Walking: Cardio or not?

[dianna]

I need some opinions here, since I have absolutely no perspective on this.

A typical light day for me is walking 9km (approx 5.5 miles) with hills, pushing a stroller that is anywhere from 60 - 80 lbs at a rather fast pace (I'm not one of these stroller moms who stroll along at a snail's pace). Maybe once a week, I will run instead of walk (with the stroller). A heavier day would be about 20 km (about 12.5 miles), or an hour of Tae Bo if the weather is crummy. I gave up weights because I wasn't gaining muscle (Duh - wonder why :P)

I do this every day, no rest day - not smart, I know. I am changing it, I need to decrease my activity overall because we are going to be working on another baby, and it appears that the activity is beginning to effect my cycles slightly. Would dropping a few days of walking and doing weights or yoga actually be decreasing my activity? Although I would like to, this isn't the time to be dropping body fat either, so that's why I'm hesitant about the weights right now too.

But my problem here is when does walking go from a light activity into "cardio"? Is it about the speed, or the distance, or the resistance? Sometimes the distance is necessary (the stroller is how we take groceries home)

[anandagirl]

All about heart rate, really. I know very unfit people who can walk slowly on a flat surface and get their HR up and break a sweat. I either have to be on an incline or running to get into my cardio work zone. Think about it like this: if you are walking 5.5 miles, how long does that take you and how much do you exert yourself? Most people take a day of active rest which includes slower walks, so I don't know that this is what is affecting your cycles.
I definitely think an hour of yoga will give you a good medatative relaxation session which will help with your stress levels. Doing a full body weight training session a couple times a week should be fine as well. Don't know what your current body fat levels are, BUT many, many resources will say that getting your body healthy BEFORE conceiving will improve your child's health and decrease the risk of complications.

[dianna]

That's my aim - to get my body healthy before getting pregnant. 3 years ago, I had amenorrhea from low body far and overtraining, and after years of recovery *poof* I got pregnant without so much as a period first - it was great! I have known since the that I can easily loose perspective on how much is to much activity.

Right now, I'm 5'3" and 125 lbs with a pretty good amount of muscle, and about 22% body fat, which is exactly where I want it. I did notice that over the past 2 years, my weight won't drop no matter how much I drop my cals, or how much I run, lift, etc. That tells me that my body thinks I'm overtraining again, and is dropping my metabolism. Also, seeing the last half of my cycle get shorter also tells me that my body thinks it needs to hold back its reserves.

That's a good point about exertion - most days, I go pretty hard at the hills, and the 9km usually takes about 90 mins, but I end up dragging my butt a little at the end.
Some days, the 9km is necessary, so I wonder if I just take it really slow if that may be a lot easier on my body? I do want to incorporate more weights in my routine somehow, but I don't want it to bee too much stress on my body right now. Maybe if I just do lighter weights and more reps? Maybe one of those resistance band thingies? Focusing on more relaxing activity for now might just be the best thing - I just get so confused about the walking because my body is acting like it's too much cardio, but I also hear that it's mroe of a relaxing activity. Perhaps I should just take it easier on the hills :P

[RU4A69]

walking is not going to melt bodyfat off of you

walking is not going to get you into cardiovascular shape

walking IS going to relieve your bodies' stress and optimize your hormone levels + carb tolerance + improve recovery + improve sleep quality and daytime energy


imo

[dianna]

Originally Posted by RU4A69

walking is not going to melt bodyfat off of you

walking is not going to get you into cardiovascular shape

walking IS going to relieve your bodies' stress and optimize your hormone levels + carb tolerance + improve recovery + improve sleep quality and daytime energy


imo

SO it's all the same if you're strolling along a flat surface at a snails pace, or if you're walking fast up hills pushing an 80 lb stroller? Hmm, sounds very simplistic, no? Why then would my body be reacting like it's overtraining when I'm just walking right now?

I noticed that my body fat didn't change whether I was doing my regular walking every day, or whether I was doing HIIT every day.

[anandagirl]

I think the key there was "imo" - "In my opinion"

Everyone has opinions, usually based on what has worked in their experience, bUT everyone is different. Only you can make the final judgement of what works. This fitness and weight loss stuff is not an exact science and takes some trial and error. If something isn't working, change it up!