flexible repeats. CDC guidance explains the talk test. Concurrent-training research informs the lifting context, not these exact intervals.
Does cardio affect muscle growth? · How to start running while lifting
Answers stay in this page and clear on reload. Download your plan to keep it. Newsletter signup is optional and separate; your planner answers are not included.
