fell walking (uk)

rachy_09
rachy_09 Posts: 41 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
my partner does alot of fell walking like massive hills ect. but atm im too unfit and overweight to do anything like what he does. hes taken me up a few small hills which nearly killed me but i did them. but its upsetting me that i cant keep up with him and he wont take me out loads because i am so unfit hed rather go with this mate he has who can do it alot better than me. Now this will sound selfish but i want to know if anyone can point me in the direction of a good beginners walking group (fell walking) so i can get better and be able to do things with him as hes booked to go away for 3 weeks to the pyrenees next year with his mate leaving me at home feeling down that he would never ask me to do anything like that with him .

i probs sound like a spoilt idiot but any help would be fab
thanks
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Replies

  • IveLanded
    IveLanded Posts: 797 Member
    You certainly don't sound spoiled. And I'm in California so I have no group suggestions for you but........can you just start walking? If your here and you want to lose weight, what is your work out plan to do that?
  • shoneybabes
    shoneybabes Posts: 199 Member
    I have to say that you aren't being selfish but that he is. HE needs to start you off easy rather than make you climb the hardest hill he can find. If you can keep up with him to do that they the chances are you aren't as unfit as you think you are. Why isn't he helping you become fitter so you can both walk together?

    If he doesn't want you to go walking with him (and he is making it hard for you to enjoy it by walking so fast) then I definitely think you should join a local group. I don't understand why he isn't more understanding of you wanting to join him and get fit???

    If you can't find anything local, try looking at the advert board in your local outdoor shop for a club. Start by going for walks round your area. Buy a local walking guide book and start with the easy or small walks.

    I don't know which area you live in but there are a lot of clubs about. You can friend or email me if you would like more help/advice.

    Go find someone that wants to walk with you no matter what level your fitness is at.

    I wish you luck and happy trips to the hills. There is nothing more beautiful than a hillwalk
  • thelaurameister
    thelaurameister Posts: 689 Member
    You're not selfish! It's completely normal that you want to enjoy those types of things with him, I wish he'd have a little more patience and HELP you. He should know that it's not something you can just magically do overnight! I don't want to be hard on your partner, but I really think it would be good for you to discuss these things with him. Let him know that you want to do these things with him, but you just need a little help and a slow start to get there. It can be a great bonding experience :) Other than that, have you thought about trying couch to 5k? It's not a walking program, but if you can get to the point where you can run, those hills won't seem as difficult. Plus, it's a build up program, the first day you jog for 30 seconds and walk for a minute. Each week you up the running, lower the walking. Just a suggestion! :)
  • smiffy645
    smiffy645 Posts: 167 Member
    Most treadmills have the ability to add incline and have hill programs and some cross trainers work on a climbing principal.This could be a way to improve your fitness for fell walking.
  • LordBear
    LordBear Posts: 239 Member
    sorry but he sounds like a bit of an azz... just start walking... roads first then thru feilds etc for different terain.. or jump a treadmill and slowly increase the incline..i know how u feel..i cldnt want at all except to move around a bit tell a couple of weeks ago when i got a shot in my back..but after years of none yes i am walking again and have logged a ton of miles.. flat ground... dont have the strength yet to do any hills or steps yet..but working on it.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Couch 2 5k gets a lot of praise. Might get you started, though it's more running than hiking or walking.
  • jojo1410
    jojo1410 Posts: 151
    The Ramblers normally have groups in all areas of the UK. They do walks for beginners right through to the hardened fell walkers. They usually have a social life too, like curry nights and the like. I want to join but can't pluck up the courage to turn up on my own just yet.
    If you live near south Wales let me know and maybe we can walk together, but I suspect you're further north. We have mountains in Wales, not fells, lol! :laugh:
  • deadheadcheri
    deadheadcheri Posts: 15
    Nothing spoiled or selfish about that! I dunno what "fell walking" means exactly, but I say take the opportunity while he is away to get yourself into the best shape FOR YOU and maybe start up some activities you can do without him. Before you know it he will be asking YOU to include HIM!
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    I learn something new every day.
    fell dialect British : a high barren field or moor

