how many days a week?

hello everyone,

I did start running a few weeks ago and i am new to it. I've been running/jogging for about four or five weeks and i am improving and getting faster with time.

My quiestion is regarding the "training programs and shedules" i download from websites. I am using one training schedule that i find easy to follow and efective. But in that particular training guise it says t run 6 days a week, with saturday being the only rest day.

When i looked at other programs (training guides), they have about three days rests a week, running only four or five days a week.

This is why i am asking here for advice, and what do people think? Is it normal to run six days a week? or it is better for me to leave off two more days of the program guide and run only four days a week?

Personaly i find it hard the six days a week training because of time. I work full time and have a life, and i also do other sports on top of running. Running is not the only sport i do, as i do martial arts, gym work and swimning, and aerobics classes.........................

and anyway, i heard that the muscles need a rest and a change of exercise, so the six days a week run may be too much. I am confused,

Do you think is better to run only four days a week?  especially when one is active the other days?

Four days a week should be fine, particularly when you're doing lots of other exercise as well, so in effect, cross-training on the days you're doing those sports. Six days a week running would probably be overdoing it. I followed a four-runs-a-week schedule fine for my first half-marathon.

[edited for typo.]

For the first year I was running steadily, I was doing 3 days a week, and I think this was good for me in that I didn't end up with too many niggles and no major injuries. (And a couple of marathon times that I was happy with.)

I'd encourage you to listen to what your body is telling you with respect to recovery... I've discovered that sticking to a printed training schedule isn't always a good thing.

Six days a week seems too much when you're just starting out. Three or four is more 'normal' at this stage, and many people (like me) don't increase this even after several years. It'll vary for different people, but there are a number of factors to consider:

- How much time you have

- How much you want to achieve (Are you running just to keep in shape/maintain weight, or do you want to compete hard in races?)

- Maintaining enthusiasm and enjoyment (You may find that running too often means you get bored with it)

- Avoiding injury and over-training (depends on age, how injury-prone you are, and how much other exercise you take)

- Making each session count (It's better to do a smaller number of meaningful sessions than to jog round the same course lots of times - have a look elsewhere on this site for long slow runs, tempo runs, speed and hill intervals, etc., if they're not in your schedule already.)

Hope this helps - and good luck!