Walking: It's good for you!

Walking could be good for most people but unfortunately not for us up here where we live..
Should we go walking, we would for sure encounter Black Bears, Coyotes, Timber Wolves, Wild Cats, and Foxes just to name a few...............

I would say in our case that walking could be hazardous to our health !!!!!!!!
 
You can carry a gun if there's is a real threat to your life during walks. Black bears usually won't attack unless caught off-guard and surprised, or with cubs. Good to make some noises and let them know you're coming. I've noticed that coyotes and foxes usually avoid humans, unless they're sick/rabid. Don't know about the wolves and wildcats, haven't had the pleasure. :p
 

I've been walking/hiking for quite a few years now, my favorite forum of exercise when done outdoors! :)
 
Hiking sometimes hurst my knees if there are too many inclines but walking around flat trails or around town usually works best for me.
 
NOPE !!!!
NO GUN !!!! Not while walking ..............
We do enough work around here that walking (although good) can be replaced with some work outside in the field.

Winter time is another story. I do cross country which is also good. On mild days only.........
I must be extremely careful as I have had 2 hip replacements and a shoulder replacement. Should those implants get cold, I have had it !!!! That's NO JOKE !!!!!!!
 
Steve said:
I must be extremely careful as I have had 2 hip replacements and a shoulder replacement. Should those implants get cold, I have had it !!!! That's NO JOKE !!!!!!!
Click to expand...

What happens when those types of implants get cold?
 
When you go into the cold, the bones are part of your body and contain marrow, nerves, and life, along with other forms that make up the structure of bone.

When you have the joint replaced and that is now metal, (Titanium) it isn't the same. Metal absorbs cold much faster than bone. When the metal gets cold, it makes the bone (implant) and the meat around it cold. The active bone and meat have nerves that when cold, will produce a pain.
Bone will be kept warm by the blood around it while metal has NO blood around it other than the meat.

If you break a bone, it hurts. If your joint has deposit, it hurts. Bone heals while metal doesn't.

On the other hand, metal joint replacements don't hurt.

Obviously I am not a doctor and might be explaining this a bit different, but when my hips get cold, they hurt like the dickens till they warm up. After that, its OK............
 
Thanks Steve for the detailed explanation. I often thought that extreme cold or heat may be a problem wth metals in the body. Luckily I haven't needed any replacements. I think it was Jane Fonda, who recently said she had a hip and 2 knee replacements. It surprised me, because she was always slim and fit, and very active. She had many exercise videos over the years, thought all that movement would keep her joints well lubed, and bones strong. Guess there's just too many other things that affect our bones and joints.

Did you fall and break your hips and shoulder, or was the replacement needed for other reasons?
 
I didn't fall and break anything............... BUT ...............

As a youngster, I played semi-pro hockey in Quebec City. I played left wing for the Quebec Citadelles in 1957. I was an extremely aggressive player and in those days we didn't have any pads for protection as they do today. Shin guards, gonklets (padded gloves) and a jock strap was all we had.
It was very common for me to nail an opposing player into the boards as well as getting nailed myself. I spent lots of time in the penalty box but scored many goals.

Now this eventually led to arthritis in the hips and shoulders.
The reason for the joint replacements is the bone on bone and deterioration of the joints.....

Since having the replacements, I have absolutely NO pain and very little restrictions.
One of the restrictions is that I NEVER get that implant cold........
I do cross country skiing but only on mild days. When the temperature drops below -20c, I won't go out skiing but when the sun is shining and it is only -10c, don't try to keep me in...
 
As an avid walker, let me add that if you've had bad experience with joint, feet, muscle or other problems don't necessarily give up. If I lay off for a while I have massive problems walking but if I do just what I can at first (no matter how little that is) and slowly increase as I'm able, I eventually get to the point where I can walk for hours with no problem. It takes me between two weeks and a month to get there from no walking at all.

Stay young! Exercise!
 
Steve theres always alternatives, treadmills/indoor tracks.

Walking is one of the best low impact exercises anyone can do :)
 
I do enjoy walking but often have problems with hip and back pain, having had Osteoporosis since I was a teenager. But my doctor still tells me that walking does help Osteo issues, and I suppose I should take his word for that, but I'm gotten lazy the past year or so. Since walking is low impact, I should motivate myself to start out slow and then build up as time goes by. :)

~~ Jeanne
 
Walking is good for the bones and Osteoporosis, since it is considered a "weight-bearing" exercise, the weight being our own body. :cool:
 
I love walking! I try to walk an hour a day. My doctor says walking for an hour every day will keep my heart in good condition. On the weekends my daughter comes with me so its also a way that I can get my family out of the house.
 
Walking is an excellent exercise EXCEPT if you live where we do.. It is definitely NOT recommended to walk in my area..........
It is impossible to walk and not run into Black Bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes, just to name a few..
I realise we live in the real country of Northern Ontario..

Now, cross country skiing is another thing.. Most of the wild animals have either gone to sleep or have moved on in search of food..
 
I love to walk also but the problem here is I'd love to have a partner to walk with like I had when I was working. So far there is no partner and where I live is no sidewalks and the only way beside getting your own treadmill is to drive to the mall to stay away from those bad dogs. I am really afraid of dogs when no one is with them or they are not on a leach. But I must get back to it if I have to go to the mall to walk.
 
Walking is the best and cheapest exercise around. I have let myself get so fat, walking is very difficult. I think I will start a walking routine, just 10 minutes a day until I can work up to an hour. I did walking before and lost over 50 pounds. Would love for that to happen again.
 
If we had a mall, I would walk in the mall...
If we had a safe place to walk, I would walk in that place..

But unfortunately, there isn't any safe place to walk at this time of the year around here, unless we drive to the village and even then one can walk from one end to another in about 10 minutes...
 
I enjoy walking outside. I take my camera with me and have taken some very nice photos, while on my walks. I try to vary my walking routes. To make walking more enjoyable, I look for what can be a beautiful or interesting photo. What I have found is that even just walking 15-30 minutes a day helps a great deal. One time, my husband and I walked a mile, we had not intended to walk that far as I was wearing flip flops. I was grateful for no injuries and no aches or pains, the next morning. I think that was because of all the walking I had done before that walk of wearing such flimsy footwear. I don't intend to walk again without good walking shoes.
 
Oh my, that's awful. Do you have to live where you''re now located. I would hate living anywhere there was no safe place to walk. You said we, so if you have a walking companion, there's still no safe place? You may just have to invest in a treadmill.
 
Steve said:
Walking is an excellent exercise EXCEPT if you live where we do.. It is definitely NOT recommended to walk in my area..........
It is impossible to walk and not run into Black Bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes, just to name a few..
I realise we live in the real country of Northern Ontario..

Now, cross country skiing is another thing.. Most of the wild animals have either gone to sleep or have moved on in search of food..
Click to expand...

Just curious Steve, we have coyotes and foxes, but no danger of bears or wolves unless we're camping in the wild. Have you ever used anything like pepper spray or other methods, other than a gun, for protection from predators? Any opinion on these devices?
 

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