Should I start with simple walking and then get to more intensive training?

Hey guys. Before you reply, please read my 'new-member' thread which contains my little story and then I'd appreciate a lot of you answered my questions

1. Should I begin with walking? Yes or No and why.
2. How intensive should walking or your proposed training method be?
3. Should I get supplements or just eat healthy food, mostly fruits & vegetables? Yes or No and why.
4. How much weight can/should I approximately lose based your set of answers?

Thank you very much in advance.

 

I read the story and I think you should now that weight is not the same as fat. I gained 15 kg in several months and I was not fat at all. It is always advisable to start slow but you can mix some walking and light jogging and the best way is actually to change rhythm whyle running. It is more effective than just walking and it requires less stamina. The term is fartlek (google it). You should just mix walking with jogging and some sprints.
Gym is another great thing for you. The fastest way to make "fat into muscles".

 

If you've been away from exercise for some time, I think walking is an ideal way to get started again. Not only does it get you back into shape in a relatively safe-from-injury activity, it has great benefits in reducing stress and anxiety. You might try something like a Couch to 5k program to start jogging again once you have gotten a walking habit going. I definitely also recommend some form of weight lifting or body weight training to build strength and muscles also.

 

Thank you for your input djordjem87. I am glad that you agree with me on walking. I personally had a very bad experience with gym, though. Not only financial but also physical so I would rather simply walking/jogging/cycling in the nature than exercise within 4 walls.

 

Hey Lynk. Thank you for your message. Yes, I guess walking is the best way to get started. Could you please advice me on what 'Couch to 5k program' is?

 

Sure thing! It's a program to get you gradually from going on daily walks to being able to run 5km. There are a few app versions of it that will guide you on a smartphone with audio cues when to walk and when to jog. I think if you search there are manual ways you can do with just a timer also, but I'm not sure, I did it with an app. Basically you start out walking for about half an hour, and each time you go out, add a little bit of jogging in until you are able to run the whole 5k. I know a lot of people who were able to start running (or start again) with this, including me!

 

1. Should I begin with walking? Yes or No and why.

Yes, you should do whatever you can, it is always better than nothing, even if you can only walk at a normal pace.

2. How intensive should walking or your proposed training method be?

Depends on your age, you need to increase your heart beats to a certain BPM for more than half an hour. Subtract your age from 220, say you are 20 years old. That gives you 200, you should be increasing you heart beats to about 60 to 70% of that, say, 130. If you don't have one of those fancy gadgets that measure your BPM simply walk fast enough that you feel your heart beat increasing but slow enough so you can maintain a normal conversation. If you can't talk you are going in too strong. Don't pause and simply walk. If you can do it uphill much better.

3. Should I get supplements or just eat healthy food, mostly fruits & vegetables? Yes or No and why.

Eat healthy food, most fat burning supplements don't work. Drink green tea and lots of water. Eat more vegetables. Do several small meals as opposed to 2 or 3 big meals. Do your cardio on an empty stomach if you are not going to lift weights. Pay attention to what you drink! If you have a soda with a salad you are wasting your time! Don't drink any sugar. Reduce your sodium consumption.

4. How much weight can/should I approximately lose based your set of answers?

Depends. You will need to be at a small caloric deficit to lose weight, that means that you have to eat less or exercise more, or both, it's up to you. Don't worry much about that, if you start walking every day and eating healthy you will see results!

 

@Lynk Thank you very much on elaborating. I will definitely take a look at it and I hope I turn from 'couch potato' to 'street runner'

@fcuco Thanks for your input. Especially the answer you provided to me on the 3rd question gave me a deeper insight.

 

The best method to start is gentle walking exercises. One should start with 15 and 30 min walks in the morning followed by early morning jogs which should start with leg exercises and warm ups. With time, you'll find that you gradually gain endurance for longer distance sprints. Make it a habit to have intervals

 

Yeah I already started doing about 30 minutes of walk and 5-10 minutes of jogging. It really works out for me. I started feeling much more better while exercising.