Walking for Exercise

tsazani
tsazani Posts: 830 Member
edited June 2021 in Fitness and Exercise
For the next 8 weeks I'm going to do 1 hr per day of low intensity (60-70% MHR) cardio.

Should I do the 60 min all at once? 30 min twice a day? Or 20 min three times per day?

If I do 20 min three times per day I should do it after meals? How long should I wait so my walking does not interfere with my digestion?

Or should I do the 20 min before meals? That might be even better.

Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited June 2021
    This content has been removed.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    edited June 2021
    Walking I could always do after eating an average meal, like if I had several meals a day.
    Like backpacking - no problem with blood flow being shunted from the stomach to elsewhere for like cooling (winter backpacking likely helped with that aspect).

    But biking and attempting snacks on the bike - they better be small enough and frequent to actual digest and get something from it to help the workout.
    I've never attempted to test where is that line, but for me, walking is fine.

    I'd suggest since blood sugar can remain elevated for an hour or more depending on size of meal, waiting 15-20 min to digest what you can and then a walk may not be a bad idea.

    Endurance will only be improved from 1 session, if it's intense enough to illicit that response.
    If only 1 meal a day, there ya go.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    tsazani wrote: »
    The exercise has 3 goals. One is to blunt post meal blood sugar spikes. Two is to get better sleep and stress management. Three is to increase base endurance.

    If you want to increase your endurance than spending an hour total and breaking it into small pieces is not the most ideal way to achieve that goal. Doing all of your exercise in one go with no rest will obviously do more to increase your endurance.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,496 Member
    tsazani wrote: »
    At first I like to set a pattern and use momentum to stick to it. At least for the first month.

    My main goal is to keep my blood sugars in the normal range for as much and as long as possible by using diet, fasting, and exercise.

    The exercise has 3 goals. One is to blunt post meal blood sugar spikes. Two is to get better sleep and stress management. Three is to increase base endurance.

    Do you have a doctor saying you need to do anything about blood sugar? If not don't worry about goal #1. If the doctor is saying something, get their advice.

    Goal #2, if you find a walk helps you relax and you get stressed often during the day take multiple short walks.

    Goal #3. If you want to build endurance walk for an hour straight, don't take breaks.

    If some of these suggestions for your goals conflict, you will need to determine which is most important to you.

    Best of luck.
  • LisaGetsMoving
    LisaGetsMoving Posts: 664 Member
    My sisters with TTD say that walking after meals helps their blood sugar levels come back down to normal range better than walking before (raises hunger levels) or doing one big session a day. They eat and walk twice a day (20 min) when they're trying to be "good".
  • tmbg1
    tmbg1 Posts: 1,434 Member
    Most days I do one long walk plus a short walk later in the day. On busy days I find it easier to squeeze in 3 short walks. Walking has been instrumental in helping me reach my weight-loss goal and has been good for my mental health!
  • PKM0515
    PKM0515 Posts: 3,089 Member
    edited June 2021
    As a type 2 diabetic, I agree with walking AFTER meals.

    https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20161018/have-type-2-diabetes-try-walking-after-eating
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    How much cardio have you done the past month? It’s not a good idea to go suddenly from 0 to 60.

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