My workout consists of walking 3-4 miles in an hour. I can't run yet since I weigh so much and it probably wouldn't be such a good idea to start running already. And yet, it doesn't feel like I'm doing much. Granted, I only started today. Is just plain walking a lot considered a good exercise? I just feel as if I should be doing more, somehow...
Walking is great exercise - and much easier on the joints than running. I have been doing nothing lately but my main form of exercise is usually walking. Sometimes it feels as though you aren't doing anything but the weight does come off! Stick with it
Walking is a fantastic exercise. Keep it up. You might want to do some weights. Check out the weight lifting forum. Weights build lean muscle.
Good luck to you.
I ditto what has already been said. Walking is a fantastic form of exercise and a great way to aid in weightloss. That's exactly how I started out. Walking is still one of my main exercises, it always will be. Keep on keeping on!
Because in weight loss we are bombarded with toooo much information. When you dust aside all the trimmings, tricks and tweaks ... it's all about eating less and moving more.
If walking is moving more ... it's fabulous exercise!
Walking is fabulous! I haven't walked in a while - mostly because I don't have a nice place to walk, but before I moved I did walk at one point and I it helped me lose weight quite a bit. I started off walking for 30 minutes and then increased it to an hour. I was surprised by how much I slimmed down, and it seemed other people noticed as compared to when I lost weight by cutting down food only.
I also really like strength training and second this idea
I've started, just this last week, walking to work which takes about 30 mins.
And because it's now the weekend, and because in our house it's possible to walk round in a circle (open-plan) I've been walking round for 10 mins at a time, to help keep up the exercise. No-one else is here when I do that, so i don't look too daft.LOL
Thank you for the replies I'll keep on walking through out the day, enough to add five miles. And I'll also add some strength training to the mix. You guys are great, thanks!
Like everyone said, walking's great. But I want to dispel your thoughts that you weigh too much to run. I started out walking too. Well, I started out trying to run. That lasted all of 15 feet. But once I got walking under my belt, I started intervals, running like 15 to 25 feet about 4 times during a 1 mile walk. I increased the running sprints and the walking distance over time. Eventually, I was running 3 miles.
I wanted to run because I just didn't have a lot of time to devote to walking...which I felt I had to do more of in order to burn as much. If you have the time to do the walking, it's fine to stay with it. But if you feel the "need for speed" there's no reason not to try.
Because of the impact, you may want to consider some typical knee supports, and be sure to get some VERY good running shoes, along with water wicking socks, and a good sports bra. Start out with small sprints and see how it goes. If it IS too difficult, continue walking and try again later. Just don't discount it and say you can't without giving it a shot.
I'm with almostheaven. Walking is a fantastic exercise, and if you enjoy it then you should do it forever! But running is great too, and don't think you can't start building in running intervals now (unless your knees are prone to injury, perhaps). I started working in some jogging when I was about 250 pounds, and now I'm addicted. This past week, I ran 20 miles total, and I still weigh around 200 pounds.
I started working on my weight loss about 14 months ago. I began walking right away, but developed a knee problem that kept me from walking for months. In mid-June I began again, and worked my way up to 4 miles at least 5 days a week. I do extra walking when I can fit some in, but because of my knee, I won't run. No monthly dues, no exercise costume, and it's easy to fit into my schedule whenever it's convenient for me.
Weight lifting would help me be more firm and toned, but the walking is the only exercise I've done so far. I've read that people who keep weight off long term frequently use walking for their exercise, and I'm hoping that it'll work out that way for me, too.
I was a size 20 when I started, and this weekend I was fitting into some size 10 pants!