Author Topic: Walking is good for us , I think most would agree , but ..  (Read 2551 times)

BuzyG

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There are a whole host of reasons why I walk.  Because I can, is the obvious one. O0

I have been fortunate to cycle and surf all across this fine planet of ours in former years.  I can't surf any more and going back to cycling I just know I would not get the pleasure from it I did once, due to the traffic on the roads.

Some walks are merely training for other planed activities.  The Dartmoor marathon being the main one. Fortunately/unfortunately I am one of those people who love simply training hard.

Some walks are to get away from the world and clear my head of work.

Some walks are to enjoy a day with others.

Every walk I am aware of what is around me even at full tilt, I always have a camera device with me and almost always stop and take pictures of interesting things and animals that I come across, even when racing.  Let's face it I'm never going to win any speed endurance prizes, so I may as well stop and take in every experience I can.

The list of places to walk, things to climb and the knowledge I still need to acquire is long though and time never waits. ;)

When I was young I climbed and walked and was free.  Now I'm approaching retirement I am experiencing that all over again and it is a wonderful thing.  Thank you walking for reminding me.

forgotmyoldpassword

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This year, I've walked more than ever, because of the use it or lose it principle.  I've been putting on weight, and I decided I didn't want to be limited by my fitness and weight as I get older.
I've lost a little weight,  and I'm a little bit fitter but I am having regular aches and pains in the muscles/bones of my left foot.  It may be this which slows me down in the future.
I don't get deflated at any point after a walk, I only get down if I think I'm not gonna get out again for ages.
As for walking itself, I've been out this morning, just 3 1/2 miles.  Took me over 2 hours cos I kept stopping to check out butterflies, creepy crawlies, plants and flowers, birds, anything.
I love being outside.  I love the views, the hills, the openness, and I love finding out and learning about the massive variety of wildlife and plants that we have.
I hope I can still get out when I'm 75 and beyond. 🤞
 


Great to hear.  I don't want to 'tell anyone' anything, but as a personal anecdote going to a chiropodist and getting a gait analysis really helped reduce my foot paint and allowed me to buy better shoes which support in the right places.  If you have some space cash, some also do custom inserts (you can move them between shoes) which massively help with reducing foot fatigue and the resulting aches and pains. 


Understand this is a bit of a luxury, but to my mind investing in your long term health and reducing those minor injuries which sometimes develop to larger ones is well worth it.

Toxicbunny

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I walk to get away from it all and I love the solitude and wildlife. I have company in my dogs as I do walk alone sometimes. Sometimes I can walk for miles and not see anyone. At the moment I have the joys of a dodgy knee so have not been up on the moors for a week. I dont set goals or times. I do a walk as there's something I want to see on route.  I love being outside all weathers except the heat .

vghikers

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I`m just curious what feels best for others & if their moods change during the following few days after a walk.
...
The heat especially of late , has more than likely had a big influence on how I feel physically after a walk of 12 mile or more.
It might depend on your situation.
For instance if you are working, particularly in an uninspiring job, you might boil it down to a binary choice: being at work or being out on the hills and trails. Shortly after a good satisfying walk you're back at the daily grind and likely to bottom out on the mood curve.
We are retired and have other interests as well, no daily grind to lower the mood. A good backpack, even a short one as they all need to be these days, does elevate the spirit for quite a long time afterwards.
The recent heat is a big negative, after my 15-mile walk to a hospital appointment last week in 29ºC, parts of which were quite enjoyable, I was unusually glad to arrive back home.

We still enjoy mountainous walks enormously, they are just a lot shorter and take longer now. We learned years ago the great value of pottering about at a slow pace exploring unknown pockets in the mountain areas.
It's still satisfying to do long daily distances on a non-strenuous trail backpack, last year I comfortably covered 27 miles in a day on Hadrian's Wall trail, but I started very early and finished late, walking at a quite relaxed pace.

All these types of walking, pottering or challenging, have their place, just pick the style that suits your mojo at the time.

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That's one of the reasons why I run each day.

Evidently quite a few seniors do running, but it really surprises me due to the tremendous impacts and pounding on the old joints. Maybe I'm overly cautious but I wouldn't run even for a very short distance, the risk is far too great and I'd be grounded for weeks or months if I damaged anything.

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My worst memory was walking in the Pyrenees and not seeing one human being for 4 days! That was really depressing.

Bliss!.  ;D



WhitstableDave

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...
Evidently quite a few seniors do running, but it really surprises me due to the tremendous impacts and pounding on the old joints. Maybe I'm overly cautious but I wouldn't run even for a very short distance, the risk is far too great and I'd be grounded for weeks or months if I damaged anything.
...

I'm a 'senior' who has recently and carefully started to add some periods of running to my walks and naturally I've done some reading about whether running can be harmful to joints - and knees in particular. It's a complicated subject and to a large extent the answer depends on an individual's fitness, health, weight, pre-existing conditions, and so on. While running may be bad for some, it can benefit others and actually help prevent the very conditions that some claim running is likely to cause.

Generalisations are rarely helpful.
Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

vghikers

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Generalisations are rarely helpful.

