Walking Warriors, let me hear you!

MaddieKoala

Walking is a low-impact exercise that can lift your spirits, retain/build some muscle, and expose you to sunlight and nature

My story
I injured myself (peroneal tendonitis in both legs) during a 10k. I used to run half marathons and confused myself into believing I could interval-run a 10k at my current (much heavier than before) weight. I injured myself more than two months ago. My left leg was in a boot for two months (it was more severe on my left side).
Two months. I lost so much endurance and stamina and I gained a new respect for how delicate my body can be. I will slowly work up to endurance running again. No rush though.

I have 65 lbs to lose to reach my personal goals but I’m giving myself a few years to lose it. I am not exercising to lose weight, I am exercising to feel good and be stronger. I am losing weight with the “calories in”, aka my eating. I’ve done this before, I can do it again.

Call to action
I am going to be brisk walking 10 minutes per day every day for a week (in proper shoes), then increase by 3 minutes each week until I get to a total of 30 minutes of brisk walking.
Does anyone have any stories of the benefits they’ve gotten from brisk walking? Does anyone want to join me in my routine? Does anybody want to share some encouragement? Please comment!

nossmf

I earned my varsity athlete status in school running, sprints in the spring, cross country 5k's in the fall. In college I no longer competed, merely ran 5k's for fun and as a break from studying.

Fast forward a decade and my weight had ballooned up by 70 lbs, thanks in large part to a sedentary desk job (including night shifts crammed with sugary and caffeinated things to stay awake) and four small children at home sapping my sleep and energy to exercise.

When I decided to make the effort to lose the weight, I discovered running was no longer an option for me, between the complete lack of endurance plus arthritic knees (thanks, mom) made worse by all the extra body weight.

Through diet and the elliptical I lost the weight, then discovered a love of weightlifting and regained weight, this time in the form of muscle. When my wife told me I needed to include cardio for my heart, I researched which forms of cardio did not eat away at my precious muscle.

The number one verdict: walking.

Living in Colorado where winters don't always allow walking outside, I have been using indoor treadmills instead of outdoor walking. Started with 20 slow minutes at a 1% incline (to simulate walking outdoors on flat terrain) and over several months systematically increased the duration, speed and incline of the walk, until these days I now do a brisk hour at 12% incline three days per week. (Back to getting my 5k's in, albeit at a much slower pace than back in the day!) Walking is something my bad knees can handle, it's low impact to muscles tired from weightlifting, but my heart still gets plenty of work. (The calorie burn is also helping with my efforts to lose weight, a nice bonus.)