Walking for Exercise ? How Long ?

[bigtiller]

There was a discussion about a year ago here about treadmills. How is everyone doing with there exercise and do you plan to continue with it through the winter?

I started walking an hour or more a day about a year ago ( I am retired ) and it has gotten into my blood as they say. I am now up to 3 to 4 miles everyday of the week. I can not believe all of the things that quit hurting and started working better. AND I have not had a cigarette for 4 months now.

 

[dex3361]

Keep it up, you are an inspiration for the rest of us.

 

[ragkar]

You might do well to look for a book on aerobics.
It has medically sound exercise programs for all ages.

 

[Nat]

America, the only country in the world where people buy a 500.00 treadmill and a 2000.00 riding mower

 

[charlz]

America, the only country in the world where people buy a 500.00 electric treadmill and a 2000.00 riding mower

Fixed that for ya

I used to read a lot of old books, amazing how many of the 'scholarly types' went for morning walks everyday. I work out at gym 3-5 times a week now but when I was first getting back into exercising I started doing the morning walk thing.... sure gives you a lot of time to think. I'd walk about 3 miles, eventually worked up to running and did about 4.5 miles of running every morning.

 

[LBrown59]

There was a discussion about a year ago here about treadmills. How is everyone doing with there exercise and do you plan to continue with it through the winter?

I started walking an hour or more a day about a year ago ( I am retired ) and it has gotten into my blood as they say. I am now up to 3 to 4 miles everyday of the week. I can not believe all of the things that quit hurting and started working better. AND I have not had a cigarette for 4 months now.

My last one was 11:59 PM on March 18th 2009.

 

[Uncle Doug]

I started walking after work each day as part of my weight loss program. The weight loss doctor recomended starting with 15 minutes a day and working up to longer periods. During the cooler months I walked about 30 minutes a day. During the warmer months I did less walking but more outdoor work so it was a good trade off.

All total, the walking & outdoor work combined with a non surgery weight loss program I have lost 90 pounds since the first of the year.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Treadmill will be a way different feel than walking outside. Don't trust the distance meters, go by how you feel.

 

[Timber]

My treadmill was 2 grand but they are much better on your knees than walking in the street or running in my case. The bed gives under your feet to take the impact off your knees. Be sure to match your body wt to the treadmill.

 

[Bird]

There was a discussion about a year ago here about treadmills.

Maybe you're talking about this thread that I started last year.

After suffering with Plantar Fasciitis for 6 months, and after seeing two doctors who gave me exercises to do, one who prescribed Celebrex and the other who prescribed Advil, and both said the cheap sneakers I wore were just fine with the inserts they sold me (none of which did a bit of good), I decided to visit a shoe store called Run On Texas. A nice young fellow who seemed to know what he was doing recommended some hundred dollar "walking" shoes, which I bought. They were good enough that a week later, I went back and got a second pair so I alternate them daily and they've done more good for curing the plantar fasciitis than the doctors and pills.

The cheap sneakers were comfortable for years, but these high priced ones have me walking without pain again. And yes, they're made in China.

 

[Gizmo2]

I walk almost every morning, only a mile though. I have a Landice treadmill and a good pair of sneakers that I only use on the treadmill. The treadmill has proved to be a very good investment for me.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

And yes, they're made in China.

What isn't made in China? Bought a pair of Florsheim dress shoes and a Columbia rain jacket last weekend...both made in China. I think we still make a quality tooth pick in the USA however...

 

[Wis Bang]

Dr. Oz recomends using a pedometer and walking 10,000 steps a day. I keep coming up a few thousand short...

 

[dmccarty]

Dr. Oz recomends using a pedometer and walking 10,000 steps a day. I keep coming up a few thousand short...

I would come up short too. For me that would be 5-6 miles a day. I would be in great shape if I had the time to walk 5-6 miles a day.....

Later,
Dan

 

[Bird]

Dan, in 1993, when I was doing gas leakage surveys, I once walked 15 miles one day. The two guys from the gas company who were with me at the start, wore out and had to quit. Now I would never have mentioned it in the company offices, but the next morning when I went to work, the first thing the boss said was, "I heard you wore 2 of my men out yesterday." So they had to have told him themselves. However, that was a long time ago. The last time I walked 5 miles on hot asphalt, I got plantar faciitis.

 

[scgargoyle]

After working on my feet all day for 35 years, my plantar fasciitis is basically chronic. Walking tends to aggravate it, but running stairs makes it feel better! I work out 3 days a week (we have a gym at work) and I run up and down the stairs for 20 minutes to warm up. That, and yoga seem to do me the most good. Everybody seems to think yoga is 'foo-foo'; try some advanced yoga and tell me how sissy it is!

 

[tommu56]

What isn't made in China? Bought a pair of Florsheim dress shoes and a Columbia rain jacket last weekend...both made in China. I think we still make a quality tooth pick in the USA however...

No on the toothpicks just opened a box yesterday and yep made in china!

I looked all over to see how long it took them to whittle them down but it wasn't on the box.

tom

 

[woodchuckie]

I walk occasionally, when I do I walk about 5 miles in an hour. But mostly I swim four or five times a week. I swim for an hour which figures to about 1.4 miles. It's so much better on the joints, feet and even sinuses. The only thing that stops me from swimming is lightening because they close the pool. Even if I have a bad cough I can swim and not cough when swimming. It seems that any time I have a pulled muscle or a sore anything that it doesn't bother it swimming.

 

[jimmyj]

Congrat's to the fellows who've given up the cancer sticks! Keep to it.

This thread is interesting to me because all of a sudden (age 44) I feel myself starting to fall out of shape. It's easy to gain weight and hard to lose it, and my overall muscle tone and stamina feel lessor than in the past.

I figure it's partly age and partly because I'm engineering my life to be less physical, I now have a tractor so I don't do everything manually as an example. I used to go for 2 long walks each day and now I ride the ATV.

I'm going to begin walking again but don't really want to use a treadmill, I like the outdoors. Someone told me that walking and jogging use almost exactly the same amount of calories - the only difference is the cardio aspect.

Do you have any tips on good walking shoes or how fast you walk or?

 

[bigtiller]

I like New Balance shoes but just about any good tennis shoe will work.

I wish I could walk as fast as Woodchuckie at 5 MPH but I am happy with 3 mph. At first, the trick is not how fast or how far you can walk but how often. Try for at least 4 days a week to help develop a good habit and some time to heel when things start hurting. It took me well over a year to work up to 3 miles every day and I have enjoyed every step along the way.