To think that just walking for exercise isn’t enough to keep fit?

[Notjustanymum]

Just that, really! I’m somewhere North of 45 years old, and started walking last year before the pandemic hit. I walk twice a day (with dog) for about an hour each time.
While I’ve noticed that I pick my feet up better when walking now, I still struggle with uphill and stairs and have lots of trouble with foot and shoulder pain. I didn’t go to the gym before (or not for over 10 years, anyway).
What do you do to keep fit/keep aches and pains away? Should I be doing something else?

Before I started driving walking was definitely the easiest way for me to stay in the right weight bracket and stay toned. I used some ankle weights to add to the workout as I used to call it. ( Walk, stretches, cool down)
For aches and pain you could also try a magnesium supplement as well as some basic beginner's yoga.

Skipping rope - really. Good for bones and really really gets you out of breath.
We also bought a cross trainer for house when had first child and have never looked back. Did the mandatory non use thing and used it to hang laundry on for year or two but now is in constant use. Stick ipad or book on the screen and do 20-30 mins daily on it.

Something I have tried that helped me with stairs, is virtually every time I went up the stairs at home I'd go up two at a time. It's quite a fun challenge to do, and will improve things a little. I'm not saying it'll make you super fit or anything! But it won't take any time at all, as you'd be going up anyway, and it will make them easier over time.

Please take care OP with YouTube as there is a lot of bad instruction out there, especially with anything HIIT focused (which is pretty much bloody everything) as it's so fast with no care taken over technique and form instruction.

I was recommended Yoga with Adriene and also Jessica Smith on here and found both to be very good and both offer lots for beginners, low impact, poorly knees etc.

I would also add vitamin D3 into the list of things to do. Will support your bone strength and also you immune system.

(I would also add vitamin K, magnesium and a good quality B complex but D3 is the most important)

I think it depends on how fast you walk and terrain. I do coastal walking and have for the last couple of years and doing the hills has improved my fitness levels. I also walk fast enough to raise my cardio levels. Many friends of my age 60 just amble which does nothing except maybe keep you mobile. I also normally do a cardio class and swim although I can't do that at the moment

Download the active 10 app- it records how many sessions of 10 mins of brisk walking you do in a day. Most people don’t think walk as briskly as they think they do. It’s the speed of the walking that makes a difference to your fitness over time.

I started exercising at 46. Arthritis in my knees and a hatred of PE at school had left me very unhealthy. I started with Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I work out every day, plus walking on my office commute when allowed. It’s taken 5 years to get to a point where I can do lunges. Start with good form squats to build leg strength. I’ve gone from not being able to walk downstairs or run for more than 15 seconds to being fit and strong.l can run 10k and love running up hills. My favourite you tuber is Caroline Girvan but she may be a bit much for a beginner.

Walking is brilliant exercise as long as you keep a brisk pace. Definitely would recommend some sort of stretching (yoga, Pilates) a couple of times a week to keep your joints supple too. There are loads of free lessons on YouTube to do at home. xxx

I think people who go out for a walk and take an hour to go half a mile won’t really get any benefit from this form of exercise. I for one would much rather be in the gym but hey ho, that’s a distant memory now and walking is what we all do...

I aim for 5km in under 40 mins with a few hills thrown in and then I can tell I’ve done something. This plus 3-4 HIITs a week and additional arm exercises and I don’t feel too lazy (but my God, I’m having to watch what I eat now I’m stuck WFH… )

I was relying on walking alone for a while as I was recovering from ME flare ups and it definitely did help make me fitter. I know I feel mentally much better though if I do some proper aerobic exercise. It relieves stress in a way walking doesn’t. I only do it in very short bursts though - YouTube videos of 10-15min, a bit of some fitness games on switch (boxing etc), that’s all I can manage due to health stuff but it makes such a huge difference and I know I do better with lots of short bursts rather than an hour workout, personally. Loved aqua fit when gym was open too!

It is enough if you do it vigorously and for long enough. You have to push the boundaries and be prepared to walk up and down places. I became very fit some years ago doing just that. I could do with the same now!

Dancing is good too. I used to dance to a particular CD at home (on my own), sometimes doing my own version of ballet!

@FlyingByTheSeatof

Walking is more than enough just dont eat too much.

You are confusing weight with fitness here!

It depends on what you mean by fit. I am 51 and I go running 5 or 10K, do weight training, HIIT, other classes and yoga every week. I don't consider myself fit, but I am on my way to getting there. I walk my dog most days and this is definitely not part of my fitness routine.

