Before you press play

Start where you are

If you have not trained for a while, start on CH 01 Run-Walk Base and stay there until it feels easy. The Season Plan's "New or coming back" setting starts low for the same reason.

Stop and get help

Stop at once and get medical help if you have chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually short of breath, or have a heartbeat that feels wrong. In an emergency in the United States, call 911.

Heat, surface and sound

• In heat, go easier, drink water and train in the cooler part of the day.
• Use a flat, safe surface with room to turn and to move backwards; look behind you before a backpedal.
• Keep the volume at a level where you can still hear traffic and people around you. Do not train with headphones near roads.

Sources

• When to check with a doctor before harder exercise: American College of Sports Medicine, Riebe D. et al., "Updating ACSM's Recommendations for Exercise Preparticipation Health Screening", Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 47(11), 2015, pages 2473-2479. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26473759
• Warning signs to stop and get help: American Heart Association, "Warning Signs of a Heart Attack". heart.org
• Training in heat: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Heat and Athletes". cdc.gov
• Headphone volume: World Health Organization, "Deafness and hearing loss: Safe listening". who.int

This page is general information written by this site from the sources above, not medical advice. The stations include hard efforts (CH 04 Shuttle Ladder is run to your limit, and CH 06 is sprints): if any of the warning signs above apply to you, or you have a heart, lung or metabolic condition, check with your doctor before those stations.