Exercising

This topic contains 2 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by  foodfreedomgirl 6 years, 2 months ago.

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  • Hi, I’ve just joined the community and would like some advice about running. I downloaded the couch to 5k app a year ago and finally motivated myself to follow it and completed the 9 week programme on Sunday. I was feeling really pleased with myself but a friend has told me that I would be far better walking as running at my age (62) is not a good option as It will at the end (sooner or later) give me problems with the joints (knees and hip). He said it is much better to walk at a steady pace. “You’ĺl burn as many calories as running but will give much less problems, to give you an idea: walking for 15 minutes burns as much calories as running and you’ĺl cover a distance of about a mile. Walking during an hour 3/4 miles etc. Can you imagine running 3/4 miles ? It’ll take you maybe 10 minutes less but so much more hardship”. Does anyone know if this information is correct?
    Thanks

    Walking is considered to be better/less damaging to the joints than running. My on-road pace is indeed 3 to 4 miles per hour, less if on rougher terrain. I have never been a fan of running, so at 69 years old I am content to walk.
    Remember that exercise is great and there are many paths to that. At our age, we need to keep moving, but the exercise is not what loses the weight. For that, there is Fasting.

    Hi fasting_me
    Thanks you for your reply, your advice supports that given by my friend. I went out this morning and although I did some running I alternated it with fast walking, 5 minutes of each. I also went for a long walk this afternoon with a friend, so am feeling really good.
    I have tried the 5:2 diet before and loved it but am struggling to get back onto the diet I’m afraid, so any advice will be welcome!

    Walking burns calories at a much lower rate than running. That is fine if you have the time. Basically you probably have to walk for around 90 minutes to burn as much as you can in a less than 30 minute 5k run. A hard 5k run probably burns around 300 to 400 calories. Running is much harder on the body.

    If you really want to push your body hard with low risk of injury, lap swimming is really good exercise. Probably even safer than walking and you can work the upper body too. However it takes a lot more effort. I used to swim a lot and I always found a hard swim to be much more demanding than running. However swimming takes times like walking as you have to go to a pool, etc.

    I often kick in 5k+ runs … typically a couple a week. I’ve found that fasting helps maintain my body so I can pretty much just run on a whim these days. (I’m 58 by the way, so slightly past the spring chicken age.)

    Maintaining muscle mass is very important when Fasting. Exercise does that for you. A combination of endurance [walking] and strength training is the best route. When the fat disappears beneath the skin, firm muscles keep skin from sagging.
    Dykask is a really determined exerciser and speaks with the zeal of a runner. Swimming is indeed good exercise. While in training for a lengthy hike [Hadrian’s Wall: 82 miles] I did a lot of walking. That lowered my resting heart rate even a year afterward! Two miles takes 30 minutes and can be meditative. 30 minutes is not a big chunk of your day.
    Chatti, what struggles are you having with the diet? If you need recipes, I’ve got lots.

    Running with a lot of extra weight is a lot harder on the body than running at an ideal or close to ideal weight too. I don’t know where you stand in regards to weight, but as you get closer and closer to an ideal weight you might find that running isn’t as hard on you/your knees as is commonly thought!

    I can’t imagine running with a 25# bag of dog food very far, but having lost 25# since I started running 11 years ago that’s what my knees started out carrying. It was sure harder then than now. My BMI is 23.6, the ideal range is 18.5-24.9 so I’m in the high end. Can’t wait to see what a difference a few more points down will mean. I am 38 years old.

    Anyhow, those are just my 2 cents.

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