Walking progress

S

Sonnenschein

Cathlete
I wanted to thank Honeybunch and other walkers who have posted for your encouragement--I am learning to love this terrific exercise! I decided to put a lot of emphasis on walking for two reasons: even though I was doing a lot of step workouts and kickboxing, I discovered (while on vacation and away from my beloved videos) that I couldn't walk briskly for an hour without having pain in my back and shins, thus showing me that I didn't have all the "functional fitness" I want; and also, my knees were often complaining about my workout schedule and I figured walking would be a lot easier on them. Well, at first when I started walking for my cardio it felt like really a waste, my legs would only go fast enough to get my heartrate to about 106 except on hills. But Honeybunch posted that racewalking site for me and I got some walking books from the library and just really worked on improving my form and pushing these legs to move faster and boy, is it working! I can now keep my HR in the mid 140's on the level stretches and approach IMAX level on the longer hills. And it isn't because I've lost any of my cardio fitness while working up to the fast walking--I tested that out today by spending my workout on one of my old favorite step tapes and really flew through it--if anything, it seemed easier than usual. Right now my weekly cardio contains 2 hard walks, 2 easy walks, and 1 either step or kickbox day. My knees definitly appreciate it. Thanks guys!!! --Karen
 
I love racewalking. I do that for cardio now in the sring/summer and am getting back to step & kickboxing in the fall and winter months. I am doing one long weekly treadmill workout still at the spa I go to so I don't lose what I gained in specific muscle increases from the hard work I did this spring and summer. I am including hillwork on the treadmill and intervals, I wanna be ready to hit it outdoors next spring in good form again. Oh, who knows I may racewalk some this fall and winter to make sure I get a once every other week outdoors training session in as well.

I was like you I started walking when my VCR broke last spring thinking that'd be a good activity to fill in with until I got a new one. Well boy oh boy did I find out that I was not in good shape for powerwalking at all. :-rollen After I worked on it a while and read some books etc... I like you got on into racewalking and loved it.

Keep us posted on how it's going for you. It's a favorite subject of mine.

Edith
 
I'd be interested in that racewalking site as well. Could you post it here, please?

I've got the same concerns with hurting knees and have been walking more. I was thinking of buying the Leslie Sansone video "Two Mile Walk". Has anyone tried it? What do you think of it? How about other Leslie Sansone walking videos? I thought of getting this particular one because it a VideoFitness Favorite.

Thanks so much!

Hélène
 
I say try racewalking or powerwalking on a treadmill or outdoors. Leslie is for starters and is very low impact, possibly could even be classified as slow in my book.


Edith
 
Walking tips!

Hi Karen and anyone interested in walking for aerobic conditioning! I just wanted to add some suggestions on walking! To increase the workload of walking you can always add handirons or weighted gloves to your workout! Pumping your arms with one pound on each arm turns a stroll into a whole body workout! It will easily elevate your heart rate to a 75%level! As you walk you can sculpt your upper body by doing,bicep curls,hammer curls,shoulder presses with both arms being raised over your head at the same time,alternating shoulder presses,uprightrows,tricep extensions,front raises etc! Or you could just walk at a faster pace and swing your arms in a forward motion(elbows at a 90 degree angle-close to your body ) as you pump your hands head high and drive your elbows behind you! To move your legs faster and give your calves an added workout- strike your heel first and roll forward pushing off with your toes!-----If you want to move on and ad intensity to your workouts--do energy sprints--short bursts of speed! They are excellent for burning fat and overall level of endurance! While walking pick out a landmark-and sprint til you reach that landmark.Return to your normal speed until you set your sights on another landmark and energy sprint again! Start with 30 sec sprints ( or whatever you have in you)then build up from there--your goal is to do each energy sprint that will last one to two minutes! Your friend in fitness~~Francine
 
Great! Walking is so good because you can do it anytime, anywhere, and until you get very old! What other activities can compare except maybe golf. I'm debating this morning on not doing an interval tape and walking instead.
 
The reason I've been walking lately is that any step and lower body strength training hurt my knees. Sometimes even walking bothers me! (too fast or too long) I'm so afraid of losing whatever fitness I have between now and the time I go for my doctor's appointment. I feel like I'm clutching at straws, looking for anything I CAN do without creating more pain.

I really thought Leslie Sansone might be an option. I've got to get my heart rate up there and I'm afraid of trying powerwalking. Has anyone tried any good walking videos I can do on a treadmill or in front of the TV? Any other ideas?

Thanks!

Hélène
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Oct-13-02 AT 05:11PM (Est)[/font][p]I'm afraid I have no experience with walking tapes, for that I can only refer you to www.collagevideo.com for their reviews and streaming video samples, and www.videofitness.com for more extensive reviews. But when I first injured my knee I was told to use an exercise bike set at low tension for my cardio. Pretty boring but not too awful if you have a good magazine to read. --Karen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Back
Top