Hey all you fellow enthusiasts out there!

My friend and I just started a walking regimen this week. I'm 44 and she's 38, I'm about 20 lbs overweight and she's about 40. We thought that walking would be a really good start since no gyms are available in our area for that kind of workout. (very rural Wisconsin)

Yesterday was the first day - we started at my house and basically traversed the town down and up back to my house in about 40 minutes. We both took along a water bottle, and kept up a pretty good pace.

When we got back the first day, we then hopped in the car and drove the route - turns out we walked 2.3 miles.

So today, we decided to add the two extra blocks that I am from the edge of town - about 50 minutes, and 3 miles. We intend on building up every day, as we can tolerate, until we can do two round trips, which would be about 6 miles each morning. We've both just recently joined our town's fire department, so would really like to help build up our endurance.

Aside from making sure we have water with us, does anyone have any other suggestions on how we can better manage this?

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hey, Giz, congratulations on your new commitment to physical fitness through exercise!! One suggestion is do not walk on a full stomach... it makes you sleepy and diverts blood from your muscles that you want to use to walk. Wear sunblock and hats. Wear loose comfortable clothing and good fitting shoes ( who wants blisters?). Wear sunglasses as there may be very bright days that can hurt your eyes. Make sure you don't have to go to the bathroom.. walking gets your bowels moving, and you don't want to have a sudden "call of nature" 3 miles from home!! (this from PERSONAL experience.. VERY uncomfortable!!).
Hope it works out for you.. keep me posted..
Sherasi

Sounds to me that you are both fairly fit to start with. You are doing good, however I caution you to not push too much too soon.

Set reasonable Goals, what would those be? Well you do not want to have to push your limits too soon this will lead to fatigue and burn out rather quickly.

If soreness develops, cut the next walk in half. If the soreness continues or worsens, stop the extra walking for three days, if during that time the soreness and stiffness does not go away, see a doctor.

Wear comfortable (broken in) shoes, and wear two pair of socks. Especially if you are aiming for several miles of walking.

Set a pace, any pace, and stick with it through the duration of your walk. You will be able to cover more distance and you will not go 'cold' in the process.

If you are power or fast walking, the last five to ten minutes of your walk should be steadily slower. This will keep the blood flowing to take out the toxins and poisons that accumulate when muscle are fatigued.

Drink plenty of water during the day, even after the walk and before the walk. You will be expelling more moisture during your walks in the form of breath and perspiration, make certain you keep your body hydrated.

Lastly, have fun. If the walks seem like a chore, then you are doing something wrong. If at any time you find that your walks are not enjoyable, take a break for a few days.

I suggest eating something high in carbohydrates 20 minutes before your walks. Carbohydrates are converted into the sugars which are released into the blood stream slowly. Sugars are what gives the body energy, eating 20 minutes before your walk gives you body enough time to start passing sugar into your blood stream and will provide you with enough energy to maintain your walk.

Cheers

David

Hi David, thanks so much for your suggestions! (And for everyone else's suggestions and support as well!)

Sure enough, by day three I was having trouble with soreness in my shins and just above my ankles in the front. I didn't baby the aches, but I did take it a little easier.

I took it easy for a day, just walking a little more slowly for about a mile - that was Friday morning. My trucker hubby came home on Friday, so Saturday morning I didn't walk, and Sunday I got him to walk with me, but since he was new, only did about 1-1/2 miles or so.

By this time, my shins & ankles were feeling better.

I do try to eat something before we go, either some toast with peanut butter or at least a slim-fast...and I take a bottle of water with me.

I don't imagine I'll ever be among the "running" crowd, but my goal by the end of the summer is to be walking to the next town and back - 7 miles from my house. I'm going to work up to it slowly, to be assured!

Good for you Giz, congratulations on keeping it up. I've lost about 7 pounds now.. it is a rough road to travel, but I get back to it if I break.

I lost about 50 lbs walking to a Madonna CD. The pace of her beat is wonderful. I do suggest finding some stretching exercises to help with those shin muscles. There are tips for walkers at www.prevention.com. For faster results, you may want to incorporate weight training to your exercise schedule. The best way I have found to do this is to rotate the days such as Monday: weight train lower body, Tuesday: Walk, Wednesday:Weight Train your upper body, Thursday Walk, Friday: Weight train your lower body, Saturday: Walk. Give your body a rest on Sunday. You can also add in some other sports like racquet ball, tennis & swimming.

The best workout plan is www.Bodyforlife.com they have a solid foundation for workouts and a wonderful eating plan. The results are remarkable...Good luck. smile