    If he's doing it for exercise, he can get more exercise by looping back whenever he gets 100 yards (or so) in front of you. He gets to go faster, you get to go at a reasonable pace for you, you stay within a reasonable distance of each other, and you get to experience something more or less together.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Or he could walk circles around you, literally. :wink:
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    my partner does alot of fell walking like massive hills ect. but atm im too unfit and overweight to do anything like what he does. hes taken me up a few small hills which nearly killed me but i did them. but its upsetting me that i cant keep up with him and he wont take me out loads because i am so unfit hed rather go with this mate he has who can do it alot better than me. Now this will sound selfish but i want to know if anyone can point me in the direction of a good beginners walking group (fell walking) so i can get better and be able to do things with him as hes booked to go away for 3 weeks to the pyrenees next year with his mate leaving me at home feeling down that he would never ask me to do anything like that with him .

    i probs sound like a spoilt idiot but any help would be fab
    thanks

    Either do the C25K program to raise your endurance or do treadmill intervals.

    5 min warm up, easy pace
    Increase speed to 3.5 - 4.5 (either a fast walk or a slow jog)
    1 min @ 5% incline (5% not 0.5%)
    1 min @ 10%
    1 min @ 15%
    1 min @ 10%
    1 min @ 5%
    5 min Cool off, back to easy pace
    Repeat starting line 2

    Do this every other day and you will catch up to your bf in no time.
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Local Walking Groups GB: http://www.ramblers.org.uk/areas_groups/areas_and_groups
  • rachy_09
    rachy_09 Posts: 41 Member
    Thanks for all the messages and support really cheered me up! I have done some walking in the past before I put the weight on I used to walk with my dad abut until he moved away. I set myself a challenge to do hellevelyn which to me is huge and im not at all covfident But I would love to be able to do it. I think if I could find a good group to walk with while he's climbing Everest (joke) I might one day be able to say to him well take me too as I can do it just as good as you! ( he's been doing hill walks for 15 years he has alot more experience than me) and I so wish I lived in Wales would have loved someone to start with that's a big fear of mine too but I live near Durham! Lol Bit of a trek lol but if u really want to start my dad used to do alot of Walks with a ramblers group in Wales I could ask him the best place to go for you :)
  • rachy_09
    rachy_09 Posts: 41 Member
    The Ramblers normally have groups in all areas of the UK. They do walks for beginners right through to the hardened fell walkers. They usually have a social life too, like curry nights and the like. I want to join but can't pluck up the courage to turn up on my own just yet.
    If you live near south Wales let me know and maybe we can walk together, but I suspect you're further north. We have mountains in Wales, not fells, lol! :laugh:

    Sorry I posted n forgot to quote your comment haha
  • hooperkay
    hooperkay Posts: 463 Member
    keep going with him anyway. I'm kinda stubborn. He can't stop you from following. Keep going, one day you'll kick his a**. Few weeks and you'll be passing him. :)
  • jojo1410
    jojo1410 Posts: 151
    Hi Rachy

    The tip from your dad would be great, thanks. I'm looking at one in Cardiff which looks fun, full of younger people. Pity about the distance. I was born in Newcastle but we left when I was very young. We could have been neighbours, lol! Good luck with your walking. Maybe we could keep up on MFP and support each other that way? You join a group up North and I'll join one down south! Feel free to add me as a friend.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    I used to do a lot of hillwalking til the babies came along - and I'm almost back to the weight I used to be then (still very overweight though). I think you'll just need to build up fitness by doing it. You can start by walking A LOT more where you live - Durham has lovely countryside, surely? Look for hills locally to practice on, take all the stairs you can find, get used to walking all day long. Are there walking groups or ramblers that get together locally? Check out libraries for local organisations, Ramblers Association, Youth Hostel Association local groups. Do you already know other people who'd like to get together for outings and long walks? You could start a walking group if you can't find one that already exists where you live.

