Some advice about my exercising

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born2rade
born2rade Posts: 4
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Guys. My starting weight was 280 pounds, as of this morning i weighed in at 222.8, i'm 5 foot 7.

I just started doing 3 miles which i do every tues/wed and thurs. I do not exercise on work days because i'm a cashier at wal-mart and when i get out of work my back and feet hurt to much to do any exercise.

I have been adding some jogging during my walks. Eventually i find myself being able to last longer while jogging, no less than 4mph. My body has a hard time lasting long because my calves and legs tighten up too much to where i cannot continue the jog. I finished the 3 miles exactly at 49 minutes, walking/jogging combination.

the first mile was 13 mins which was almost entirely jogging
the 2nd mile was 17 mins which was all walking but was slowed due to calves hurting
the third mile was mid 16 mins, at this time my calves felt fine, jogged approx 2-3 mins.

I guess my question is, should i even bother with jogging and just stick with walking the entire 3 miles. I don't really know if i'm losing any more calories with adding the jogging during my walks.

Replies

  • carpediem3
    carpediem3 Posts: 320 Member
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    I was always told interval training burns more calories, so I walk/jog in 1-2min intervals for 15-30 minutes several times a week.
  • delightednow
    delightednow Posts: 4
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    I read on Max Health that after 3weeks your body has adjusted to your exercise. If you add the jogging this will help. Interval trainning helps to burn more cals. So if you do your warm up walk for 5 mins then jog for min then walk for a min you will burn more cals. and your cals will continue to burn cals even after you are finsihed. Check out the C25k program... just google it. Remember that after 3weeks of the same exercise ur body has adjusted and this will make it harder to burn cals...so change up a bit.
  • HelenTheKitchen
    HelenTheKitchen Posts: 383
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    I've read a lot about this and talked to a trainer about it once. There is a school of thought out there that walking a mile burns the same amount of calories as running a mile. Which I actually think is pretty correct. I've walked and run the same distance, same route, same everything and aside from it taking longer nothing is really that different when it comes to actual calorie burn (I wear a HRM). HOWEVER, jogging and running gets your heart rate up which is really good for your cardiovascular health. You should want to do a workout that gets that heart rate up at least 3 times a week. Of course any exercise is better than no exercise.
  • Insomniak2
    Insomniak2 Posts: 61
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    Nice
  • born2rade
    born2rade Posts: 4
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    Thx for the info :). I will probably just use jogging as something to just change things up once in a while. I will go back to strictly walking for now.

    As a main goal i want eventually be able to jog for 3 miles without stopping. Once i feel that i'm ready to do something like that, how would i go about training to do something like that?
  • MrsSorenson
    MrsSorenson Posts: 450 Member
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    Keep up with the jogging, your body will get used to it, and I'm sure it burns more calories to run that to walk. :)
  • SolidGoaled
    SolidGoaled Posts: 504 Member
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    Thx for the info :). I will probably just use jogging as something to just change things up once in a while. I will go back to strictly walking for now.

    As a main goal i want eventually be able to jog for 3 miles without stopping. Once i feel that i'm ready to do something like that, how would i go about training to do something like that?

    I've been in your shoes before - tight calves and everything. The C25k is an excellent program - google it up and check it out. IT might work really well for you since you are striving to do 3 miles someday. Also - if you are enjoying your jogging, keep adding 30 second intervals of it into your walk - even if you walk for 3 minutes, jog for 30 sec, and alternate this pattern all the way home. You'll be surprised at how fast your endurance builds. Just make sure you don't keep running if you end up with hip pain or knee pain. Don't want to hurt yourself and end up with an injury. Stretch really well before and after. Congrats on the loss.
  • johnwhitent
    johnwhitent Posts: 648 Member
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    Thx for the info :). I will probably just use jogging as something to just change things up once in a while. I will go back to strictly walking for now.

    As a main goal i want eventually be able to jog for 3 miles without stopping. Once i feel that i'm ready to do something like that, how would i go about training to do something like that?

    You might check out the c25k - couch to 5k program. Adding some jogging will defiantly accelerate fitness gains, but don't do too much too quick. It's not all simply about burning calories. Jogging does get your heart rate up which offers many benefits over just walking, like building mitochondria, promoting growth in bone density, and such. I do a run/walk program which can offer the benefits of running with less stress. Oh, and they recommend doing most of your walking early rather than late in your run/walk. Don't just run till you can't run anymore then walk. Early walking yields greater endurance so you get more done.
  • born2rade
    born2rade Posts: 4
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    Yeah i do my walks early, no later than 8am. I could jog longer if my calves/legs didn't tighten up so badly. I could set intervals for jogging and walking. I do not like to really think or count when i'm jogging or walking lol. I listen to music so i could set intervals based on how many songs have finished.
  • Rworthy
    Rworthy Posts: 271 Member
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    When the pain starts, you should stop and stretch. Make sure you stretch out your shins. I do this by squatting down and rocking back and forth slightly until you feel the pull. The pain will eventually stop.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    My suggestion is to make sure you are really warming up those muscles before your start your jog. Most people tend to do a quick two minute stretch but 5 to 8 minutes would be better.
  • born2rade
    born2rade Posts: 4
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    Yeah ill be doing my last walk workout 2morro morning. I will stretch more than i usually do and see how that works out. I have been doing cardio only for my workouts,

    I have been thinking about adding some other things besides just Cardio such as Push ups, etc. I used to bench press a lot back in high school, so push ups are not that hard for me. I prob could do 3 sets of 10.

    Also i look online at what my ideal weight should be, it says 160's. I have a hard time imagining myself at that weight lol, i have a huge frame, 8 inch wrist if that helps any... I'm 5 foot 7.

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