Here’s the brutal truth, guys… in order to run faster, you need to RUN FASTER! 5K training for beginners is no exception. Use this workout to take your training up a notch!

5K Training For Beginners: The Best Way To Build Strength & Speed

We get it. Learning to run is HARD.

Learning to push past the point when you want to stop can seem next to impossible in the beginning.

So how about breaking your workout up into more “doable” chunks? Don’t worry, you’ll still be getting ALL of the necessary work in.

In 5K training for beginners, sometimes it’s more effective to work harder for several shorter periods of time, versus struggling through 20 minutes of hell, where it’s all you can do not to switch from a slow shuffle to a walk.

Here’s The Workout:

• 5 burpees
• a 400 meter run
• 45 seconds of rest
• Alternate for 5 total rounds

Hang on a second…what’s a burpee?!

Let’s break this thing down.

The Burpees:

Every athlete’s favorite little method of torture.

Well here’s why we LOVE to hate them.

One HUGE part of 5K training for beginners is building stamina. Learning how to suffer.

Burpees challenge your range of motion and your coordination when you’re most fatigued. Learning how to get through this complex movement, when you’re tired, translates to you later being able to survive the fatigue at the end of your 5K with a correct running form, and ultimately finishing STRONG.

The Run:

If you have access to a track, you’ll be running around it once, each round.

If you don’t, do your best to estimate a quarter mile, or what would take you somewhere around 2 minutes to run.

The catch! Aim to run every single round at your target 5K race pace or FASTER.

The Rest:

Breathe. Keeping your mouth closed and just breathing through your nose for the first 15-20 seconds of rest will get your breathing and heart rate under control QUICKLY.

Shake it out. Get your body ready for the next QUALITY round.

Resting is built in so that EVERY round counts. The whole point of breaking your workout up is to ensure that you’re moving WELL with adequate power and control, for the entire time.

You’ll thank yourself for working out this way at the 5K finish line.

Looking for an additional challenge?

After a few weeks of this, you’re going to start feeling faster, stronger, more athletic.

The beauty of 5K training for beginners is that it escalates QUICKLY.

Here’s how you can make the workout more challenging:

Increase # of burpees (eventually getting to 10 per round).

Increase # of total rounds (eventually getting to 10 total rounds).

This workout is guaranteed to transform your running form, your speed, and your overall stamina.

Incorporate this workout into your running training program 1-2 times per week and CRUSH your 5K.

Looking for some more 5K training tips for beginners?

Download this.

And then read our blog on 5k running tips

Good luck, runners!