    You'll need to get in training, as if for a marathon, by teaching your body to cope with longer and more strenuous walks by starting small and building up stamina. You can do it - I did! The first mountain I climbed nearly killed me - I remember taking 3 steps and stopping all the way to the top. It was Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons, it's used by the army for training runs, and these soldiers were running past me with enormous packs on their backs! Embarassment or what!!
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
    Walking for distance will help you get started - you can be outdoors or inside on treadmill. It you have access to treadmill then add incline and variety. Walking multiple flights of steps repeatedly is also a good thing to do. You will need the conditioning for the ups as well as the downs on the hills/trails. A lot of trail walking is about getting into a rhythm and varying you stride length to match the terrain. When you get to the ups walking on the dirt is not always the most energy efficient. Learning to use the rocks along the trail to break up the height of a steep pitch - it can help you conserve energy and walk longer and stronger. It seems strange but if you use stepping stones to breakup the up even if you are taking a sideways or slightly back step to gain altitude you can conserve strength and rest your leg muscles. It can be much easier than taking a very tall step or trying to step over things or having you feet/ankles constantly on an incline. The same works on the downs.
  • marieteresa41
    marieteresa41 Posts: 19
    Hi Rachel,

    I've done a lot of hillwalking myself & Helvellyn can be quite a tough one, fitness & nerves wise depending on the route you take up & then down! But it is a good one to do & def a challenge. Go for it ! Though I probably wouldn't do it your own though? If you go up either via striding edge or squirrel edge there's a bit of a scramble at the end to get to the top. Bit nerve wracking - for me anyway. Striding edge def isn't for the faint hearted especially on a windy day :-) You can do Helvellyn nice & steady though.

    If you were looking to go down that way you could stay at or near Keswick & do Catbells as a starter for your fitness & then look at Helvellyn and/or Scafell Pike plus there are loads of smaller hils in the area to get you started.

    I don't really know Durham that well so don't know what's around there hills wise. Any hill work you do will help - including intervals on a slope/small hill etc.

    Personally I have found that doing weight training, spinning & interval trg on the runner (HIIT) have increased my fitness & I can get up hills a lot easier & more quickly now.

    Good luck with it.

    Marie
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    .
  • BABetter1
    BABetter1 Posts: 618 Member
    Or he could walk circles around you, literally. :wink:

    Okay, seems like it might be a little tougher to do with fell walking. But, my partner can outrun me all day long. Still, when we were running, we ran together. He just ran ahead, and when he got a certain distance, he turned and ran back towards me. When he passed me the other way, he turned around again. Might seem a little awkward. But we got to spend time together, and we both got our exercise as I was building up my speed.

    We don't have much time now that work is picking up, and I get my exercise super early in the morning while he and everyone else in the house is sleeping.
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    "CATBELLS" !! :happy: :laugh: *remembers* :happy:

    We had a holiday in the Lake District, me, OH & 4 kids. OH & eldest went off to do Scafell Pike, I took the others to Catbells (the first & lowest of a line of hills bordering Derwentwater). The youngest child, then aged 18 months, walked up Catbells like a breeze saying "Up there!" and pointing up the hill. Looked at the next hill - "Up there!" and charged off up it.
    Long story short, small child did whole line of hills - all the way there and all the way back! His summary? "Been Catbells!"

    YOU CAN DO THIS!!! :happy:
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Cat_Bells_and_Friars_Crag_zpsa31afbcd.jpg
    The classic view of Catbells from near Friars Crag on the opposite side of Derwent Water
  • beattie1
    beattie1 Posts: 1,012 Member
    Aaaahhhh :happy: *floats off on clouds...*

    Toddler walked from right side of pic, out of the left hand side of the pic (Maiden Moor) & back. Champion!


    Thanks for finding that Treetops57, the Lake District is one of my favourite places....
  • marieteresa41
    marieteresa41 Posts: 19
    I'm hoping I've managed to upload a pic of striding edge......
  • marieteresa41
    marieteresa41 Posts: 19
    Didn't work :sad:
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    eab52ff1242484114335ab3b51d01a94_zps101a2896.jpg

    I'm hoping I've managed to upload a pic of striding edge......

    Photobucket always capitalizes the IMG, but MFP needs it to be lower case. All I did was change "IMG" to "img".
  • marieteresa41
    marieteresa41 Posts: 19
    Why thank you muchly! Did you just change the IMG to img at the beginning of the address?
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    Yep. Simple as that!
  • treetop57
    treetop57 Posts: 1,578 Member
    I know it's a completely different part of the world with completely different climate and geology and flora . . . but the Striding Edge reminds me a ridge I once crossed near Haleakala crater on the Hawaiian island Maui.

    haleakala1_zps9b992633.jpg

    I used to have a picture of myself standing on that ridge with the fog rolling up from the Pacific 7200 ft below.

    "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path of Salvation is hard." --Katha Upanishad

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