I love this forum for a few reasons, the main one being that you guys aren't afraid to give tough love. I can always ask any of you for advice, exercise tips and nutrition questions without feeling bad about it. So thank you for that.

So I've decided to stop pulling excuses out of my butt and get it moving instead! :P So I mapped out a route near my house that is 3 miles. It's like a big circle. It's 50% uphill, 50% downhill, with maybe a few flat areas. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to walk it every day. Yes, I'm nervous for a few reasons. It's quite a hall, because of the hills. There are no sidewalks and the road is travelled quite a bit, so I worry about it being completely safe. And I'm not in the shake yet to run from loose dogs or skunks, lol. So those are a few things I'll be nervous about, but I'm still going to do it! (And i'll let you know how it went tomorrow night.)

So for my question. Do you think it'll be a good workout? I obviously don't plan on running it for a while and when I start, it'll be the few flat areas. My goal is to run the entire thing, but that'll be a while. Anyway, any suggestions, like bringing water with me (maybe in a backpack or something). I know every little bit counts, but does this sound like a good idea for exercise and what else can I do when I want to step it up a bit? I also plan to weight train every other day. Thanks for reading!

It sounds like a great plan! Hopefully it won't be too ambitious for you, starting out -- but if it is, then I'm sure you can map a slightly shorter route or make some other adjustments. (For me it would be too much! But that's me. )

My one suggestion is to bring a watch or phone with you. (A phone is a good idea for safety reasons, regardless). But track your time! You can record it when you get back. If you stick to this route regularly, you can see over time if your pace changes and it could be quite motivating!

Be careful in the heat out there tomorrow!

That's a good idea, i'll do that. Thanks. When I started my weight loss journey a few months ago, (re-start now, lol) I was up to walking 4-5 miles around my brother's high school track, as well as playing basketball and volleyball, so I don't think it'll be too much. I look at it this way, i've been through MUCH worse in my life than walking 3 silly little miles, even if it's a lot of uphill and downhill. I know I can do it. I might curse myself crazy at the end, but I'm going to get back out there the next day too. I know I can do this and it's about time I prove it to myself.

I think you have a really good start! Just mapping your route is perfect. Good luck!! I have one route that is exactly 3 miles so it's perfect. A little uphill, a little downhill... it sounds nice. My route is flat, but it's close to home.

I like to carry too much with me when I run, so I bought this little bottle that has a strap that holds the bottle to your hand. It's very small so I drink a lot before I leave, drink a lot when I get back, and just have the one bottle for the run. There are belts that hold the bottles too. Here's a link so you can see what I'm talking about. If you're walking, you might be able to carry a bigger bottle, or a backpack more comfortably, or even a camel back bag. I've seen runners with camel backs too.

There's this app for the iphone (maybe droid too) called "ease into 5K" that a friend of mine uses and thinks is really good. I haven't used it yet but wished I had it when I started running. I might still try it because I'm having troubles getting back up to 3 miles.

Anyways, good luck! Sometimes just doing it is the hardest part. I want to get up early to run and I know I'm going to want to roll over and go back to sleep, so I'm going to get everything ready tonight. Then I just have to roll out of bed and go.

What a great idea! Your 3 mile route sounds like a great workout! Let us know how it goes!

You might find your walk becomes your favorite part of the day! My one suggestion would be to try and go either early or later in the day when it's cooler out, the summer heat can really take it out of you.

Sounds like a great plan! My route is also 3 miles and it's a perfect length. I started out doing it half jogging and half walking, and now I'm up to 7/8 jogging and 1/8 walking. You can step it up gradually, at your own pace.

F.

That sounds like a great route! I have a few routes mapped by my house (I use mapmyrun.com) so I can choose a mile loop (if I'm running or if the weather is questionable and I want to stick close to home but have the option of doing another loop) a 2.4 mile loop and a 3.5 mile loop. I have similar ones memorized for biking.

And challenging your own speed is a fun way to measure progress.

Yes, definitely a good idea! I map out my routes also. I started with 3 miles and then moved 4 miles but have since reorganised everything and am currently doing 2 miles until the end of July and moving onto my next route which is 3 miles all the way up to 5 miles. My thinking behind this was that there were times where I just didn't want to do the 3/4 mile walk, so if I start off shorter and work upwards hopefully I'll be able to stay encouraged. Been doing the 2 miles since Monday and have gone everyday so far.

If I was to make any suggestions it would be to pick a certain time in the day and go that time each day. As someone above said the summer heat can get to you making it harder so the evening times could be the better time to go.

Seagirl - thanks for mentioning mapmyrun.com, I'd never heard of it before! And as I've been thinking about swapping some exercise bike for walking, it should come in very handy. Turns out a circuit of the park across the road is almost exactly a mile. Now to see how many laps I can manage before my legs, or my lungs, give up and die.

Slush - sounds like a good workout to me! I'd definitely recommend taking water with you though, because feeling thirsty when you're a long way from home is horrid.

You have a great plan. I should do that, although I probably most assuredly won't run, but it would be a great walk with the dogs. I don't know if you count calories, but a heart rate monitor/calorie counter might also help you out. Good luck!

Congratulations on your commitment to exercise! I promise that if you keep it up, you will feel so much better, regardless of how it affects your weight loss. You will have so much more energy and self confidence.

Walking is the perfect way to start out. When I began walking, I couldn't do anywhere close to three miles. My back would hurt after less than half a mile. So you may want to start out with a goal of less than three miles if you aren't in shape right now. Don't worry, you will work your way up quickly.

I think the different slopes will be good for you and provide a little variety, rather than just a flat surface.

I wish you the best of luck.