About walking for fitness.

In My Humble Opinion
1

My HDL/LDL ratio is not good. My total cholesterol and all other indicators are in range. I am a healthy male in his 30’s with a few pounds to lose, but nothing to fret about.

I understand that exercise is the way to go to address this. Is it? Is walking the right type of exercise? How much, how fast, how to measure if I am doing it right? My only concern is the HDL/LDL ratio. Losing weight would be welcome but it is not important.

I just found my running shoes. They have been gathering dust for 4 years. I had used them once: to run a half marathon without training that I finished ahead of the pickup bus, thankyouverymuch. Are they still good? I know you are supposed to change them after a certain time or mileage, but will storage damage them?

I will be walking on sand, at the beach (just did today for the first time). Is it in any way not advisable? If it is advisable, would it then matter what shape my shoes are in if I will be walking on super soft terrain anyways?

Any tips, ideas, pointers?

2

Moving to IMHO from GQ.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

3

Yes, walking is great exercise, but Move your Arms, you will get much much more out of it then. Small weights moved to chest level repeatedly is best, and walk briskly.

4

Get a pedometer and walk at least 10K steps a day (or so my Physicians Assistant advised). 'swhat I’m doing for the exact same reason. I’m not overweight, but oddly my weight has stayed exactly the same after walking faithfully for almost a year, so if you need to lose weight, too, you’ll probably need to do something more.

…oh, and an mp3 player is essential to the program. :cool:

5

And swing your ass back and forth. You aren’t doing it right unless at least one driver loses control of his vehicle laughing at how funny you look!

I’m of the school of thought that the main thing is to get your carcass moving. So put on some comfortable shoes, get out there and walk briskly. Personally, I like walking on uneven terrain, as I feel it works out many of your “stabiliziing” muscles up into your trunk.

While walking should definitely play a part in just about anyone’s fitness regimen - and a great iuntroduction to fitness, it will only do so much by itself. Unless - like I say - you are swinging those arms and shaking your ass like a madman! :stuck_out_tongue:

6

Start out with whatever you can do. Buy yourself a heart monitor and use it. You need to try to stay in your zone, which you can calculate for your age. For example, I’m 61 and my “fat burning zone” heartrate is at about 106. Your walk needs to be brisk to keep your heartrate where it’s doing you some good, but without a heart monitor, you’re just guessing. Try to work up to 45 minutes per day, 6 days a week. I would recommend buying some salmon oil capsules, as well.

Walking on sand is not going to provide any benefit unless you are getting the heartrate to its proper level.

7

For a guy in his mid-30s with a few extra pounds, walking is very lightweight exercise. To get cardiovascular benefit you need to get your heart rate up to 70-80% of its maximum and keep it there. Ideally, for 30-60 minutes a day. Running is good. Elliptical machines are good. Walking isn’t going to do it.

My fiance was a big walker for years–he regularly did six mile walks. When he hit 235 pounds and his cholesterol hit 250, he decided to start running (using the C25K program). Four months later, he had lost 40 pounds and his cholesterol had dropped 60 points. He runs 5K three times a week.

8

Good points above. Your shoes are toast. The cushioning material hardens with age. Throw them out, go to a real running shoe store. The employees should be able to watch you run or walk and fit you for shoes that suit your biomechanics.

Road Runners Club of America has lists of running clubs around the country. They can help guide you to an appropriate store.

9

While walking may not be cardiovascular, I have to disagree with your conclusions. After six months of walking (three of which included working with weights) three times a week, my bloodwork showed positive and dramatic change in all areas, including HDL/LDL ratio, blood glucose levels and A1c level. Perhaps I’m reaping more benefit because I’m older, couldn’t say for sure.

I will agree that eventually, walking will not get your heart rate where it should be. When I started doing this, it didn’t take much to get me right up there. Now I have to be moving between 3.5-4 mph to hit my zone. Much more than that and I’d be jogging. Your fiance probably walked himself right out of anything beneficial.

10

My experience matches yours.

I’ll also point out that if the OP is looking to get his cholesterol levels under control some dietary changes may be necessary. His doctor is probably the best starting point for this but generally speaking eating more fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats and lower-fat dairy and really cutting down on the crappy foods.

Walking is however very good exercise - it’s pretty low impact, requires no special equipment beyond decent shoes and socks, you can do it anywhere and in any weather and from a calorie-burning standpoint it’s not far behind running (roughly 100 cal/mile compared to 125 cal/mile for most people), so get out there and go.

11

My understanding was the walking was a “cardiovascular” exercise. But perhaps I’m using a different definition?

Regardless, I agree - get moving. I think a heart rate monitor and new shoes are great ideas. About two and a half years ago, I lowered my cholesterol a full 70 points just by losing 25 pounds and working out at least 3 days a week. At one point, I became light enough and the walking was easy enough that I started jogging and now I run for most of my workouts because otherwise I can’t keep my heartrate up. On days I don’t run, I try to walk just to make sure I’m moving every day.

12

There is a lot of debate whether or not walking is as beneficial as jogging. I personally think one should try to get their heart rate much higher than what walking alone will do, and that is probably where you’re going to get your most dramatic results.

Walking is okay, and although more tiring walking in sand, it should be a better work out, and possibly easier on your knees and joints than concrete or asphalt. Heavier people might also have too much strain on their knees and might consider a recumbent bike to get their hear rate up until some of the weight comes off.

About six months ago, my brother noticed his heart racing a bit at times. He had some blood and heart tests done, which I think included a MRI. The doctor told him there was nothing wrong with his heart, but he needing to start jogging. Here’s how I remember everything.