There was no generalisation there, I gave my perception of it, the fact that it surprised me and that I wouldn't do it. I'm even careful when stepping off a stile these days!.
I hoped to invite informative comments, of which yours was one - thank you, interesting.  :)

WhitstableDave

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There was no generalisation there, I gave my perception of it, the fact that it surprised me and that I wouldn't do it. I'm even careful when stepping off a stile these days!.
I hoped to invite informative comments, of which yours was one - thank you, interesting.  :)

You're most welcome.  :)

I took your comment, "...the tremendous impacts and pounding on the old joints" as a generalisation.

Perhaps you should have said: "...my old joints" (meaning yours)?

Also, the degree of impact depends on many factors - including a person's weight. Therefore, "tremendous impacts" and "pounding" might apply well to some physiques, while less dramatic terms might apply better to others.  ;)

Walk, Jog, Run : our YouTube video channel.

GnP

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There are some wonderful insights into others mindsets . It still surprises me how different at times , we perceive our walking , what we gain from it and how it fits into our lives .
One thing I have learned is that circumstances will always change and walking is no different . I`ve learned to get what I can , when I can from my walking .  :)


It was confirmed for me the other day in the heat , that like beer , there are no bad walks just some are better than others and every day is different . (sorry about the metaphor and if you don`t like beer. ) .  :)


This time last year , I had surgery and thought my walking days were over . Now with new found confidence , I am thinking about a wild camp in Wales when circumstances permit . I have camped as a teen but never on my own and never while walking . I feel blessed to have a second chance at "things" .

About thirty years ago I remember passing a child walking up Snowdon with his family . I was totally inspired and bemused , as the boy had crutches , which I assumed at the time were long term , but have no way of knowing for sure .G&P
A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

Bigfoot_Mike

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It was confirmed for me the other day in the heat , that like beer , there are no bad walks just some are better than others and every day is different . (sorry about the metaphor and if you don`t like beer. ) .  :)
You have obviously never drunk Norwegian non-alcoholic beer (or any Norwegian beer for that matter). Also some of the fruity autumn brews are truly disgusting. In Norway, the price of the beer makes it taste even worse.

gunwharfman

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I know all about second chances. Go for it!

SteamyTea

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Having a stab at something again is a good thing.
Some people feel it is immature and that people, particularly males, should have grown out of it.
I still find the world/universe a fascinating place, and it is even more fun now I have more knowledge.


A few years back I made a catamaran, many people said it was not possible, but 5 sheets of cheap ply, a saw, clamps, nailgun and glue later, I had something that fitted in the back of the car (made it to fit), almost watertight, and was great fun on the estuary.


But back to the wonders of the universe, Richard Feynman had this to say on it.

I have a friend who’s an artist and has sometimes taken a view which I don’t agree with very well. He’ll hold up a flower and say "look how beautiful it is," and I’ll agree. Then he says "I as an artist can see how beautiful this is but you as a scientist take this all apart and it becomes a dull thing," and I think that he’s kind of nutty. First of all, the beauty that he sees is available to other people and to me too, I believe, although I might not be quite as refined aesthetically as he is, I can appreciate the beauty of a flower.

At the same time, I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it’s not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there’s also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes. The fact that the colors in the flower evolved in order to attract insects to pollinate it is interesting; it means that insects can see the color. It adds a question: does this aesthetic sense also exist in the lower forms? Why is it aesthetic? All kinds of interesting questions which the science knowledge only adds to the excitement, the mystery and the awe of a flower. It only adds. I don’t understand how it subtracts.
I don't use emojis, irony is better, you decide

Mel

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Ye gods.  Wot yer bletherin' on about man?!




barewirewalker

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Why not go for a good blether,
for me it is quality of way, to the Greater Red Socked Rambler as spotted by Ninthace that might be a couple of feet of misguided ploughing or an errant patch of nettles, even an neglected top rail of a style, but I sympathize with Steamy Teas breathless awe at natures wonders. Where will our wandering take us, some seek destinations, and others want ways that cover distance or physical challenge. Terrain gives us those, when the harvest is finished Mrs BWW loves to walking stubble and hear the rustle and clatter of crisp short straw against her boots, to me the wonder of her exhilaration releases endorfins that the confuse the adrenaline pumping out of the distant viewer raging, 2your off the right of way 2. Is it the panoply human experience that fascinates us, there those who look at a map and see little and others may seek a cupboard door and find Narnia beyond.
Phew now my fingers are really knotted up   :-[
BWW
Their Land is in Our Country.

SteamyTea

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there those who look at a map and see little and others may seek a cupboard door and find Narnia beyond.
Now you are talking. We have a stock cupboard at work, and when customers are allowed in, I sometimes, when we are really busy, have to go into this cupboard.
I tell everyone that I have had enough and the unknowns of Narnia are preferable.
Usually come out with some bags or flour.
I don't use emojis, irony is better, you decide

GnP

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Why not go for a good blether,

Phew now my fingers are really knotted up   :-[
quote : " When you think out loud you detect and explore ideas and concepts which are either unknown, or as yet unexplored " .   O0




Now you are talking. We have a stock cupboard at work, and when customers are allowed in, I sometimes, when we are really busy, have to go into this cupboard.
I tell everyone that I have had enough and the unknowns of Narnia are preferable.
Usually come out with some bags or flour.
            O0
A bit like life . But sometimes , just sometimes , we come out of the flour cupboard with magic in our hands ...


A night under silnylon. Doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

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