I’m 66 and walk or hike around 7 miles every day if I can but a minimum of 5 times a week.
I’m not as fast as I used to be but I can tackle pretty much anything and I’m fit for my age.
I accept that many would not have the time or inclination to dedicate that much time but for me it’s ‘getting out of the house’ aka ‘away from the husband’ 😉
If you don’t do much then even doing a little will help, walking is what your body is built to do 😊

I've got decent walking boots and it makes such a difference.

Depends what you are aiming for - I think at your/our age we need to include some weights to keep up muscle mass, something to increase flexibility, something to raise heartrate. Hopefully walking can do some of those.

Yoga is great for strength. I'm 33 and I alternate yoga and hiit (only reason I do hiit is that I find exercise boring and would rather suffer for 20mins than be bored for 60). I started it because I'm hypermobile and wanted to improve my back pain, but I'm really surprised how much strength I gained just from using my own bodyweight, not lifting anything. I can plank and headstand now, which I never thought my arms would be strong enough for. I use Cat Meffan on YouTube because she's quite matter of fact - I find some of the American tutorials a bit 'woo' for my taste, but its personal preference.

You definitely need strength training too.

Pilates - many local teachers have gone online, and there are nationwide on-line only classes (recorded and live) that you can sign up to for a relatively small fee, e.g. Your Pilates Physio.

Yoga - Yoga with Adriene is a favourite with many people, and is on Youtube. Esther Ekhart is also good and has some free videos on YT as well as paid for content.

Get some small hand and leg weights (500g / 1kg / 1.5kg - available Amazon and many other retailers) or even just a tin of chopped tomatoes, and do some online arm and leg exercises. If you google 'weights for seniors' or similar, you'll find some gentle classes to start you off and hopefully then can progress to something more.

Don't just accept the aches and pains - if you can have at least one/maybe a few physio sessions.
I had a dreadfully weak ankle and they really helped and gave me exercises to use to strengthen it and which I can use now whenever there is a problem.

If you want walking to be more of an all body workout you could look at Nordic Walking - although I'm not sure how compatible that is with dog walking. With dog walking you also have to be sure you are maximising the exercise not just the dog.

Also symptoms like breathlessness going up hill should also be investigated by your GP. I spent years beating myself up for "being unfit" when in fact I was anaemic.

I agree with you but in terms of stamina etc - I walk approx 19km every month, sometimes 2-3 times a month (depending on what I'm doing etc) and have been told I'm very fit to do that.

I also walk twice around my park which is approx 1 mile all around but at a good pace e.g. not slow. But I have walked with friends, relatives etc who walk at a much slower pace which isn't really me.

I do tend to factor in hills or steep areas though only to ensure my legs/thighs/bum area get the relevant work out - when I used to commute my local station was up down two steep hills and walking up and down those twice a day definitely keeps you fit.

I will hit 45 this year - as I've got back to fitness after a 3 year break (injury related) what I noticed most was that I had lost a huge amount of flexibility and strength. Just building that back up again (and it takes flipping ages now we're older) has made a massive difference to aches and pains that I accumulated at the beginning.

Walking is good but I found that without reasonable core strength that my lower back started to hurt. My destroyed by netball ankle only doesn't hurt if I make sure to stretch my calf muscles properly, that by building up some muscle in my bum that I rely less on my creaky knees to keep me up.

It has made me realise that I cannot really afford to be completely lazy ever again, certainly not for 3 years!

I just looked up that I need to walk for an hour to work off the buttery bap at lunchtime

It's not enough. It's touted as best because it's easy and the majority of people can already do it with no training or equipment.

But for upper body and core strength, I think you need to add bodyweight exercises like plank, push ups, sit ups etc, and for suppleness, yoga really helps prevent the stiffness of ageing and sedentary life styles from taking hold.

I do bootcamps, walking and yoga in lockdown.

I’ve been walking between 10-15 km at a very brisk pace (takes about 70-90 minutes), enough to come back drenched in sweat, while the gym has been closed and although it has maintained the MH benefits and kept me alert, it hasn’t given me anywhere the benefits to my body of my gym cardio and weightlifting sessions. I also developed painful glutes, lower back and knees due to the impact of hitting the concrete which I never using the cross trainer at the gym! I wasn’t bothering doing any weightlifting and my body felt more sluggish and less flexible.

I’ve got a cross trainer (best piece of all round kit you can have IMO) now as well as an assortment of weights and an ab cruncher and feeling much better so no, walking doesn’t cut it for me.