Cardio, walking on Treadmill

borichfan1
borichfan1 Posts: 9 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am new to exercising again. It's been so long since i exercised, i am like a beginner now. I want to get back in the habit of exercising Cardio & weight/strength training as well. I am older now, 55 yr. old & weigh 230 lbs. so it's not as easy as it is when i quit exercising years ago. I don't like walking on the treadmill fast, wears me out, especially after work. I used to walk at 4 mph on treadmill for 30 mins. but now with my hip brsitis & sciatic nerve pain, i can do better on the treadmill walking at a slower pace at 2.5 mph uphill incline. My question is am i getting just as good a workout doing 2.5 mph incline on treadmill as 4 mph walking on flat treadmill 30 mins?

Replies

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    edited March 2018
    No. Slower is less.

    However, and in any case,

    Any is good.
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    edited March 2018
    If you have a way to measure your heart rate then just make sure you are in the cardio zone.

    the rule of thumb is to stay in the cardio zone for a minimum of 20 minutes non stop and a minimum of 3 times per week to get a minimum training effect.

    i was in worse shape than you when i was 57. i could barely walk a mile at a 3 mph pace, and was close to 240 lbs. was starting to go into a size 40 pants because the 38's where getting too tight.

    i'm 60 now and can power walk 10+ miles at a 4.5 mph pace, and run 5 miles. i do at least 1 activity every single day (even if it's just a 3 mile walk). i now wear a size 32 pants.

    in the beginning i had a lot of joint pain (hips/knees/shins/etc...), but i kept pushing myself, and my joints got stronger. just make sure you don't push it to the point of injury, and give yourself time to recover by doing easy workouts in between the intense ones.

    if you have no way to monitor your heart rate, just make sure you are huffing and puffing and sweating.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    I'm a relatively fit 32 year old and I don't walk at 4.0 on the treadmill. I definitely don't use an incline. Just do what you can do! Activity is better than none.
  • WoodAndCastIron
    WoodAndCastIron Posts: 978 Member
    I’m 48 and was in a similar position last year.

    I would suggest making sure you place the same, if not more, emphasis on the diet side. Good foods that allow recovery and reduce inflammation but at a manageable caloric deficit to drop the pounds.

    Carrying less weight made powering through the first few weeks of exercise discomfort easier. You might want to look into a barbell based strength training such as starting strength- there is a variant of it for folks over 50 that I used when starting exercising again - it was the most effective part of exercise portion side for me.

    Since last year I’m down about 40lbs and have managed to keep it off and am now active enough to keep up (most of the time) with my teen age boys.
    The most unexpected thing I learned in the last year was how the strong of a factor that diet actually was.

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