Yesterday, I

[Caitlynn]

Walked a bit over 4 miles in my journey to and back from the store. I've never been "fit" or very "active/in shape" but I noticed that I wasn't really that tired. Granted, my feet hurt a bit, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle, and they feel fine now. My legs didn't hurt, and I really thought they would when I walked up the hill twice. It actually wasn't difficult at all. And I got over 10,000 steps in! Which was surpassing my daily step goal.

However this isn't something I have gradually started doing. I kind of just went all in and did the long walk. I haven't walked in a while, and I'm just starting with fitbit, this is actually my first post, and I want to start exercising now. I have never really exercised before, or been a walker. I'm wondering if this could be unhealthy or strenuous for me/my body? And maybe I should take shorter walks and then start going for longer? But then I'm also thinking, why fix something that isn't broken, because I really wasn't in any pain. Thanks for your suggestions and comments !

[bcalvanese]

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@Caitlynn wrote:

Walked a bit over 4 miles in my journey to and back from the store. I've never been "fit" or very "active/in shape" but I noticed that I wasn't really that tired. Granted, my feet hurt a bit, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle, and they feel fine now. My legs didn't hurt, and I really thought they would when I walked up the hill twice. It actually wasn't difficult at all. And I got over 10,000 steps in! Which was surpassing my daily step goal.

However this isn't something I have gradually started doing. I kind of just went all in and did the long walk. I haven't walked in a while, and I'm just starting with fitbit, this is actually my first post, and I want to start exercising now. I have never really exercised before, or been a walker. I'm wondering if this could be unhealthy or strenuous for me/my body? And maybe I should take shorter walks and then start going for longer? But then I'm also thinking, why fix something that isn't broken, because I really wasn't in any pain. Thanks for your suggestions and comments !

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Welcome and good job on getting moving. You are doing a lot better than I did when I started. I could barely walk a mile a a slow pace before having to go lay down.

I would say keep doing what you are comfortable with and gradually build up to what your goals are.

[USAF-Larry]

Welcome, @Caitlynn, glad to see you here!  Slow and steady is the best approach to fitness, to develop something you can do long term.  After my spine surgery last year, the doctor wanted me to get out an walk, and work up to 5 miles a day.  When I started, I was still using a cane and could barely make a half mile out and back to the house. But, each day I got a little stronger and added a few more steps. Wasn't long before I was doing 5 miles, and now a year later I do 7 to 10 miles a day plus working out on the elliptical 3 or 4 days a week.  Keep on keeping on!

[Caitlynn]

That's great! Very admirable. Hopefully I can work my way up to that without any injuries haha

[emili]

Hey @Caitlynn welcome to the forums. Walking at a normal pace is low impact activity which is why your body handled it just fine. And will continue to be just fine. If you start to feel achy or tired, then you may want to decrease or rest a day, but if you are feeling good- keep going. If you decide to introduce other activity into your day, weights, running, elliptical, etc- you want to pay close attention to how you are feeling, more importantly your aches. Normal muscle pain is expected. Joint, knee, hip not so much. Its awesome that you are moving!

[WendyB]

I agree if you feel fine keep with it. I would add some weight training to your routine as well.

[Caitlynn]

What is weight training for?

[Dominique]

When performed in a caloric deficit, weight training is for minimizing loss of lean tissue (muscle), i.e. making sure most of your weight loss comes from fat (so as not to end up "skinny fat"). If you’re completely new to resistance training, you may be able to add some muscle while losing weight, although it’s hard in a caloric deficit and also harder for women (and older guys). Women are often worried lifting weights (especially heavier ones) will make them "bulky": don’t worry, there’s 0% chance you’ll end up as a feminine Arnold. If your goal is to be "toned", avoid "bingo wings" etc., then weight training is for you. 

[GershonSurge]

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@Caitlynn wrote:

What is weight training for?

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This is a great question, and the answer hasn't been widely known until the last 20 or 30 years. The short answer seems to be "If you don't use it, you lose it." 

First of all, we don't have to "weight train." We can do lots of work that requires using our muscles. The equivalent of house cleaning and yard work two or three hours a day will work. 

If people don't get resistance exercise, their muscles start to weaken as they get older - say in the 50's and 60's, and soon they find they aren't able to lift a bag of groceries out of their trunk without slipping a disk. They have difficulty doing things like pulling a bag of trash out of the trash can.

Often people lose flexiblity and can't reach for objects on high shelves. Or they might shovel snow one day and pull some muscle. 

Once a person starts to lose strength, it seems to accelerate without positive steps to maintain it. They can usually at least regain functional strength - meaning enough to accomplish day to day activities.

In my opinion, the big danger is when an overweight person breaks or otherwise damages an ankle. They may find they don't have enough strength to use crutches or a cane. Often, they never recover to full function.

In my limited experience, I've discovered most aches and pains can be gradually elimnated through resistance training. All it takes frequent full body workouts and some knowledge of the muscles. The workouts don't have to be done with heavy weights. The reason I say full body is many problems are caused by a weakness or imbalances in a distant muscle group. 

[Dominique]

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@GershonSurge wrote:

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 First of all, we don't have to "weight train." We can do lots of work that requires using our muscles. The equivalent of house cleaning and yard work two or three hours a day will work.  

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I agree resistance training (which would be the generic term for "weight training") doesn’t have to include weights such as dumbbells or free weights added to a barbell: you can use your the resistance provided by your own body, for instance.

However, the activities you mention (house cleaning, yard work) would be better described as NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) than as resistance training IMO. They will let you expend energy just like formal physical activity, keep you fit (fitter than if you were spending the same time sitting in front of the TV or your computer), but they won’t really provide the stimulus necessary for building muscle. You could of course scrub your floor twice a week instead of once, or do it with added intensity over time, but typically you would keep doing the same things with the same intensity and frequency: in other words, your training wouldn’t include progressive overload, which is the basis of resistance training.

[GershonSurge]

@Dominique,

I agree the activities I mentioned would be considered NEAT. When I was young in the 50's, most people did lots of NEAT, so they didn't need resistance training. 

The original question was "What is weight training for?" 

At 12 years old, a kid doesn't want sand kicked in their face at the beach, so they sent away for the pamplet from the "98 pound weakling" program by Charles Atlas. In other words, they were trying to avoid pain from being bullied.

Jack LaLanne was a weakling when he was young. He started working out so he could go to "Muscle Beach" to show off for the women. The updated version would be men and women showing off to attract the type of person they want.

The third major motivation is to get food. I don't have an example of that.

There is another pertinent reason I learned from my 68-year old sister who is a retired pathologist. She works out every other day with a 25 pound dumbbells. Her motivation is to be able to carry the boat to the lake, but the real reason is to stimulate bone reconstruction.

Flexion or impact stimulates osteoclasts that take out bits and pieces from microfractures that are always occurring. They also stimulate osteoblasts that secrete bone matrix and the proteins that build the bones. Without the flexion or impact, the calcium forms bones that are like chalk. They look great on x-rays, but break easily.