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Post Surgery Walking

WazzuCoug

WazzuCoug

Member
I feel like I need to share an accomplishment with a group that understands where I'm coming from. Yesterday, I walked 8.6 miles and kept at a 3 mph pace the entire distance! It was a big deal for me and I'm sure the farthest I've walked in 16 or more years. I've been walking 2 to 3 miles per day, but on Saturdays, I take it to 3-4, and on Sundays, I try to go for a longer walk.

I was pretty beat the rest of the day after the walk, but I felt so damn good accomplishing that. I don't think I'll do the same this next weekend, I'll probably keep it to 6 or under, but in a couple of weeks, I'll go for a new record.

I'm really getting to enjoy the walks, and I really think it has added a motivational element that I haven't had for some time. In about another week or so I plan to start a 9 week fitness challenge, nothing too intense, I know I'm not ready for really crushing it, but I'm going to have a plan to see where I am across a number of exercises in a certain amount of time, and then follow a regimin over 9 weeks and see how far I advance in time/pace/count after 9 weeks. I thought it would be good to have something to shoot for. I'll document it on my YouTube Channel.
 
SunnyD said:
I am so glad you sound like you’re having fun. During Covid I’ve been finding walking to be my savior. I’ve gotten a lot of confidence over my improvement in time and distance since March.
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That's awesome, I'm glad that it has been treating you well too. I'm really in love with it right now.

It helps that the weather is nice, but I've got rain gear for the winter (it rarely snows where I live) and I don't have any plans to slow down due to weather changes. In the past - pre surgery - whenever I tried starting a fitness journey, I always started running too soon. This time, I plan on losing at least 2/3 of my weight before I try running, and even then it will be a very slow start. I'm more interested in building up my hiking endurance anyway and will probably start adding some light backpacks to some of my walks and gradually make it heavier over time.
 
I worked up to run/walk intervals 2x a week as the weight came off. Some long and slow intervals and some short and fast. The variety keeps me out moving for at least an hour and then I go home and stretch. I get snow where I am for six months and I’m fine moving outside until the temps drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, then I move myself indoors, which is most of December through February. It got to -40 for a solid week in 2019 — that was challenging for even the most hardcore northerners. ;)
 
I absolutely love Nordic skiing. My skis and poles were stolen I, along with my Nissan Pathfinder, several years ago. There was money laying around in the back, change from vending machines I had emptied as part of my job, but they stole the skis. I got the car back. But I have never been able to budget a new pair of XC skis into my life, and I don't live very close to snow anymore.

Thank God for my Nordictrack. I am really lucky to have one of the old originals and it is wonderful exercise. It's a bit to fit in your living room though.
 
This morning I pushed myself to break my pace record. Five and a half weeks ago it probably took me 20 minutes to walk less than half a mile. This morning I walked 3 miles at an average pace of 16:40 per mile. My first mile was 17:48, the last two miles were 16:12 and 16:13 respectively. It felt like a great milestone for me. It was definitely the fastest I've walked in well over a decade, and to sustain it for 3 miles was pretty cool. I'm a far cry from running 3 miles in 20 minutes like I could do in my early 20s, but I'm very happy with the progress.
 
I can’t wait to my post operative checkup on 10-05-2020. Either the same day or the next day, I will begin walking. Should I start with a 1/2 mile for the first 2 days then advanced to a mile ever 2-3 days? Trying to build stamina and energy to adva to a personal trainer.
 
Shawna0530 said:
I can’t wait to my post operative checkup on 10-05-2020. Either the same day or the next day, I will begin walking. Should I start with a 1/2 mile for the first 2 days then advanced to a mile ever 2-3 days? Trying to build stamina and energy to adva to a personal trainer.
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I would recommend walking for time at first and not distance. Start out at 15-20 minutes at least every other day, if not every day at a fairly casual pace, where you can talk easily while you walk. Add five minutes the next week, and then the next week to get up to 30 minutes. Stick with 30 minutes for a couple weeks (up to 7 days a week, if you wish). Then, after that, start picking up the pace. Try to start pushing yourself to walk faster for the 30 minutes, but you should still be able to hold a conversation. Once you can walk at a pace lower than 20 min per mile, start extending the distance out as far as you wish. I generally still walk a minimum of 2 miles a day and do a 5k (3.1 miles) frequently. One day a week I walk 4 to 8 miles, usually on a weekend day.

It's important to take it slow and get your joints used to it. Injuring yourself by pushing too hard at the beginning will just set you back, so don't try to do too much too quickly.

Before you get started, I would talk with a physical therapist about a recommended plan. They may recommend something different from what I did.

Above all else, protect your joints!! Continued low intensity movement is considerably better than no movement due to injury.
 
WazzuCoug said:
I would recommend walking for time at first and not distance. Start out at 15-20 minutes at least every other day, if not every day at a fairly casual pace, where you can talk easily while you walk. Add five minutes the next week, and then the next week to get up to 30 minutes. Stick with 30 minutes for a couple weeks (up to 7 days a week, if you wish). Then, after that, start picking up the pace. Try to start pushing yourself to walk faster for the 30 minutes, but you should still be able to hold a conversation. Once you can walk at a pace lower than 20 min per mile, start extending the distance out as far as you wish. I generally still walk a minimum of 2 miles a day and do a 5k (3.1 miles) frequently. One day a week I walk 4 to 8 miles, usually on a weekend day.

It's important to take it slow and get your joints used to it. Injuring yourself by pushing too hard at the beginning will just set you back, so don't try to do too much too quickly.

Before you get started, I would talk with a physical therapist about a recommended plan. They may recommend something different from what I did.

Above all else, protect your joints!! Continued low intensity movement is considerably better than no movement due to injury.
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Thank you!!!
 
I do a little over a mile, maybe a mile and a half almost daily just starting last week. Its a loop and one side of the loop is hills and the other side is flat. Some times I walk it with my family so I go a bit slower but other times when its just me and my put it takes me about 25 mins. I am not at a point of upping it yet, but my nutritionist seemed happy with this so far. I have missed two days so far due to time constraints with my job/body aches. I work late nights Wed so its often hard to get out before its dark with having to take care of my kids and even though I live in town we have very little street lights. I try to go during the day if I can catch a break between clients. My plan is to add on a block when I feel like i am comfortably walking the distance I am
 
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