WEEK 3 OF 9
Couch to 5K Week 3: Workouts and What to Expect
90s run / 90s walk / 3 min run / 3 min walk × 2. All three sessions are identical this week.
- Day 1
Mix it up
90s run / 90s walk / 3 min run / 3 min walk, twice (final walk trimmed)
Full interval breakdown
- Warm-up walk5 min
- Run90s
- Walk90s
- Run3 min
- Walk3 min
- Run90s
- Walk90s
- Run3 min
- Cool-down walk5 min
- Day 2
Keep the pattern
90s run / 90s walk / 3 min run / 3 min walk, twice (final walk trimmed)
Full interval breakdown
- Warm-up walk5 min
- Run90s
- Walk90s
- Run3 min
- Walk3 min
- Run90s
- Walk90s
- Run3 min
- Cool-down walk5 min
- Day 3
Confidence builder
90s run / 90s walk / 3 min run / 3 min walk, twice (final walk trimmed)
Full interval breakdown
- Warm-up walk5 min
- Run90s
- Walk90s
- Run3 min
- Walk3 min
- Run90s
- Walk90s
- Run3 min
- Cool-down walk5 min
What to expect in week 3
Week 3 changes shape: 90 seconds running, 90 walking, three minutes running, three walking, then the whole pattern again without the final walk. Two things are new. Your longest run doubles, from 90 seconds to three minutes. And walking time drops from ten minutes to six, which is why this is the shortest session in the entire plan at 25 minutes.
Those three-minute runs are the week. If it helps to count them in pieces, one minute at a time, do that. And if three minutes feels like a lot, nothing is wrong with you: two weeks ago the plan was asking you for sixty seconds.