5 miles a day walking...

M

maxpi

man, I was working my way up to a half hour of fast walking three times a week. I'd read that was the healthy minimum for exercise.. then I read that to lose weight and get a hard body it takes five miles a day minimum three days a week so I'm pushing for that... I have a personal trainer with 4wd.. her name is Blondie [three year old german shepherd Labrador mix with this really nice white fur, strange dog she is...] she took me on a nearly two and a half mile fast walk today, I hope nothing is destroyed when I wake up... the knee is on the comeback from nasty injury two years ago.. fingers crossed... I want to get in shape to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, at least the day hikes..

I signed up at meetups.com for some hiking meetups and wow, those people were serious hikers, that was a year ago, I went exactly once and I knew that I needed much better footwear and I had a job ahead of me in getting in shape, so far I've worked through a major foot injury and minor ankle, and back injuries from ages past, none serious but serious enough to stop me from hiking, so far so good on all fronts except the knee may or may not build up again... I'll get prolotherapy done on it here pretty soon anyhow, it feels like it's not going to build back up on it's own...

Does anybody have any advice for me? Any experienced hikers? I was doing some low walking to build up the knees, you know, lowering the body weight and walking with the knees bent as low as I could handle it, that may be a good exercise.. Blondie was looking at me like I was weird or something...
 
I've done alot of hiking and walking in my 48 yrs and still do quite a bit of walking with my wife & dog. It's a great form of exercise and it's something that we really enjoy doing together. We usually do walks in the range of 2 - 3 miles, three times a week. It supplements other forms of exercise that we do as well. We've never been into any kind of speed-walking, just a causual quick pace is all we've really needed.

We also have a home gym in our basement, with treadmill and various other pieces of equipment and weights, but greatly enjoy getting out for a morning walk in various beautiful, neighborhoods. For instance, yesterday we drove to an old neighborhood (est. 1910-20's) in Atlanta called Druid Hills created by the Candlers of Coca Cola. Fantastic architecture on beautiful forested streets. Old Atlanta money.

Anyway, pay attention to the athletic shoes you buy. Make sure they fit well, especially the width. I had a horrible pain in my heel last year, that I later determined was caused by wearing shoes that were too wide, which caused my foot to slip around too much while walking.

Also, you might want to consider including other forms of exercise. Maybe back off bit on the length of your walk and include, maybe some time on a stationary or regular bike, just to exercise different muscles. I also have to have weight training in my weekly routine.

If you have pain issues, just work through it slowly and build up. I've had my share, but I just work through it.
 
Why haven't you been working out with heavy iron all this time? Your a man, aren't you? Walking, that's what you do when you visit the fridge.
 
Quote from Alvin:

Why haven't you been working out with heavy iron all this time? Your a man, aren't you? Walking, that's what you do when you visit the fridge.
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:D Funny. I had a good laugh.

I used to compete in power lifting contests back in college: Bench Press (~300 lbs) and Squat (400 lbs). I weighed 170. I've been pumping iron for 38 years now, but you'd never know it by looking at me.

Power lifting is probably the #1 reason I have back pain almost all the time. I have since backed way off on the amount of weight and do more reps.
 
Quote from AlpineTrout:

:D Funny. I had a good laugh.

I used to compete in power lifting contests back in college: Bench Press (~300 lbs) and Squat (400 lbs). I weighed 170. I've been pumping iron for 38 years now, but you'd never know it by looking at me.

Power lifting is probably the #1 reason I have back pain almost all the time. I have since backed way off on the amount of weight and do more reps.
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Competitive powerlifting and rational strength training are not necessarily the same thing, i'm sure you would agree
 
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