Fit4life & The Graduates
The Athletics Ireland Fit4life program is rolled out in Lusk AC twice a year in January and September. We follow the 10 week couch to 5km that has been developed through experience over the last couple of years.
Depending on ability and numbers, participants may be broken into smaller groups of between 10 and 15 members. A mentor / coach is assigned to each group to give instruction and encouragement. Supervised training takes place with the groups twice weekly. They are Tuesday and Thursday evenings for 60 minutes. As the athlete gains confidence in their own ability, they are encouraged to complete another training session without supervision on another day over the weekend. This session may be in a smaller group and is unsupervised.
On week one of the program, we set out two goals or target dates. Firstly we ask everyone entering the program to commit for four weeks from the beginning. This will give everyone time to settle in.
Training on Tuesday is usually a cardio workout while Thursday is reserved for trunk and plyometric’s training. However, training is flexible depending on the group. After the four weeks a date and venue is set for a 5km Run (Parkrun or organized event) where everyone involved in the club is encouraged to participate and run with the new first time 5km runners.
After the completion of the 10 week program, the members of the group move into The Graduates program which is a full 12 month plan for the group. Different races and events of increasing difficulty are chosen for the group to target during this period.
Members of the group will move to the main adult section of Lusk AC at the end of the plan to continue their training within a group of their own ability.