Golly but today was physically a rough day for me. I went for my quarter mile walk and it hurt. By mid-way my left thigh was burning and so was my right calf. By burning, I mean I could feel the muscle burn with exertion. Of course, I was half-way so there was no turning back or saying I quit. What was I gonna do? Sit down right there in the middle of the road?
Onward I went, telling myself I could do it. When I hit the home stretch I had a pain in my hips and in my back. I don't know if it was caused by the walk or something else but by the time I got back home I was really hurting. I was almost in tears and Tim was doing his best to encourage me.
I sat down on the steps and started taking some deep breaths. Of course, the pain in the legs stopped almost immediately because I was no longer walking. The pain in my back also stopped soon after I sat down. I caught my breath and pulled the pedometer out of my pocket.
I looked down to make sure the approx 1000 steps that make up that walk were registered. They were there. But something else that has never happened was also there. The pedometer registered 858 aerobic steps in ten minutes. What? Maybe that's why the muscles were burning; I was obviously pushing myself and it made my body work harder and I was burning more calories for those ten minutes. Woo hoo! Now I'm smiling and poor Tim is trying to figure out how I went from tears to smiles in such a short time.
That walk also made me wonder something, though. How do I know when I've pushed myself too hard? Obviously, I'm going to feel some pain in moving more and more. I expect that and I will push through it. But how do I know when I've done too much? Anyone have any ideas on how to judge when you've pushed too hard? I really do wonder about this as I push myself a bit more.
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8 comments:
Karon - If I remember correctly, burn means you are building lactic acid in your muscles because you have gone into anaerobic exercise. This also means you have switched from burning stored fat to burning muscle. Short periods of burning anaerobically is ok as long as you then slow down and let body go back to burning fat. Alternating between anaerobic and aerobic activity is actually good to help you become toned. You need to slow down and be sure to drink lots of water while walking. You will know if you are in the proper aerobic range for you if you can still talk or sing while moving. Be sure to slow down and take nice deep breaths too! Keep up the great work, you walking machine!
You are so incredible! I think there may be some way to check your heart rate while you are walking. Taking your pulse on your neck or wrist. I just don't know what number you are looking for. I know you count the beats for 10 seconds. Maybe you can find some info on this on the web somewhere. It has something to do with your weight I think. Boy, I'm so helpful, aren't I???
Anyway....KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!
Jeanne
Karon I agree with the other two. You are doing fantastic!! You are training your body to do what you want it to do. Be careful, tho. Need to find out what your heart rate is and ashould be, without going overboard. Surely there is something on the internet somewhere. It goes according to your age and weight. You want to get it up there (whatever your rate should be) and then keep it there for 5-10 minutes..(again this needs to be monitored.) But you are doing well!! Also, look at all the exercise you did yesterday..that could be the reason you went into aerobic status so quickly today, and was feeling the burning. Keep up the great work!!
Karon, every time I read a post I'm amazed at how you're continually making progress and improving on the day or week before. I'm inspired by it. Amazing!
I don't know if you already do this, but you may want to consider doing some mild stretching before and after walking. That makes a big difference in my body performance when I'm walking or working out. I know the burn you're talking about but have never really researched the truth about it. Is it possible to talk to your doc??? What's been said about making sure you're breathing and able to talk and your heart rate are all true, but it would be nice to get a medical opinion. They should be able to talk to you over the phone about it.
Blessings,
Diane
General rule of thumb start slow and maintain and then increase your exersise with time. With your weight and ailments you really need to speak to your Dr.on what is best for you and not rely on what others who may be half your weight say. Good luck with exersise.
Nancy
here's an original quote...
NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!
Girl...you are awesome!! Keep it up!!
Sue
Michelle...I'll definitely be checking into the info you shared. I don't want to be burning muscle and not fat. I just figured the burn was a good thing. I've heard them say on "The Biggest Loser" to feel the burn, so I figured it was a good thing. I was able to talk, but was just a little breathless. Shoot, who am I kidding? Just walking a short distance can leave me breathless sometimes! It's getting better, though.
Jeanne...I am honored with all you have going on that you find the time to stop over and give me encouragement. I don't even know if I can take my pulse while I'm walking. Sometimes I have problems doing that when I'm siting still! I need to check into something that will monitor the heart rate for me.
Rhonda...Thanks for the feedback. It is really starting to sound like I need to find some gadget that will monitor my heart rate and then figure out what the optimal rate would be and go with it. Until I get that all figured out, I promise to be very careful.
Diane...I do minimal stretching before I walk. I probably should be doing more. Thanks for the reminder. When I get back, it's just about all I can do to collapse on the steps to catch my breath before climbing up them and into the house. Only five steps total, but when I'm winded it may as well be 20!
I'll ask the doctor about optimal heart rates and what I should be doing when I see him next week. Scheduled follow-up appt for Thursday so I'll let you all know what he says.
Nancy...All the doctor really said was I need to be more active and increase my exercise. My fault that I didn't ask exactly what he meant. Walking seems to be the best exercise for me so I'll double check and see if he thinks I should be doing something else.
Sue...That is EXACTLY what my husband said! My reply to him was "Gee, thanks honey!" I'm gonna continue until I find out I should be doing otherwise.
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