Among Friends

[hckynut]

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@gulf coast girl wrote:

If it's to lose weight you can do it. I started walking 4 years ago. I used to weigh 207 today I weigh 137!!!!! By walking everyday, rain or shine. I did it. I now walk between 6-10 miles everyday. 

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@gulf coast girl

Are you doing this in different sessions during the day or all 6-10 miles in 1 walk? What is your average MPM? How are your shoes wearing, and are all components of the shoes breaking down evenly?

I have never known anyone, but Competitive Speed Walkers,

that walked that many miles in a day, even when broken down into sessions. Most limited their mileage to 180-200 miles a month. Can't even imagine the time it would take me to walk 280 miles a month.

hckynut(john)

[gulf coast girl]

Actually it started out by doing one mile a day, over and over then I uped it to 2 miles a day and so on Then I got to the point I could easily walk 4 miles a day. I did it and I enjoyed it once I saw the weight coming off me. In one month alone I lost 13 pounds, yes I know it was mostly water but it kept me inspired to keep going. I then walked 4 miles in the morning and turned around and walked 4 more miles in the evenings. I did that for many months. I lost 70 pounds. To keep my weight from coming back I walk between 6 miles and 10 miles everyday, it gives me something to do and I've learned to really enjoy it. If I get sick or something comes up that keeps me from walking I feel like I am ready to jump out of my skin. I need to keep walking to feel normal. I actually look forward to my walks. My husband comes with me some days and can keep up even though he doesn't walk daily.

I replace my shoes about once every 3 months. I wear those expensive inserts that cost around $50.00 you get at Walmart where the machine recommends the number.  

[Quse]

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@hoosieroriginal wrote:

Started tonite.  In morning I take Story for 1 - 1 1/2 walk, after dinner Story and Sedona get about a 20 minute walk.  Came back tonite, grabbed my Ipod and off I went on my hour walk - it's a beautiful walk - down past a horse farm into a shaded wooded area and back.  No people, no cars.  Marking my calendar and intend to keep this up through the fall.  Now sitting smelling my lilacs I brought in this afternoon - day can't get much better. 

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@hoosieroriginal Sounds like the perfect day to me. I love to walk my dog in the woods and fields whenever I can...a break from the road walking. When I had full Huskies, I used to have to go 3-10 miles a day, but my dog now is my perfect pace. 1-3 is good..best when we can get to the woods 

Good luck and enjoy!

[Kachina624]

@gulf coast girl  How much time do you spend walking on a daily basis? 

[hckynut]

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@Lucky Charm wrote:

I try to get a fast paced 2 mile walk in at least once a day. 

A few years ago at my physical, my doctor noted my weight going up.  I told her I walked 10,000+ steps a day.  She said 'Well not fast enough!'

So when my Fitbit wouldn't take a charge any more, I decided against getting a new one.  I realized it's not the amount of steps that matter, it's the pace for sure.

I walk now, just to maintain my weight.

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@Lucky Charm

How fast you walk/jog or run, makes little difference. Knowing your heart rate is a much better indicator of how hard your body is working. Fast walkers might not even have to increase their heart rate to cover X amount of distance in X amount of time.

Your heart rate may be 20bpm faster than the faster walker, thus you will be using more energy for the same distance as the faster walker. Knowing your Aerobic/Anaerobic Threshold is the key. Walking long/walking fast tells you little, depending on your fitness level. That my friend would best be left to your heart rate, and knowing when you cross the Threshold mentioned above.

Too many get obsessed with time walked, and distance covered covered in X amount of time. That tells a person very little, other than they are faster or slower. Been wearing a Polar Heart Rate Chest Monitor for close to 30 years now, still wearing one when doing all my exercises.

Tells me the biggest part of how hard my body is working on any given day. Because of my many Pulmonary issues, I once in awhile keep my Oximeter handy also. Can't be too out of tune from how my body is working with my history.

What you do is certainly none of my business, I am just passing on some hard learned physiological facts.

hckynut(john)

[gulf coast girl]

I walk slow Kachina, I walk between 2 and 1/2 hours to maybe 3 and a half. But I'm a stay at home wife, not a lot to do everyday except housework or run the occasional errands. My life is dull and boring, but I'm on my own time now. No body to answer to ever, so I get outside and enjoy my surroundings. I sometimes pick wild blackberries, I did that just the other day, they grow wild everywhere near my home. 

[dex]

@hckynut I too used to walk about ten miles a day.I now have to rest my fractured foot.I walked five miles in the morning after the gym,another two to three in the afternoon with my dog and then three after dinner with my husband.I walk a fifteen minute mile so it doesn't take long to rack up the distance.I used to walk faster when I was younger.

[hckynut]

@dex wrote:

@hckynut I too used to walk about ten miles a day.I now have to rest my fractured foot.I walked five miles in the morning after the gym,another two to three in the afternoon with my dog and then three after dinner with my husband.I walk a fifteen minute mile so it doesn't take long to rack up the distance.I used to walk faster when I was younger.

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@dex,

Sorry to hear about your foot fracture. I truly understand the feelings of recovering from injury for people that are active. Hopefully it will heal soon and allow you to do some things you are unable to do during your recovery time. Best to you with your recovery.

Covering the ground a 4mph is a speed that I very seldom saw anyone, but myself, walk during my many times at different rehabs, including my 20+ weeks of Cardiac Rehab. To walk a mile in 15 minutes to denotes someone that obviously is in good physical condition, and also has good leg turnover and/or a pretty lengthy stride.

The exercises I am currently doing include walking on 1 of our treadmills. I started at .Zero of the fitness scale at the beginning a few months ago. The more recent medical issues had gotten me so weak it left me barely able to even do my daily things for our furry kids. Little by little I got enough strength, and desire, to start once again from scratch to regain some semblance physical conditioning.

At this time I am not even close to walking 4mph, other than the days I do my interval type of treadmill exercises. During my last Cardiac Rehabilitation, I was walking the 4mph, but for only the 1 mile. That speed for my leg length requires quick leg turnover, and I know to well the pitfalls of trying to use longer stride lengths, be it walking or running, and am not willing to risk those injuries once again.

I acknowledge that my life as an athlete definitely makes my recovery periods much quicker than those with more sedentary lives. The term "muscles have memory" is just not words, it has been proven by a whole lot of studies of athlete versus more sedentary lifestyles.

Thanks for your post and best wishes with your recovery. I am sure your husband misses you during his walks after dinner. I learned the hard ways that it is never wise to hurry a full recovery, but it took my brain awhile to wrap around it. Hang in there,

hckynut(john)

[Daisy Sunflower]

@hoosieroriginal

Hi. I know it's only been several days, but how is your walking going?

It's a beautiful day here - I'm going out soon to plant some flower seeds and then I'm going for a walk.

[hoosieroriginal]

Third day in I was nursing a bad lower back - I don't know if I was too ambitious in my walking or what - back is working it's way back to normal and I'll pick up later this week.  Never fails when I'm trying to get into shape!