Is Walking Working for Me?

Updated on July 10, 2007
H.P. asks from Andrews, TX
13 answers

I statred a daily walking routine about 3 days ago. and i am about 80 lbs overweight and havent done any type of exercise in well over a year so i am REALLY out of shape. Therefore i have started my wakling at 30 minutes (not sure the distance)a day so i dont feel like i am going to die. I dont want to push my self over the limit cause i still have a son to take care of. I plan to increase the amount as i get back into shape. my husband told me that since i have been walking for three days now my body should be really sore, but it's not. i just run out of breath really easily and i am only really weak for about 30 minutes or so after my walk. my body isnt hurting. he also told me that if i am not sore then the walking isnt doing me any good. So is he wrong or should i increase my walking now? should i be doing something else. I just thought that walking was good exercise, and it is something that i can do with my son and be able to stay committed to.

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R.G.

answers from El Paso on

My husband believes the same as urs. It's not true though! I was able to loose 10lbs in a month just by walking a mile every day. And I never hurt. Granted 10lbs may not seem like a lot but hey ...... at least it's a start and truthfully I didn't change my diet much. Now I can walk a mile in 18 minutes (I started at 30) and I can walk a lot faster. What is the coolest of all ......... I can keep up w/ my 6 yr old and my 2 yr old w/o a problem! :) Keep a little notebook w/ how well ur doing. It's such a good insentive to keep going! I got the distance by marking it w/ the car (u know how it tells u how many miles u have traveled) since I walk around my neighborhood. Good luck to u and keep going! Hey get the whole family involved. Get ur hubby to do the walks w/ u. ;)

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R.

answers from San Antonio on

Your husband is absolutely wrong. The first thing you will have to build is you respiratory capacity before you are able to work your other muscles. You are doing it just right. Good job and keep on going. You will soon be able to go further and further. You will "feel the burn" soon!

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K.C.

answers from San Antonio on

I agree with Dolores. You need to give yourself a couple of weeks. The only way that you would be feeling it in your muscles is if you were using weights and doing to much to start off. Walking isn't supposed to hurt. It sounds like you are doing good. Keep up the good work.

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D.B.

answers from El Paso on

H., there's nothing that says a workout isn't good enough unless you're sore afterwards. Three days just isn't enough time to evaluate your workout. Give it a few weeks, and if after that time you find yourself walking easier and being less out of breath in general then it's working. If not, then sure, step it up a little, walk farther or faster, maybe throw in some work with weights for your upper body. But since you haven't worked out for a little while, it's better to start slow rather than too fast and end up hurting yourself.

Good luck!

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L.Z.

answers from San Antonio on

If i carried 80 lbs of weights around with me every day, i would be STRONG, as i am sure you are, and that's why the walking doesn't hurt, and it shouldn't. eating plenty of protein after exercise keeps muscle pain at bay. perhaps you could get your rmr on the computer?(i think it's rmr),what i am trying to say is that if you enter your weight and age into a database, the computer can figure out how high your heart rate has to be to burn fat. if you are getting very winded then chances are good that you are burning sugars, not fat. slow and steady burns fat, at least that's what my personal trainer says. you can also try interval training, where you walk at max speed for one minute, then walk very slow to catch your breath for one minute, and alternate.
good for you for sticking with it. tell your hubby that men and women are different, maybe it only hurts men. haha...

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L.C.

answers from Corpus Christi on

Yes, you are doing great! Maybe being sore is good for your husband, but you know your body. And starting slowly is better than going full-tilt into exercise since it's easier to stay on target and keep doing it. Good for you to try to get healthier! I am trying too! I walk (slowly) on a treadmill some days. My husband says it's better to take it easy so you'll stay committed to exercising and keep doing it. Good luck! :-)

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S.S.

answers from Wichita Falls on

Tell him you're sore so he'll lay off - but walking honestly shouldn't make you sore unless you're going uphill.

Walking is doing wonders for your heart and lungs, as well as your body. If you want to know if it's working, I'd take a secret waist measurement - and compare once a week.

I'm doing TTAP - I'm not sore from that, but I'm noticing some serious inch reduction.

Good luck.

S.

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A.S.

answers from San Antonio on

Everyone's comments sound right on the money. As a supplement though, you may want to start taking supplement pills,and not the ones from the commercials like Trimspa or Hydroxycut. Those don't work. Go to ENC, or GNC and talk to someone there aobut fat burners, as long as you are consistent with eating and taking the pills and exercise, you will see results. I have tried pills from ENC and I really liked them, I am on Advocare right now, and I love them. As long as you stay in your THR you will burn fat. It took me 10 months to lose 36lbs. I know that's a long time but it took me longer to to gain it, and this weight is not coming back on. Give yourself some reasonable goals and when you meet them give yourself some more. ~A.

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L.B.

answers from El Paso on

You might try just increasing your pace. If you are walking like you would at Wal-Mart, it isn't going to get your heart rate up and thus it isn't really doing the work out your body needs. Also you can tell if its working on your muscles if yours legs feel a little tingly when you slow down and get back home. This is a way you know that your muscles are working. Another thing is when you get home dont just sit down a guzzle down 3 galsses of water. Slowly let your body cool down on its own. Try this and you might see some different results. Most importantly, don't give up! Walking is good for you no matter what results you are seeing or feeling right away!:)

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M.M.

answers from Fayetteville on

It all depends on how fast you were going. If you were going at a pace like 1/2 a mile an hour (that's really really slow), then you probably won't be sore. But if you started out at going 4 miles an hour (much much faster), then you feel some soreness. It also depends on how your body reacts to the exercise you are doing, if you did a warm up and a cool down. There are a lot of factors that play into you being sore after exercise.

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J.F.

answers from Dallas on

Hi H.,

I am a physical therapist and deal with endurance, strength, weight loss etc . . . You should be walking (and running when you get to that point) at a pace where you can maintain a conversation without panting. Don't worry if your muscles aren't sore. They are probably used to quite a bit of activity from keeping up with your son. Right now it sounds like you need to focus on your endurance. For cardio activity it is recommended that you exercise at 60-80% of your maximum heart rate. To calculate that do: (220-your age) x .60 and that should tell you the pace you want to aim for (.60 is 60%)Make sure to monitor your HR at your wrist and not your neck. People have been known to press too hard when monitoring at the neck and end up making themselves pass out. =) Hope this was helpful.
-J.

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N.M.

answers from San Antonio on

Your muscles may be stronger than you think. But your lungs aren't. You need to push yourself more. Also diet goes hand in hand with excersize. I lost about 60 lbs. since last year and I have done it with DIET and exersize. I come from an overwieght family, and have been a bit chunky since I had my son. It seemed I would never get it off, but I did. He is almost 3 and I am still not completly happy... I have lost in my face, arms, and legs, but not in the area a really care about, my stomach. You have to just press on many times our bodies can take much more than we think!

;)

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S.G.

answers from Corpus Christi on

Dear H.,
Walking is a wonderful way to start excercising. You shouldn't be hurting after a 30min. walk, maybe if you were running for 30min. I want to congradulate you on starting to excercise again, I know it's not easy.
S.

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