Related Links:
- How much exercise?
- Benefits of exercise
- Physical activity guidelines: children (under 5s)
- Physical activity guidelines: children and young people
- Physical activity guidelines: adults
- Why we should sit less
- Physical activity guidelines: older adults
- Exercise as you get older
- Couch to 5K
- Couch to 5K: week by week
- How to stretch after a run
- Get running with Couch to 5K
- Life after Couch to 5K
- Running podcasts for C25K graduates
- Knee exercises for runners
- Knee pain and other running injuries
- Exercise tips
- Get active with a disability
- Fitness advice for wheelchair users
- Common exercise mistakes
- Why do I feel pain after exercise?
- Exercises for sciatica
- Common posture mistakes and fixes
- Fitness guides
- Get active your way
- Get fit for free
- How to warm up before exercising
- How to stretch after exercising
- A guide to pilates
- A guide to tai chi
- A guide to yoga
- Running for beginners
- Swimming for fitness
- Dance for fitness
- Walking for health
- 10-minute workouts
- 10-minute abs workout
- 10-minute upper arms workout
- 10-minute firm butt workout
- 10-minute home cardio workout
- 10-minute home toning workout
- 10-minute legs, bums and tums home workout
- 5-minute wake-up workout
- Do I need to stretch before exercising?
- Exercises for strong bones
- 12-week fitness plan
- Balance exercises
- Flexibility exercises
- Gym-free exercises
- Gym-free workouts
- Easy exercises
- Sitting exercises
- Strength exercises
- Get fit with Strength and Flex
- Strength and Flex exercise plan
- Strength and Flex exercise plan: week by week
- Strength and Flex exercise plan: how-to videos
- How to improve your strength and flexibility
Strength and Flex exercise plan: week by week
A week-by-week breakdown with links to video clips of the 5-week Strength and Flex exercise plan for beginners.
Do each podcast at least 3 times within a week before moving on to the next podcast.
Once you have finished the programme, you can keep using podcast 5 to keep your activity levels up.
Podcast 1
A gentle workout with music, starting with a warm-up followed by a series of strength and flexibility exercises, finishing off with a cool-down.
Duration: 35:28
Watch how-to videos for checking your posture, the warm up and the strength and flexibility exercises.
Warm up
- check your posture
- 5 shoulder rolls as you walk (both shoulders)
- 10 chest presses as you walk (pushing both hands away from you, then bringing them back in with your elbows pointing out)
- 10 arm rows as you walk (keeping your elbows tucked in while you pull imaginary oars back and forth)
- 10 knee bends as you walk
Strength workout
- 10 standing press-ups
- 10 pull-ups
- 10 shallow squats
Flexibility workout
- thigh stretches
- calf stretches
- seated hamstring stretches
- chest stretches
- upper back stretches
Cool down
Podcast 2
We have made some of the podcast 1 exercises a bit more challenging and increased the length of your workout.
Duration: 36:31
Watch how-to videos for checking your posture, the warm up and the strength and flexibility exercises.
Warm up
- check your posture
- 5 shoulder rolls as you walk
- 10 chest presses as you walk
- 10 arm rows as you walk
- 10 knee bends as you walk
Strength workout
- 10 standing press-ups – option to increase difficulty
- 10 pull-ups – option to increase difficulty
- 10 deep squats
Flexibility workout
- thigh stretches
- calf stretches
- seated hamstring stretches
- chest stretches
- upper back stretches
- tricep stretches
Cool down
Podcast 3
We have added some new moves and increased the difficulty level of some of the podcast 2 exercises.
Duration: 35:32
Watch how-to videos for checking your posture, the warm up and the strength and flexibility exercises.
Warm up
- check your posture
- 5 shoulder rolls as you walk
- 10 chest presses as you walk
- 10 arm rows as you walk
- 10 knee bends as you walk
Strength workout
- 10 sit-to-stands
- 10 standing press-ups – option to increase difficulty
- 10 pull-ups – option to increase difficulty
- 10 wide squats
Flexibility workout
- thigh stretches
- calf stretches
- seated hamstring stretches
- chest stretches
- upper back stretches
- tricep stretches
Cool down
Podcast 4
We have introduced some new exercises and stepped up the intensity and length of your workout.
Duration: 45:12
Watch how-to videos for checking your posture, the warm up and the strength and flexibility exercises.
Warm up
- check your posture
- 5 shoulder rolls as you walk
- 10 chest presses as you walk
- 10 arm rows as you walk
- 10 knee bends as you walk
Strength workout
- 10 sit-to-stands
- 10 standing press-ups – option to increase difficulty
- 10 pull-ups – option to increase difficulty
- 10 wide squats
- 10 bench dips
- 10 wide pull-ups
Flexibility workout
- thigh stretches
- calf stretches
- seated hamstring stretches – deeper stretch
- chest stretches
- upper back stretches
- tricep stretches
Cool down
Podcast 5
For the last podcast in this series, we have made some of the podcast 4 exercises more challenging.
Duration: 43:32
Watch how-to videos for checking your posture, the warm up and the strength and flexibility exercises.
Warm up
- check your posture
- 5 shoulder rolls as you walk
- 10 chest presses as you walk
- 10 arm rows as you walk
- 10 knee bends as you walk
Strength workout
- 10 sit-to-stands with calf raises
- 10 standing press-ups – option to increase difficulty
- 10 pull-ups – option to increase difficulty
- 10 wide squats
- 10 bench dips
- 10 wide pull-ups
Flexibility workout
- thigh stretches
- calf stretches – deeper stretch
- seated hamstring stretches – deeper stretch
- chest stretches
- upper back stretches
- tricep stretches
Cool down