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Benefits of Walking

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Re: Benefits of Walking

#41

Post by graeme »

dcolkitt wrote: post #6
euthymiclabs wrote: post #3

I love this. I run (a little), but have never enjoyed it. I've never once experienced a "runner's high"--even when I ran 5-6x per week for years. I still do it a couple times a week because it's a quick way to get my heart beating, and I do feel better afterwards. Walking is different. It's almost always pleasant, and the feeling I get after a good walk is similar to the one I get after a run (though I usually have t…

I disagree, running and walking are not really substitutes from a health standpoint. Walking has a lot of health benefits but they're largely orthogonal to traditional vigorous exercise. Modern research has identified that the major mediator of exercise's physiological benefits is the down-regulation of the adrenal axis.[1] In other words, activating the fight-or-flight sensation is a key component of an exercise pro…

Small quibble: there are people who hate jogging, but love fast exercise. I hate hate hate jogging, but loved sprinting, HIIT, and all manner of sports involving quick movements plus slower times.

Not clear which group the people in this thread belong to, but jogging does seem to polarize.

Re: Benefits of Walking

#43

Post by eyelidlessness »

eyelidlessness wrote: post #42

> # Get a pet (dog) > Even though it can seem like a lousy idea[...] Huh

In more seriousness, I have a puppy about 18 months old. We walk 2-3 miles a day minimum, in the worst weather. She's a terror, wants to eat everything in sight. She's a lot to manage. I didn't walk nearly this much daily without places to be before (though had no problem walking plenty when I did have places to be). I wouldn't trade it for anything. Even with the complications of raising a naughty deranged wolf variant.

Re: Benefits of Walking

#44

Post by graeme »

KMag wrote: post #16

Do any of you have any advice on staying healthy and avoiding any long-term harm from short periods of very low mobility? My wife and I face 6 months of jail time if we step out of our 8 sq. m / 86 sq. ft hotel room even once in 13 days' quarantine. (All travellers are quarantined. We've both had negative PCR tests before flying and negative IgM tests upon arrival, with another IgM test scheduled for this Wednesday.…

Hmm, that’s tough. Designate some workout breaks with your wife. Immediately before meals is ideal.

Then put the luggage on the bed to free up space and otherwise arrange the environment to maximize things. If you get in the way of each other, you can take turns in the bathroom to free space.

Then try some HIIT and bodyweight exercises in rapid succession:

* Jumping jacks

* Jumping squats

* Push ups

* crabwalk

* army crawl

* Lifting and carrying each other. Can be an assisted life if you can’t do a full one.

* shoulder raises. Some books or other objects can be good here

* Bicep curls with any available objects. Even 5 lb is better than nothing

* Planks, side planks

* Dips on a chair

* running in place

All of these are simple, none of them risk injury, and all can be done in an extremely tiny space.

Depending on reps and exertion you can do them 1-3x a day. Alternate exercises if needed

You can also pace back and forth in the tiny strip you create with luggage on the bed. Lack of walking may actually be the hardest part of your space compared to exercise. Doesn’t sound like much fun pacing that small a strip. Like 3-4 steps?

Good luck! There’s plenty more bodyweight exercises out there, the ones above are just those I’ve done regularly. You can tire your muscles and get your heart racing in 5-7 min with those.

If I misjudged the space, you can do most of those exercises semi effectively on the bed with luggage on the floor. Just don’t push as hard.

It should be doable though. I actually do most of those daily in my spare room, around the corner of a bed. Eg for squats I face the corner of the bed. For pushups my legs go along the bed lengthwise, my arms fan out on the other side of the corner.

Re: Benefits of Walking

#45

Post by ekianjo »

aksss wrote: post #25
sn41 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try no-equipment exercises. Pushups and Hindu squats are excellent cardio-core strength combination which I use when I travel. But take care of your knees when you do these. For the long term, consult a doctor and a trainer when you adopt a regimen.

Doing well-formed push-ups until failure each morning has very impressive effects. Quantifiable improvement happens quickly. Chest and triceps will start to noticeably tone up. Fat loss (pant size) will be helped as well. The health benefits are great: “In a 10-year study published in February, researchers reported that men who can do 40 pushups have a whopping 96% lower risk of heart disease than guys who can't must…

> researchers reported that men who can do 40 pushups

That's a very small amount of people then.

