I love her attitude...
Motivation... You go girl!
Enjoying the spice of life through food and exercise.
Taking up running can seem like a scary prospect, especially if you feel out of shape or unfit.
But, did you know that regular running can help reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke, boost your mood and keep your weight under control?
The Couch to 5K plan is designed to get you off the couch and gradually work you up to running 5K or for half an hour, in just nine weeks.
What is Couch to 5K?
Couch to 5K is a running plan developed to help absolute beginners get into running. The beginners' running plan was developed by a novice runner, Josh Clark, who wanted to help his fiftysomething mum get off the couch and start running too. The plan involves three runs per week, with a day of rest in between, with a different schedule for each of the nine weeks.
- Scroll down to find out how to get started on the Couch to 5K plan.
How does Couch to 5K work?
Probably the biggest challenge a novice runner faces is not knowing how or where to start. Often when trying to get into exercise, we can overdo it, feel defeated and give up when we’re just getting started. Couch to 5K works because it starts with a mix of running and walking, to gradually build up your fitness and stamina. Week One involves running for just a minute at a time, creating realistic expectations and making the challenge feel achievable right from the start.
Who is Couch to 5K for?
Couch to 5K is for everyone. Whether you’ve never run before, or if you want to get back into being more active, Couch to 5K is a free and easy way of getting fitter and more healthy. If you have any health concerns about beginning an exercise regime such as Couch to 5K, make an appointment to see your GP and discuss it with them first.
What are the benefits?
There are plenty of benefits from getting into running. For starters, it’s an easy way of improving your physical health. Running regularly will improve the health of your heart and lungs. It can also help you lose weight; especially if combined with a healthy diet.
There is evidence it may help increase bone density in some people, which can help guard against bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
Perhaps the unexpected side-effects are the mental benefits of running. Taking on the challenge of Couch to 5K can help boost your confidence and self-belief, as you prove that you can set yourself a target and achieve a goal. Running regularly can also be a great stress reliever and has even been shown to combat depression.
What are the Couch to 5K podcasts for?
NHS Choices has developed its own set of Couch to 5K podcasts to help you get into running. The podcasts feature a narrator, Laura, who guides you through the session, explaining when you need to run and when it’s time to walk.
The podcasts also feature music to motivate you through the workout. The podcasts are designed to take you on three runs each week, leaving at least one day of rest in between each run. There is one podcast for each week of the plan – except in weeks five and six, which feature three individual podcasts. This is because weeks five and six act as transitional weeks, which aim to progress you from a mix of running and walking into running for longer blocks of time.
How do I get started?
STEP 1: Download the free Couch to 5K podcasts to your mobile device (any MP3 player will do) or your computer. If downloading to a computer, you'll then need to copy the podcast onto your MP3 player.
STEP 2: Think about when you’re going to run. The best way to ensure you stick with your running plan is to carefully work out how to fit Couch to 5K into your day. Busy days at work? Perhaps you could set your alarm clock a little earlier and run first thing in the morning, or even in your lunch break. If you have young children to sort out in the mornings, maybe you could plan your run when they’re at nursery. Or, how about strapping them safely in the pushchair and taking them with you?
STEP 3: Plan where you are going to run. For example, if you already have a gym membership then you could run there. Another good option is to run outdoors. You’ll get some fresh air, can take different and interesting routes and, perhaps best of all, it won’t cost anything. You may want to look at a map to plan your route first, so that you can focus on running. There are lots of great websites out there to help you with this, such as realbuzz and MapMyRun.
STEP 4: Think about safety. If you are planning to run outdoors, bear in mind that when wearing headphones you may be less aware of your surroundings. Watch out for other pedestrians, keep your eyes peeled for cyclists and take extra care when crossing the road.
STEP 5: What are you going to wear? The most essential piece of kit is a pair of running trainers, available from any good sports store for as little as £30. While this isn’t essential, it may reduce your risk of injury.
- Read Tips for new runners for advice on what to look for when buying new trainers.
Couch to 5K
Regular running can reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke, boost your mood and keep your weight under control. In this video, watch how Laura went from a fitness phobe to a keen runner with the Couch to 5K programme.
We Raise All Our Beef Humanely On Open Pasture And Then We Hang Them Upside Down And Slash Their Throats
Consumers today are more conscientious than ever about the choices they make at the supermarket. They want to know that the food they put on the table for their family is all-natural, environmentally friendly, and humane. And that’s why we here at Nature’s Acres Ranch hold ourselves to a higher standard and produce only the finest grass-fed and 100 percent additive-free beef. We guarantee that our cows are ethically raised on sustainably grown pastures before we hang them upside down from a moving conveyor and slice their throats wide open.
Our independently owned family farm is committed to one guiding principle: making sure that you, the customer, receive the best-tasting, highest quality beef from cows that are healthy, active, and eventually suspended fully conscious inside a facility thick with hot, blood-choked air and the frantic bellows of dangling, profoundly fearful animals.
That’s our pledge to you.
As owner and president of Nature’s Acres and a lifelong rancher myself, let me assure you that our animals are treated with exceptional care using only traditional methods from the very second the calf is born on our farm, to the moment a cascade of blood showers from its gaping, half-severed neck, to the day our award-winning beef reaches the grocer’s case in the organic section.
When we shackle a chain to a hind leg of each of our cows and hoist its terrified, quivering frame 12 feet up to the rafters, we can see firsthand just how tender, meaty, and well-marbled its entire body is—and that means exceptional flavor for you and your family!
While frail and pharmaceutical-laden factory-farm cows just droop lifelessly while awaiting their deaths, our healthy, GMO-free cattle thrash about wildly in the air, very often tearing their own delicate flesh and shattering their leg bones in a hopeless attempt to flee to the nearby 100 percent organic grassland pastures where they were free to roam during their unnaturally truncated lives.
You can rest easy with the knowledge that our cows are never, ever confined or cramped, and are entirely free-range until the day they turn 20 months old or hit 1,300 pounds, whichever comes first.
We here at Nature’s Acres know that the best quality meat comes from the best quality cows. That’s why our line of Angus and heritage Galloway cattle—hand-selected for superior taste and texture—provide ideal, gourmet cuts of beef, which we begin to extract from their still-gurgling and twitching bodies in the 20 to 120 seconds it takes from the initial incision to the moment their brains finally cease functioning. And of course our award-winning beef is flayed and butchered fresh on the spot, allowing the animal’s dangling, inverted brethren to look on with dilated, terror-filled eyes as they slowly advance one-by-one toward an identical and incomprehensibly traumatic fate.
And all of our meat—as well as the unfathomable amounts of blood, body fluids, and trimmings that drain from our cows into the vast 50,000-gallon collecting tank beneath our facility’s floor grating—is 100 percent hormone and antibiotic-free!
Now, that’s great for you and the environment!
There are certain things you can truly count on when you see that Nature’s Acres label at your local supermarket. One, our products are USDA certified organic. Two, every cut of Nature’s Acres beef is minimally processed and contains absolutely no artificial hormones or antibiotics—ever! Three, all of our cows were grasped by the nostrils using cast iron nose tongs and had their heads violently wrenched backward so we could slash right through their carotid artery and windpipe with an 18-inch blade. And four, you’ll experience a rich beef taste you just can’t beat. Mmm, mmm!
And you can take heart knowing that Nature’s Acres has earned the “Animal Welfare Approved” and “Certified Humane” seals of approval from independent inspectors.
So next time you choose a steak or ground chuck to throw on the grill, consider a healthier, more humane, and tastier option, and look no further than the Nature’s Acres Ranch line of products. We’re the one with the smiling cow on the label!