Buzzapp Master 
The week of workouts below is for SELF’s Learn to Love Running Program, our brand-new, beginner-friendly plan that will get you running 30 minutes nonstop! Here’s what you need to know to get started.
You’ve got an entire month of workouts in the bank. And this week, you’ll notice that everything gets just a little bit easier: Your running intervals are going down to the same duration as they were in Week 3.
This strategy is called a cutback week, and it’s commonly used by coaches and runners of all levels, including elite and pro athletes. The primary purpose is to give your body a mega-dose of rest and recovery after four straight weeks of adding intensity. If all you do is build up without ever stepping back, you’re setting yourself up for injury and burnout.
A nice side benefit? It allows you to reflect on your progress. Think about how much less intimidating those distances feel this week, compared to how they felt the first time you did them. And take stock of how much work you’ve done total already: a whopping three and a half hours of walking and an hour and six minutes of running!
Week 5 at a Glance:We’re taking it back to intervals of 3.5 minutes of walking, 90 seconds of running for your first workout—sandwiched between a solid warm-up and cooldown, of course. Take a moment to consider whether your work efforts feel smoother, easier, or less daunting than the first time around.
Build on those victories to keep your self-talk positive. It’s easy to slip into some negative thought patterns when a workout feels difficult—telling yourself you’re out of shape, it’s too hard, or you can’t do it. Catching those thoughts when they happen and countering them with true statements—such as “I’ve done this before” and “It’s challenging, but I’m strong”—can build your confidence and make your session a lot more pleasant.
Monday: Walk/Run Intervals
5-minute warm-upWalk 3.5 minutes, run 90 seconds (repeat 4 times)5- to 10-minute cooldownTotal time: 30–35 minutes(back to top)
Tuesday: Active Recovery (Optional) or Rest
Because it’s a cutback week, you can feel better than ever about taking an extra rest day if you need it! But you can also continue exploring our active recovery routines if your body’s itching to move, even a little.
These low-impact, mobility-based moves not only give you time to slow down and return to center, they can also help you identify tight spots and imbalances—and address them. For example, if your right hip feels tighter than your left on a hip-opening movement like the 90/90 with overhead reach or hip airplanes, you can spend a few extra reps on that side to address it. Your future self will thank you during your next workout!
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Wednesday: Strength Training
Let’s take the next step in lifting! Today, you’ll move on to phase two of the strength plan specifically designed for runners by Amanda Katz, an NASM-certified personal trainer and running coach in New York City.
Like the first routine, this one is full-body, working all the major leg muscles you use when running (without neglecting your upper body). Several more exercises are now single-leg—for example, a lunge instead of a squat. That’s important, because as you run you’re hopping from one leg to the next, so building unilateral strength and stability is key.
Other moves progress to a slightly more difficult version. For instance, you’ll now elevate your front foot while doing a calf raise. The idea here is progressive overload—continually increasing the challenge over time so you get stronger.
The exercises might be different, but the guideline for choosing your weight remains the same: You want one that’s challenging enough so that you have one to three reps in reserve (RIR). In other words, by the time you get to your final rep, you should feel like you could only do one to three more before you need to stop. If you added weight for the first routine, you might need to take it back off again as your muscles adapt to the new stimulus here.
Wednesday: Strength Training Workout
What you need: A pair of dumbbells, a bench or step, and a mat for comfort.
Directions:
Do 8 reps of your first exercise. (For single-sided moves, do 8 reps on both sides; for moves by time, follow the time allotted in the description) Rest 2–3 minutes. Repeat for 3 times total.Continue on to your next exercise, and repeat until you’ve completed the first 6 moves.Do 10–20 reps of the lateral pogo hops. Rest 2-3 minutes. Repeat for 3–4 times total.Exercises:
Kickstand DeadliftReverse LungeHalf-Kneeling Overhead PressBent-Over RowFront-Foot Elevated Single-Leg Calf RaiseShort Lever Copenhagen PlankLateral Pogo HopsKickstand Deadlift
Katie Thompson
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand.Place one foot a foot-length behind the other, heel elevated, so your stance is staggered. You’ll be working your front leg.Hinge at your hips to lower your body. Push your butt far back and keep your back flat. Your torso should be almost parallel to the floor.Keeping your core tight, push through your front heel to stand up straight. Keep the weights close to your shins as you pull up.Pause at the top and squeeze your butt. That’s 1 repComplete all your reps on one side. Then switch sides and repeat.This deadlift variation helps you build balanced strength on both sides of your body; your “kickstand” leg is pretty much only there for support—your planted leg does most of the work!
Reverse Lunge
Katie Thompson
Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and engage your core. Hold a pair of dumbbells at your sides.Step backward with one foot, landing on the ball of your foot and keeping your heel off the floor.Bend both knees to 90 degrees as you sink into a lunge. Focus on keeping your core engaged and your hips tucked (don’t stick your butt out).Push through the heel of your planted foot to return to the starting position. This is 1 rep. Complete all your reps on one side, then switch sides.The reverse lunge works your quads and glutes, and helps with single-sided strength as well.
Half-Kneeling Overhead Press
Katie Thompson
Start in a half-kneeling position. Hold a dumbbell in your right hand at shoulder level with your palm facing in and your elbow bent. Rest your left arm on your left thigh. This is the starting position.Press the dumbbell overhead, straightening your elbow completely. Make sure to keep your core engaged and hips tucked to avoid arching your lower back as you lift your arm.Slowly bend your elbow to lower the weight back down. Reverse the motion to the starting position.This is 1 rep. Complete all your reps on one side, then switch.This upper-body exercise works your shoulders and your triceps, the small muscles along the backs of your upper arms.
