Advice on moving from long walks to daily low intensity jogging?

[dangotbanned]

So I got my Charge 2 just over a month ago and I'm loving it so far. I've gone from barely walking 2-3k steps per day, to around 17k (7-9 miles). This will usually consist of walking at a fast pace multiple times per day, every day - and most recently - I have added 3 days where I will do jogging in intervals (currently at 5 mins jog, 2 mins walk X7).

Since I have been improving my cardio fitness, I am rarely hitting 100bpm whilst walking, anymore, and I'm going pretty **ahem** fast. This means that my calories burned for the day is going down and I'm spending more and more of my day to hit 3.5k cals burned. 

Yesterday, on a day where I wasn't due to jog - I decided to jog at a very slow pace, aiming for a HR of 135bpm. My usual jogging is aiming for 150-160bpm, for reference. I was quite comfortable doing so and managed to jog consistently for 15 minutes, which is far longer than I can jog at my usual pace.

Now my question is, are there any risks I'm taking by doing this low intensity jogging, on days where I would previously "rest"?

I have started this period of exercise whilst dieting as well and coming from a bodybuilding background, I'm still getting 40-50% of my calories from protein, so it seems as if I'd be covered for muscle recovery. However I am curious on the impact this could have on my joints, since I expect they would be under more stress. 

Other info:
Age - 21

Gender - Male

Resting HR - 47bpm

Cardio Fitness - 48-52 (Average-Good, for my age)

Aims - 7 miles, 3500 cals burned, 2000-2500 calories eaten.

[WavyDavey]

Hi @dangotbanned,

Given that you said the intensity walking isn't cutting it, it sounds like your body has adapted to that type of exercise, so it doesn't sound like it's overly stressing. Adding some low intensity jogging doesn't sound like it would hurt, recovery-wise.

As far as joint impact, I tend to have that concern also. I do more cardio on a stationary bike or rower for that reason. But many many people jog and run too, so it's not inherently a problem.

May I ask, what you weight management goals are? I noticed you're getting a good amount of protein, and mentioned bodybuilding. At the same time, you appear to be in quite a caloric deficit, so I was curious if you're trying to lose weight quickly?

[dangotbanned]

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@WavyDavey wrote:

May I ask, what you weight management goals are? I noticed you're getting a good amount of protein, and mentioned bodybuilding. At the same time, you appear to be in quite a caloric deficit, so I was curious if you're trying to lose weight quickly?

So I've started at 196.8lbs with an initial goal of 185lbs, with plans to reassess my goals once I reach that weight. I am currently at 190.2lbs (7lbs lost since 12/03/18). I had planned to have lost more over this period, but celebrating a bit too much with friends and family has meant I've got sidetracked.

In regards to bodybuilding, I had been strictly weight training for around 4-5 years and would regularly go between 170-190lbs, dieting when reaching the upper end of that range. Over the past year however, I became a lot less committed and eventually quit during a period where I was dealing with some personal issues.

That resulted in me putting on around 20-25lbs solely through poor eating. I find the dieting side fairly easy to get back into the swing of and the cardio is just a bonus really so I can eat more and pass the time. 

My goal really is just to get to a weight where I'm happy to look in the mirror again, before getting back to my old weight training routine, but with a solid cardiovascular foundation as well. 

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@WavyDavey wrote: 

As far as joint impact, I tend to have that concern also. I do more cardio on a stationary bike or rower for that reason. But many many people jog and run too, so it's not inherently a problem.

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The stationary bike is a good suggestion actually, I will give that a go when I'm back in the gym next week thanks.

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[WendyB]

Have you lost weight? Calories burned will go down with weight loss.

Also the more fit you get the calories burned  will also go down.

Its all a good thing. It means you are improving!

[Mukluk4]

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@dangotbanned wrote:

Now my question is, are there any risks I'm taking by doing this low intensity jogging, on days where I would previously "rest"?

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Not specific to that, no.  I'm twice your age and 60 lbs heavier.  I lift heavy 3 days a week, interval and pylo training the same day (6-8 hours apart), and normally found on a basketball court at least 4 days a week.  I usually take Saturday as a full rest day (get 7500ish unfocused steps spending time with the family) and back off they heavy cardio activities for a week every other month.  On active days, my goal is to break 3800 calories burned on the fitbit (BMR + Activity)

I wear compression braces on my knees (more habit than anything at this point) and my ankles have never given me problems.  The only injury I've had over the last 3 years was a broken hand taking my dog for a walk.