Running programs

New to running, or coming back after a break? A running program gives you a clear path for the first weeks: what to run, on which days, and when to move up. Your coach follows it every day and sends each session to your Apple Watch.

Pick one during the guided setup (Your goal › New / coming back), or any time in Settings › Training › Running › Running programs.

The programs

Program	For	Length	Ends at
Zero to 5K	You’ve never run, or not in years	9 weeks, 3 days a week	30 minutes running non-stop (about 5 km)
Comeback	You ran before and had a break: injury, illness, months off	5 weeks, 3 days a week	30 minutes running non-stop

Every session is run/walk: a 5-minute brisk walk, then the week’s running (for example “8 × run 1 min / walk 1½ min” in week 1 of Zero to 5K), then a 5-minute walk. The running time grows a little each week, never more than about a quarter.

Where you start

One question puts you in the right week:

• Zero to 5K: “Can you run 10 minutes without stopping?” Yes starts you at week 4, otherwise week 1.
• Comeback: “How long was your break?” Under a month starts at week 3, 1–3 months at week 2, longer at week 1.

Your days

You pick the three days. Leave a day between sessions: the rest days are where it gets easier. Starting a program replaces your weekly schedule with the program days, and switches race prep off if it was on. Stopping it brings your old schedule back.

How a week moves up

• Moving up: at the end of each program week, Tempovi checks what you actually ran. Done at least two of the three sessions? You move to the next week.
• Repeating: fewer than two? The week repeats. That’s normal and not a setback.
• What counts: a session counts when you ran at least 60% of its running time that day. A session run on another day of the same week counts too.
• Moving ahead early: only you can do this, with Move to the next week now in Running programs. The program never skips ahead by itself.

How your coach adapts it

• Very low recovery: with readiness below 35, the coach rests you that day.
• Low recovery: with readiness from 35 to 49, or with an illness warning or Not 100%, you get last week’s easier session instead. In week 1 there’s nothing easier, so you get the normal session.
• Status: when your status is Injured, Sick or On a break, there’s no running until you set it back. The 7-Day Plan shows those days as rest.
• Volume cap: the weekly volume cap doesn’t apply during a program. The program itself controls how much you run.

A session runs at an easy effort: slow enough to talk in full sentences. Walking more is always fine.

When you finish

The last week ends at the program’s goal. After that the coach plans from your own running, as it does for everyone else. Your weekly schedule keeps the three program days until you change it in Settings. You can start another program at any time.

Why it works this way

• The structure: run/walk three times a week is the standard way beginners start, as in the NHS Couch to 5K.
• The slow build: new runners who increased their weekly distance by more than 30% had more running injuries than those who stayed under 10% (Nielsen et al. 2014). Hence the small weekly steps and the repeat-week rule.
• The length: a slower 13-week program was not safer for beginners than a standard 8-week one (Buist et al. 2008), so the programs aren’t longer than they need to be.

Information only, not medical advice. If you have a heart condition, joint problems, are pregnant or new to exercise, check with your doctor before you start.

Stop or change a program

In Settings › Training › Running › Running programs, use Change program or days or Stop the program. New days keep your progress; switching to the other program starts it from its first week (or the week its question places you in). Stopping brings back the weekly schedule you had before.