People in Burnley and Padiham are invited to sign up to a free health and exercise initiative designed to help them move from Couch to 5k.
The second nine-week Couch to 5k programme is starting on Monday 9th May and will offer residents an additional two sessions to help them hit their recommended three workouts a week.
The half an hour sessions will run on:
- Mondays 6pm at Shuttleworth Community College
- Tuesdays 6.30pm at Burnley Athletics Club Barden Track
- Wednesdays 6pm at Shuttleworth Community College
- Thursdays 6.30pm at Thompson Park Boathouse
- Saturdays 10am at Riverside car park, Towneley Park
The fitness programme is aimed primarily at people who are currently inactive, who find taking exercise difficult and those who would like to get in to running.
Couch to 5k is delivered by volunteers with support from the leisure trust’s Get in2 team and Burnley Athletic Club.
It focuses on building up physical activity in a gradual and healthy way, with participants aiming to attend three sessions of jogging and fitness work per week until July 2016.
Programme instructors will lead the weekly jogging sessions and will also be available to advise, help and encourage participants during each session.
The programme will culminate with participants running their first ever 5k and taking a parkrun route around Towneley Park in July. The run will be followed by an informal graduation get-together at Prairie Sports Village.
Paul Foster, Burnley Leisure’s head of development, said: “Couch to 5k is a great opportunity to get active and start a new challenge and we’re delighted to be launching our second programme. The current Couch to 5k programme has been a great success with about 20 people turning up at each session.
“Being physically active helps maintain a healthy weight and can reduce the risk of many diseases including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. It is also good for your mental health and can lift mood, reduce anxiety and help to protect against depression. If you introduce changes in your life to increase physical activity, you will see big differences to your health and wellbeing.
“The first step to getting active often seems the hardest, but I’d like to encourage people to come along and give running a go.”
To take up the Couch to 5k challenge and get involved with the programme, people can register on www.upandactive.co.uk.
For further enquiries please contact Andrea from the Get in2 team on 01282 477167 or by emailing getin2@burnley.gov.uk.
For more tips on getting active, healthier eating choices, activities and setting goals visit www.burnleyleisure.co.uk or follow the Get in2 Facebook page www.facebook.com/burnley.get.in.2