Re: Benefits of Walking

#46

Post by wenc »

KMag wrote: post #16

Do any of you have any advice on staying healthy and avoiding any long-term harm from short periods of very low mobility? My wife and I face 6 months of jail time if we step out of our 8 sq. m / 86 sq. ft hotel room even once in 13 days' quarantine. (All travellers are quarantined. We've both had negative PCR tests before flying and negative IgM tests upon arrival, with another IgM test scheduled for this Wednesday.…

If you youtube "quiet cardio" you'll find a bunch of cardio exercises that you can do with no equipment, no jumping and not a lot of room. These exercises are great for apartment and hotel dwellers.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=quiet+cardio

I've tried them out myself and they sure get the ticker pumping. I managed to save myself from having to buy an exercise bike (which I know I'll never touch after COVID).

As for muscle mass loss, I wonder if you could increase the amount of protein in your daily diet (eggs, white meat, etc.)?

Re: Benefits of Walking

#47

Post by willswire »

Great article. I was recently conversing with a friend-of-a-friend who happened to be a personal trainer. He shared with me something I thought rather simple but profound: “you don’t have to workout every day, but you should move every day”.

I feel that walking is one of the best ways to accomplish this goal.

Re: Benefits of Walking

#48

Post by pjam »

troughway wrote: post #38
bane wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate hate hate running. I used to work out quite a bit but could never get into running and sought other cardio exercises - literally anything that wasn't running. Over time school, then work, then life simply got in the way and my exercise lapsed. Now in middle age I worked up a minor health issue and my doctor strongly encouraged me to start up on cardio again -- this coincided with both the start of COVID lockdo…

Running isn’t the only way to get cardio in. Tabata/HIIT, while making you feel like you’re on the verge of dying, are wonderful and most important safe for your knee joints. Long distance running will wear your meniscus out. So for everyone here who says they don’t like to run - that’s fine, get on the stairmaster or pick up a kettlebell or medicine ball and do some swings and tosses and side movements. Running will…

> Long distance running will wear your meniscus out.

Is there any research to back that? Everything I’ve ready says that it is not a fatality and that it is possible to run, for many years (life?) without destroying your joints.

It’s my understanding that your statement is as accurate as saying “driving a car will result in you getting in a car accident”. It’s extremely possible and it has happened to many people but it doesn’t mean it _has_ to happen

Re: Benefits of Walking

#49

Post by rurp »

bane wrote: post #5
euthymiclabs wrote: post #3

I love this. I run (a little), but have never enjoyed it. I've never once experienced a "runner's high"--even when I ran 5-6x per week for years. I still do it a couple times a week because it's a quick way to get my heart beating, and I do feel better afterwards. Walking is different. It's almost always pleasant, and the feeling I get after a good walk is similar to the one I get after a run (though I usually have t…

I hate hate hate running. I used to work out quite a bit but could never get into running and sought other cardio exercises - literally anything that wasn't running. Over time school, then work, then life simply got in the way and my exercise lapsed. Now in middle age I worked up a minor health issue and my doctor strongly encouraged me to start up on cardio again -- this coincided with both the start of COVID lockdo…

> I started feeling like eating crap wasn't "right" and started eating better. It's like an entire cascade of wellness.

I've noticed this effect strongly with all forms of exercise. The better shape I'm in, the more I naturally gravitate to healthier habits in my diet and elsewhere. Working out more has an awesome compounding positive effect.

Re: Benefits of Walking

#50

Post by JohnCohorn »

I loathe running and also still can’t manage it, but I’ve walked a tremendous amount in the past year and it’s helped my health tremendously, so I highly recommend it. In the beginning a normal walking speed would get my heart rate up, but after a while I couldn’t get my heart rate above the 90s no matter how fast I walked. So my solution was to first add a 36lb belt, which does not put weight on your back or hold in heat. Eventually I had to add a 45lb weighted vest and sometimes 20lb ankle weights on top. Even with all that it takes much less of a toll and is much easier to recover from than running. And I can still get my heart rate up to the 140s without having to run.
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