I am a fan of having the right shoes. Walking and counting pedometer steps over long distances does require comfortable shoes and I have my favorites-for wet weather, hot weather, messy tracks, etc. I’m not a hiker so I like urban wear and even like to wear comfortable heels for light walking or dancing as I love the shaping effect on the calf muscles. Pedometer steps is often just activity (10000 steps) from a normal day and in these cases my shoes are chosen to enable that.
I am trying Dunlop Volleys, a light flexible sports shoe for running although I prefer Ecco brand walking shoes. I appreciate the approach in the following video. The expert here says that running style and technique is more important than the shoe you wear. Adjust your style to prevent injury.
Now that I have added pedometer running to my pedometer steps exercise routine I would also like to have the best shoes for me to enjoy an injury free introduction to running techniques. Ideally this would be simple.
Experts differ. Preparation is important when starting running and finding the right shoes for you is part of that.
It is important to take the time to develop a proper foot support appropriate for you. Everyone’s requirements are different so allow for this when judging suggestions.
The idea of participating in the City2Surf in August 2011 has an exciting influence on me. Let you in on a secret…
The motivation and enthusiasm that comes from such an idea is a tremendous force that can be harnessed for weight loss success!
But that’s not the secret. The secret is that the excitement factor of imagining, discussing and feeling good about this decision is enough to generate a surge in your pedometer steps running, walking or weight loss. Actually doing the event is less important.
Getting excited, acting on that excitement, using the momentum, enjoying the push, reinspiring yourself, energizes your program to start walking then running.
Why am I excited?
This is the first time I can see myself participating in a fun run event-as a runner! Huge progress for me-I’m a runner!
Others are gradually coming to see the possibility as well and are considering joining me.
There is no downside! Walking is always an option and i am already good at that.
It gives me a motivating influence. it doesn’t over commit me. It is an option.
Any preparation I do for this race is an advance on my walking to lose weightpedometer steps progress.
The trick to this is not to make this a do or die commitment.Take what it offers you. A reason to get excited and try something new.
I am doing theStart Walking Get Running Lose Weight program. Adding running carefully and progressively from a walking start is brilliant! Having a sort of public event to prepare for also acts as motivation. Using pedometer steps is the best way to start adding walking into an already full life. Once you’ve got that concept underway then focus on opening into other areas.
This month my exercise is running using the Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight program. I’m advising you as I go what I think of this program for an ongoing way to even out the life stage effects on our bodies and in particular our weight.
This post today will give you my background relative to the author’s of the program.
David Tiefenthaler in Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight describes his own and his wife’s history of running and his decision to make a program that would work for him, essentially someone who once ran, still in his mind was able to run easily with just a little practice only to find that not to be the case and that he required a complete program to take him from the start.
The start for most people is not running even in the past and walking or even counting pedometer steps can be a mental as well as physical, trial. I’ve written extensively on why pedometer steps’ counting is a great walking for weight loss tactic particularly for anyone who is recovering from illness and inactivity.
My history includes a period over several years of almost complete inactivity. I know how low those pedometer steps can go when you do not function normally on a daily basis.
I have become an avid walker over the last few years not only for weight loss but also for health and wellness. With the extensive inaction I wasn’t always overweight yet I was weak and unable to fully function. Using the pedometer steps’ method I was not only able to get an idea of what was necessary for weight loss but also what ‘average’ and ‘active’ categories meant. This gave me a better understanding of the benefits associated with different levels of daily activity associated just with living as well as the associated benefits of exercising for health or weight loss.
For me then Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight is about making an exciting new step on my way to a lifestyle that supports my ideal weight and health. Even considering running is a major change of expectation on my behalf. Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is a good way to tell if your changes are real. This is not a spontaneous decision but one that developed over a period of a few days. I realized I was still on the automatic ‘I do not run’ mindset. It has become a rite of passage for me now to be taking this on.
So far I have concentrated on preparing. I’m already walking, I’m looking at the ‘get running’ part. I just started with Wii jogging on Mondays. I’ve now added some strength and conditioning exercises to prepare my body for the unusual use of my muscles. I’m strictly adhering to the calorie equation and reducing calories while intensifying my exercise as running burns more calories than walking, in particular as an addition to normal daily activity.
Once I have created a base of core muscle strength I can and will increase the intensity of my running exercise.
There was a time in my life when I lost muscle mass. My weight on the scales was exactly where I ‘d always wanted it to be. Although my frame was soft and I was weak from lack of well being, I was excited to ‘finally’ be at a weight I had dreamed of as ‘ideal’. As an estimate I’d say my pedometer steps at the time would have rarely exceeded 1000 steps most days.
If you’re into pedometer steps then you know that this is almost the lifestyle of an invalid.
Diet for weight loss, alone, particularly reducing calories severely, when successful, often results in poor health, weakness and looking unhealthy. Most serious weight loss processes in 2010 talk about lifestyle change (good food, healthy habits including exercise, rest, stress reduction) and that having reserves of good health protects you against the everyday body ‘attacks’ that most of our bodies deal with automatically and easily. Health enables us to do all sorts of things without affect. Small things should not take you down i.e. succumb to frequent viruses, injury or sleep deprivation.
