I am not in good shape, as evidenced by my tracker. I have just recently started walking again and have worked my way up from walking .5 mile to 3 miles. However, most of my walks are on flat surfaces.

Two days ago, I attempted a mountain hike. I could only do 30 minutes up and then walked back down. I was drenched in sweat, with my heart pounding, when I ran out of umph/energy, and turned around.

My question is, is it better (for long term health) to do long 60-120 minute walks that result in exhaustion, though not much heart pounding or short walks with great intensity, that also result in exhaustion. I recognize that the uphill walks are better for the heart as they are more aerobic, but I do like the long leisurely walks better.

Just looking for advice. It is hard to do mountain hikes in the summer here as the bugs are so bad, but if long walks that do not get the heart pounding are not worthwhile, I will work something out.

Thanks!

I personally feel that any activity is worthwhile. When I've kicked my butt so hard I can't move for several days I feel the intensity isn't worth the activity I miss out on. I've found that as my body acclimates to a certain activity via endurance that I'm able to push the intensity. As your long leisurely walks get more comfortable you'll unwittingly push the intensity up. Do you track the distances or have a heart rate monitor to track your progression?

Or... why not do both? Have a hard day with a mountain climb, the next day shoot for time? I do that naturally with biking or other cardio.

Either way - great work! Keep it up!

This is the key.

If you're not raising your heart rate, then you're not building any cardiovascular strength or endurance. Yeah, a long leisurely stroll is lovely but after a while, it just doesn't do anything else for you. Your body will adapt to the exercise and you won't see any more progress from it.

It's not necessary to exercise to exhaustion - 2 hours of walking until you're ready to fall down can be counterproductive.

30 minutes of moderately intense exercise (again, not to exhaustion) are going to be more beneficial.

One of the best things I ever spent money on was a heart rate monitor. I got a Polar F5 (at Target). I wear it whenever I exercise, whether it's just walking, going out rollerblading, or working out at the gym. I make sure I push my heart rate up to at least 65%-70% for a solid 30 mins. I also use it for HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and it's made a world of difference.

Hope that helps!

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Thank you both for your advice. I tend to go out on dog walks/photography strolls and find that I've walked a few hours and am tired, but never worked up a sweat. I like those walks better than the kick-in-the-pants hikes, but I'll try to do a few of each each week.

Jen,

Have you tried switching it up a bit, where you walk intensely two days a week and taking a stroll the rest? Your body will level out with the lack of cardio just doing strolls, but if you start to push yourself just a bit a couple of days a week- then your body will slowly thank you by making it easier to do.

I had to get rid of my camera, I found I was using it to walk slowly LOL My family and I would go out, and in order to walk at my pace *slow-rear* I always took my camera trying to camaflouge the fact i was so out of shape lol as if they didnt know...