Walkers in the house!!!!

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kingjamesversionbibleonly

New member
Hey walkers!

Since quarantine I've gotten incredibly lazy. I have a small apartment and I am really bored and restless in my place. To break up the monotony and see actual sunshine, I have started walking. The time/length varies. A few days ago I walked 8 miles. Sometimes I try to jog, but to be honest I really f%$*ing hate jogging.

Question: For those of you who have ONLY added walking to your daily routine, have you noticed any changes? If so, what are they? (weight, composition, mood, etc) How much do I have to walk (daily or weekly) to notice any difference?

Edit: Thanks for all the comments, I am freshly inspired to make a walking habit :D
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly Thank you for this thread. I'm a ~picky workout person and tend to convince myself that walking is bullshit and the only thing that'll get results is high intensity, so this is a nice reminder to the contrary. Might have to start putting walking into my daily routine.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly Walking saved my sanity when I was grieving the loss of my grandfather last summer. I walked at least 2 hours a day in those first couple of months. Sometimes with the dog, sometimes without.

I am always happier as a cardio activity person than otherwise. I actually enjoy running, but walking is restorative to me in ways that running isn't.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly I'm 29 and used to be in shape, now I have a little fluff that I'd like to lose. I started walking for 30 minutes a day since quarantine started, it usually ended up being a little more. Two weeks ago I lost my job and upped that to at least 60 minutes a day. I've been using my fitbit to track my "active minutes". The biggest change for me was my resting heart rate dropped from 72 to 65. It hasn't been that low since I was lifting 5 days a week. In conjunction with walking, for the month of April I tried tracking my calories everyday and just trying to eat less than I burned and I lost 3 lbs. Not earth shattering, but I ate everything I wanted to (lots of cookies I baked) so I never felt deprived. Definitely take up walking, it feels more manageable than forcing yourself to workout at home.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly I love to walk! I average around 10 miles a day right now. I do a lot of pacing around my house when I’m on my phone which helps and I go on one walk outside that’s about an hour long every afternoon to get some sunshine. My family walks our dogs around the neighborhood for about 30 minutes before dinner each night.

I had a fairly active job before the shutdown happened and I got laid off, so I’m used to this level of activity and it’s helping me maintain my fitness level without the gym. I listen to podcasts, talk to people on the phone, and check social media while I’m walking. I’ll also read ebooks on my phone while pacing around the house. I know it’s a little strange, but it works for me! I’ll be excited to get back to running once it’s safe to go to the gym again, but I’m content with my routine for now.

As for changes I’ve noticed, the walking has been really helpful in maintaining my weight (plus I get to eat more!). The mental health benefits are huge - walking gives me a break from my family and lets me shake out my restless energy. I get incredibly irritable when I feel trapped and the best cure for it seems to be tiring myself out, so I’m very committed to getting some activity in each day.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly I've added a 4 mile walk everyday and it feels awesome! Have not been quite as consistent with working out with calisthenics and small dumbbell home gym but losing weight on a caloric deficit these past four weeks. Walking is so good for my mental health too.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly When I quit drinking, walking was my only exercise. I walked for 3-7 miles a day, rain or shine, and listened to podcasts while I walked. I quit drinking at the end of January 2018, so sometimes I even walked when the weather was total shit. But I HAD to do something to take my mind off booze. I ended up losing 20 pounds just walking, although that was over the course of 8 months or so. I highly recommend it! If you love it, do it.
 
@midget Nice, congrats! I've always been hesitant to use headphones for some reason, like I won't be able to pay attention to street sounds, but maybe I am being silly and should just try it out, cause my podcast list is long and I love learning!
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly It can be dangerous; I don't use them when riding my bike, and I have my head on a swivel when I'm crossing the street. But I tend to use side streets and neighborhood greenways a lot, with little car traffic.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly I've been walking six to seven miles a day since quarantine started. I use it to break up my day and listen to some podcasts. I usually have a set route around the neighborhoods around me.

I've also been eating like a monster, so I don't feel like I look noticeably slimmer, but my legs look incredible. There are a lot of hills on my walk.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly Sort of the reverse to your question.
My job involves a lot of walking in hilly areas. I can trudge along for hours, struggle on the uphill bits, but recover really fast. Outside of work I love exploring, tend to follow trails and rights of way.