When counting pedometer steps specifically for weight loss it is imperative that you experiment with your diet for the best balance between achieving a calorie deficit (to lose weight) and empowering your body to increase exercise. A well fed body responds best to exercise increase. However it is certainly viable to increase exercise gradually while decreasing the calories eaten.
It takes a little experimenting to obtain the best balance for you but it is worth it! The results speak for themselves.
Now my idea of an ‘ideal’ weight for me has changed significantly. For a start it is much higher than I would have previously envisioned and higher than many popular indexes. Fat is very light by comparison but has a bigger volume than muscle mass. Many lists of ideal weights for a certain height assume relative inactivity. Walking or running use the large muscles of the lower body extensively and so a consistent lifestyle of this type of activity can develop strong muscles in these areas. For this reason I have also replaced constant weight reviews on the scales as it is misleading in many ways, with checking the fit of clothes and in particular keeping waist and hip belts for comparison purposes.
Keeping track in easy ways such as with a pedometer steps log and the fit of clothes enables easy monitoring of your lifestyle success in keeping weight gain away or weight loss happening. I am following the Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight program as I introduce running into my lifestyle to increase weight loss and to keep it interesting. Keeping motivated is one of the keys and it is better to associate with people who tell you that you’re losing weight than those who don’t-even if ‘the scales’ tell you otherwise.
The new routine for introducing running with pedometer steps has required some change of emphasis on old tools. I’ve written about my use of the Wii previously however I’ve found that it fits even better with running, than with walking for weight loss.
I have stepped up my Wii Fit jogging! Yes now I do a daily Step Plus for warming up and then jog around the island for a total of 15 minutes. Finish off with a few stretches.
The Wii keeps track of how much energy I put into that run. I now pass lots of other joggers, and really enjoy it as long as I put music on to accompany the jog.
I’m reintroducing the distance pedometer rather than the pedometer steps counter only.
I then walk later in the day. Usually I do two short walks of about 15 minutes each followed by some exercises in front of the TV at night.
Pedometer steps has become a great way to ensure balance in my daily ‘at home’ working life. The routine has added extra discipline that has successfully helped me keep perspective and gain insights at times. Walking is a type of meditation for me, and I gain stress relief and other health benefits that can also be achieved with meditation.
Having come through a period of injury that did not fortunately restrict all types of exercise I did find I regained some weight.
This is why pedometer steps and walking for weight loss are ongoing. I am now revising some of my diet habits to focus on ways to improve these. This is such an individual thing that it really requires each of us to fine tune our own ‘diet’.
You will start to notice some change in Pedals and Pedometer Steps. I have not been able to get into bikes so far and to my surprise have developed a belated interest in light running. Just as I’ve decided to take a simpler way to ’step up’ I’ve simplified the theme and am in the process of blogging on my experiences with the Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight program.
Over the last few weeks I’ve made so many changes in many areas of my life it is taking a little time to integrate them all into a cohesive whole. I had just decided that I (and some other enthusiasts who’ve signed up!) would enter the City2Surf 14 km run in August 2011. I was anticipating that all or most of that ‘run’ would be walked. The group had asked me to put together a program for us (all walkers) to get up to speed-after all we have 12 months to prepare! I looked at some good YouTube videos I found (view on walking versus running including the one that decided me on trying these Dunlop Volleys – originally a tennis shoe) and Start Walking Get Running Lose Weight.
Pedals & Pedometer Steps was originally designed to be my transition blog from Walking to Lose Weight into a more intense exercise such as cycling. Somehow it never happened unless the cycle of a perfected routine counting pedometer steps and then something (injury/illness/away time) causing a disturbance to the routine and then building up to the perfected routine again.
My feeling now is that cycling, which I have never done before so it is a big change for me at my time of life, was too big a jump for my self view to accept.
The strategy to move on from simply walking for weight loss has always been one in which I introduced something new. The gym, dvds, workout sessions with friends have been a part of my agenda for years whenever I have been attending to my ‘weight’.
Walking itself and using a pedometer, counting pedometer steps and recording those steps and targets etc. was a new discipline and technique for me I started when I got serious with walking to lose weight as a lifestyle.
As I wrote in the last post this was one of the best things I’ve ever done!
The technique though for weight loss is a continual process of upgrading my exercise to maintain or increase my calorie expenditure. Over time the same level of exercise is accommodated by the body and calorie or kilojoules used decreases unless the exercise is intensified.
So as I continue on my weight loss journey I am preparing to include some running within my walking routine. Stay with me as I start preparing for this change.
Start Walking, Get Running, and Lose Weightis filled with common sense strategies for managing the food you eat and simple but very effective exercise plans that ease you into shape.
A Proven Walking or Running Plan For All Ages and Experience Levels...