He’s 48, and was 230 lbs. He’s lost 60 lbs in about six months, and has kept his weight at 170 for the last three months or so. He’s had his blood checked regularly since it is free when he donates, and after his running, he’s bad cholesterol has dropped significantly, well over 30 points in just two months, not sure how much more since then. I could be mistaken, but I think he’s lost over 50 points off of his bad cholesterol now. His good cholesterol has also went up, but can’t remember those numbers. The blood clinic he goes to checks for about a dozen different things, and just about everything is in the normal range for him now. How much his good and bad cholesterol were related to his weight loss, I don’t know. He jogs about 4 to 5 times a week, about an hour on each jog. It’s help his mood tremendously too. He gets that afterglow effect.

I have taken to jogging myself here lately, and don’t need to lose any weight, so will maintain my present weight. I had my blood work done before jogging, and will test my blood again soon, to see what kind of results I get from the jogging. I’m anxious to see if the numbers are as dramatic for me as they were for my brother without any weight loss.

I’ve been enjoying my jogs much more since the purchase of the Garmin Forerunner 305. You might consider getting something like this as well. It has the gps feature which accurately tells you how fast you’re going, your distance, and a great deal many other things along with a super accurate heart monitor. Right now, I’m alternating between jogging and walking until I can get my stamina more built up.

13

My diet recently went from very good to stellar, even if I say so myself. The only thing missing from it is the loads of salmon I would like to include, but salmon only comes grey and frozen to my location.

Would the heart rate monitor come with a guide to calculate the relevant numbers for my case? Is there a good site where I can read about this? Any recommendations?

As for the mp3 player, and I hate to rub this in on my well intentioned but snow bound dopers, I am happy with the sound of the wind on the palm trees and the seagulls. Today it was sunny with temperatures in the high 70’s and a nice breeze. I welcome the break from my media overloaded existence. :wink:

14

A very rough guide is to subtract your age from 220 and multiply the result times .6 (for fat burning) or .8 (for cardio). There are more accurate ways to calculate this and multiple websites that explain. One example.

I also continue to promote the book “Younger Next Year”, which explains the science behind it all. Also, try the salmon oil capsules, if you can’t actually get the fish. Or canned salmon.

15

And jogging will definitely come next, after my body is well used to walking. Right now, I have been on my ass too long to just jump in into jogging.

Just today, I walked the beach back and forth once, which google tells me is about a mile total. It took me about 20 minutes at a brisk pace. I could feel my heart rate raise a little but I didn’t even break a sweat nor I felt any burn on the muscles. Tomorrow, if nothing is broken, I will do double that.

I just need some time to get used to exercising again. I know my ligaments will complain at some point, so I am delaying jogging until everything is firm again.

16

A friend of mine had his doctor friend tell him to take that as well as turmeric in combination. He’s in his fifties, normal weight, and smokes. He didn’t do any exercising, change his diet, or quit smoking, but just took the capsules. After a couple of months of sticking with the capsules his bad cholesterol which was originally through the roof, was back in the normal range. He takes 1000mg of omega 3 fish oil, combined with 400 mg of turmeric.

After he told me this, I went out and purchased the fish oil in the same 1000 mg capsules, but got the turmeric in the 500 mg capsule since Walmart only had it in that size. I won’t start taking it until my latest blood tests are noted. I’m curious if taking in for a couple of months will help me as much as what my friend thinks it did for him.

17

Walking can certainly be cardiovascular, especially if you can manage to go up (in elevation), but I realize that’s not an easy option a lot of places. I’m fortunate to live in the Pacific NW where there’s a lot of hills and hiking trails and have lost a good amount of weight that way.

18

Regarding the heart rate monitor, last time I looked I was unable to find any scientific support for much of what you hear in terms of the benfits of specific target rates. So I think monitors largely unnecessary, and certainly overrated. You can certainly check your heart rate with the occasional 15 second pulse count before, during, and after exercise.

Like I said, get that carcass moving, whether you are walking, biking, swimming, playing hoops, climbing stairs, skating whatever. IMO a lot of people seem to make getting exercise a lot more complicated than it needs to be. And don’t forget flexibility. IMO far too many people do cardio and strength, and overlook flexibility.

I ran for some time. While I very much enjoyed it, my joints are telling me to do something involving far less impact.

19

This is it. You may have noticed that I first went walking and then asked about it. Otherwise we are all just making excuses for not exercising. Unless a tsunami sweeps me off the shore, there is no way walking can be worse than not walking.

20

Cool. IMO, definitely the right attitude.

Where is the beach you are walking along? I wish I had such a workout venue! You could walk barefoot, or in any comfortable shoes - whether athletic or casual a la Rockports.

Just walk briskly instead of a casual stroll. As you get more used to it try to gradually increase your distance or pace. Maybe jog for a few steps and then walk for a minute. Maybe mix up walking in the soft sand and the hard stuff by the water. Occasionally climb up and down any dunes there might be.

Then if you want to go nuts, add some situps and pushups before your walk, and some stretching afterwards. Or something I used to do (when I actually worked out quite a bit) was say if the TV was on I’d be on the floor stretching or doing abs. Which gave me the flexibility that if I didn’t feel like stretching on any night I didn’t have to - but at least I wouldn’t be sinking into the sofa turning my brain to mush!

Add in an improved diet, make a point of riding your bike instead of driving when you can, take the stairs instead of the elevator/escalator for less than 5 floors, and you’ll be doing just fine. No reason to make being healthy as much work as some people seem to want to.