I'm now very limited in places to go and distance/time. I find myself very fidgety, with energy to burn. I'm slightly concerned I've lost the "going uphill" fitness. I miss getting to the middle of nowhere and watching ravens overhead. I miss being deafened by the wind. There's a lot of mental chatter that only walking gets rid of.

For me, anything under an hour is a stroll. 90 minutes is the longest local walk, and it's all a steady stroll apart from the 300m climb. 2-3 hours is pleasingly tiring but won't wipe me out for the rest of the day.

Urban walking I don't enjoy so much, but still get the exploring aspect. Tend to get more tired in calfs and feet though.

I don't really know how this compares to average; my friends either walk only to the local shop, or do multi-day organised hikes.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly I'm a seasonal walker. When the weather is above 10C, I usually walk for about an hour a day. I love listening to audiobooks as I walk, I can't seem to concentrate on them otherwise.

When I'm in a good daily walking groove, I notice these benefits:
  • Less lower back pain (mine is a chronic annoyance due to years of desk jobs)
  • Better digestion/bowel movements
  • Better lung capacity, deeper breathing (I have mild asthma)
  • Improved mood, more of a calm feeling
  • Better sleep (easier to fall asleep)
  • Walking becomes easier (this is obvious, but my legs just don't get tired or sore when I'm regularly walking)
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly I love walking! Studies have shown that a brisk walk is just as effective as a jog but less impact on your joints.

I have a two part answer- about a year ago I started walking 4 miles a day (little over 1hr) and I noticed after maybe a week my cardio improved and in 2-3 weeks my body “tightened up”. I lost weight but I was also calorie counting so I can’t say how much the walking affected weight. Mentally, it does keep me more accountable so I stick to my calories.

Second part- due to SAH and crazy work I did NOTHING physical for almost a month! I felt like crap. So I started walking my dogs about 3 times a week for maybe 45 mins. Whew! After that first walk my legs were jello and they were sore for two days! (Prior to SAH I went to gym or bootcamp at least 4xweek.)
After my second walk I started to feel just an overall improvement. My body was waking back up! I have always loved walks for my mental health too. Just clears my head and hopefully I see some nature.

Edit- if you want you can walk and stop at some point to do 10 squats. Walk for awhile then stop & do some lunges. Maybe do 30 seconds of jumping jacks before your walk to get your HR up.
 
@armana Yeah!! That's where I'm at. I got super depressed and had a lot of grief and didn't do anything for about a month when SIP started. Prior to that, I loved going to the gym, yoga classes, dance classes, kayaking, or whatever. I used to do workouts at home, but now I don't want to be stuck in my house so long. I'm ready to get moving again!!
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly I walk a fuckton—today was day #895 of my streak of walking over 10k steps every day, and I average about 14k (~11km).

So it's been two and a half years now. My weight honestly hasn't changed (still obese, eating disorders suck :( ) but it's been a miracle in other ways—I've got a lot of endurance and it keeps my diabetes under control with no meds. It's also something I can always remind myself of when I feel down, because it's frankly incredibly fucking impressive to have done something for at least an hour and a half every day for two and a half years straight.
 
@kingjamesversionbibleonly I'm very fortunate to have some outdoor space but funny enough, I've just been walking in my house since the lockdown! I live in a red state, unfortunately, and our orders here are much more lax, but I'm not :)

I was mostly a gym-goer before the lockdown, but I've really enjoyed my daily morning walks. I've committed to getting my 10,000 steps in every day as a baseline, and if I'm feeling mentally up to it, I've been doing some strength at home, too.

The way I split up my walk is, I get up and walk for about an hour around my house before my workday starts. I can listen to a podcast, watch youtube on my phone as I make loops around the house, and that gets me my first 6,500 steps or so. After that, I get up on the hour every hour to walk for 2-5 minutes, just depending on my workload. I always meet my steps by the end of my day, and then some! Getting that chunk out of the way in the morning I've found is a great way to dedicate an hour to me time, but not feel like I have to get my 10,000 steps in one go. Definitely break it up into 10-minute sessions or so--especially if you only have a small space to walk. You'll be super surprised to see you can get your steps quite easily :)

As far as impact--really glad I'm walking. I've lost a pound or two (not really trying to lose weight, just want to be active and healthy) and I'm sure it's due to my walking diligence. I do count calories as well, but yeah, the walking is great for some low-intensity cardio, mental headspace, and it seems to help me set the "tone" for my day. I'm much more likely to eat better and keep getting up to get my steps in if I've gotten my daily walk in.

Cheers to all you walkers getting it done!
 
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