Bent-Over Row
Katie Thompson
Stand with your feet hip-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand with your arms at your sides.With your core engaged, hinge forward at the hips, pushing your butt back. Bend your knees and make sure you don’t round your shoulders. (Your hip mobility and hamstring flexibility will dictate how far you can bend over.)Gaze at the ground a few inches in front of your feet to keep your neck in a comfortable position.Do a row by pulling the weights up toward your chest, keeping your elbows hugged close to your body and squeezing your shoulder blades at the top of the movement. Your elbows should go past your back as you bring the weight toward your chest.Slowly lower the weights by extending your arms toward the floor. That’s 1 rep.This classic compound exercise primarily works your back muscles, which is important for proper running form. Your biceps—the small muscles along the fronts of your upper arms—come in to assist.
Front-Foot Elevated Single-Leg Calf Raise
Katie Thompson
Stand in front of a sturdy chair, box, or step. Place one foot on the raised surface, knee bent 90 degrees. Hold a dumbbell in each hand.Exhale and slowly lift the heel of your foot on the floor as far as you can. Hold briefly and inhale as you slowly lower back to the floor. This is 1 rep.Complete all your reps on one side. Then switch sides and repeat.This progression of the single-leg calf raise helps you keep building strength in these important lower-leg muscles.
Short Lever Copenhagen Plank
Katie Thompson
Start in a forearm side plank by propping your body up on your right forearm, with your elbow stacked underneath your shoulder and your hand in front of your body.Place your left leg on top of a bench, chair, or other stable surface, with your knee bent 90 degrees. Hover your right leg slightly underneath, with that knee also bent 90 degrees.Hold 20-30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.This isometric exercise is an obliques burner! If you find this move too challenging, repeat the side plank from Weeks 1–4 instead.
Lateral Pogo Hops
Katie Thompson
Stand with your feet close together, hands on your hips or at your sides.Jump straight up and to the left, focusing on getting both high off the ground and traveling sideways.Land on the balls of your feet, then jump up and to the left again as quickly as possible. (Picture a pogo stick!)Complete 10–20 reps to one side, then repeat on the other side.This plyometric exercise helps build balance, power, and explosiveness.
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It’s your second walk/run of the week, and you’ll once again be running 90 seconds, walking 3.5 minutes. A cutback week is a great time to change up little things about your workout, if you haven’t already.
If you’ve been walking/running your same neighborhood loop, for example, see if you can find a new route—or at least reverse your direction. Switch up the treadmill you’re using at the gym. If you’ve been a devotee to one of our warm-ups, show the other some love! Sometimes, even a small shift can add some new energy to your routine.
Thursday: Walk/Run Intervals
5-minute warm-upWalk 3.5 minutes, run 90 seconds (repeat 4 times)5- to 10-minute cooldownTotal time: 30–35 minutes(back to top)
It’s the rest day before your longer walk/run! If you have a few minutes, take the time to do a body scan—a visualization where you focus on different parts of your body, moving from your toes to your head. Get full instructions here.
This mindfulness exercise calms your mind and offers a chance to check in on how you’re feeling. If you notice spots that feel stiff or tight, give them a little extra TLC with a foam roller or a mobility movement from the active recovery routines. Tomorrow we’ll take this brain exercise on the move for even more insights.
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It’s time for your longest effort this week! As you move through the workout, try the body scan exercise again, mentally checking in on each body part. Move from your toes through your legs, midsection, arms, shoulders, and head.
Notice how your feet roll through each stride, observe your calves tighten and release, and feel your glutes power you forward. Take in the feeling of your arms swinging and your breath moving through you. As you do, aim for a sense of gratitude for what your body can do—it’s already taken you through five weeks here!
Saturday: Long Walk/Run Intervals
5-minute warm-upWalk 3.5 minutes, run 2 minutes (repeat 5 times)Walk 2.5 minutes5- to 10-minute cooldownTotal time: 40–45 minutes(back to top)
We hope you enjoyed this cutback week! Time to rest and absorb all the effort you put in and prepare for next week—when we’ll begin adding on again.
If you have a few quiet moments, do one more body scan today. Notice if anything feels different after your longer workout. And once again, aim for gratitude—this time, for your body responding to the training you’re doing so you can keep moving forward on this journey. There’s actually tons of research around the physical and mental benefits of tapping into this, but we know it can be tricky to tap into when everything feels tough—so here are some tips on how to cultivate gratitude.
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Photography: Katie Thompson. Wardrobe styling: Kathleen Thomas. Hair: Walton Nunez. Makeup: Miranda Richards.
Athletes in order of appearance: Laura Girard, a NASM-certified personal trainer and founder of The Energy Academy, wears: Alo jacket, sports bra, shorts, and sneakers, and Comme si socks; Amanda Katz, a certified personal trainer and running coach in New York City, wears: Adanola top and shorts, Nike sneakers, and socks; Morit Summers, a Brooklyn-based trainer and the owner of body-positive gym, Form Fitness Brooklyn, wears: Lululemon top and leggings, Aerie sports bra, and Nike sneakers; Ameerah Omar, city captain and mindset coach for Adidas Runners NYC, wears: Alo sports bra and leggings, Nike socks, and Hoka sneakers.
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