Mind says "jog", knees say "you're nuts"

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3/1/12 7:37 P

I'm 68 and my doctor says no running, so I walk on the treadmill at up to 10% incline, at speeds between 3 and 4 mph.

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3/1/12 7:29 P

There are easy exercises you can do with a fitness band to help strengthen the muscles around your knees. These will help if you do take up light-weight jogging. I've found that walking, no matter how briskly, has a very different effect on my knees than jogging does, so while you may not take up jogging long term, you might do very well with walking.

It is too bad you don't have a pool nearby, though, as the water aerobics and jogging previously suggested would have been an ideal choice.

Good luck!!

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3/1/12 5:46 P

Great job on continuing your weightloss even if your body wants to scream at you for doing so.

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3/1/12 4:46 P

Thank you everyone. I will start with a daily walk and work in some strength training 2-3 times per week. I wish there were a place to swim around here but the closest pool is at a motel 20 miles away. I'll stay in touch to let you all know how it's going.

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3/1/12 1:24 P

Starting out trying to run is a recipe for failure if you want to do it, but have no exercise base. Believe me, I know. ;) I started out exercising by trying to do Couch to 5k, but my joints refused, and I didn't have a good walking base first.

One thing you should do before even considering adding jogging is to build up a good walking base, first. You can use a program like the Sparkpeople 5k Your Way program, which trains you to walk a 5k. www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/training-plans
.asp

It helped me walk my first 5k. :)

I've found that my arthritis is nowhere near as bad as it was before I started exercising. You don't want to start with too much and risk injury.

Definitely talk to your doctor before starting out; they may have recommendations on what would be save for your individual needs.

Edited by: DRAGONCHILDE at: 3/1/2012 (13:25)

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3/1/12 12:50 P

Have you thought about swimming, if you can join a gym that has an indoor pool swimming is a great way to burn lots of calories, strength train AND is easy on the joints.

I hear what your saying though my left knee is weak compared to my right thanks to an injury and when I jog my knee will occasionally say "Nope not gonna do it". I just listen to my body, adjust and do something less strenous and patiently wait for swimming season.

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3/1/12 12:20 P

Agree with Arch and Drop- just start up things nice and quietly..

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3/1/12 11:09 A

I don't have much to add to what Archimedesii says, but I'd like to second the notion of strength training.

I think you could work strength training into a steady routine that's intense enough to burn off the "nervous energy" you describe. If you have not strength trained before (or, not for a long time), even just doing some of the movements without additional weight or a resistance band will test and improve your strength. It's essential to use proper form to avoid injury, but once you have that down, you can increase your speed as well, to burn off your energy. (Keep your form up, though!)

I'm also quite fond of the Coach Nicole videos, and many of them don't use any extra equipment at all except a mat, and it's usually easy to find a substitute for that around the house (just make sure it won't slip around!).

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3/1/12 11:07 A

You should do some water fitness classes! They are usually offered at recreation centers. It's super low impact on lower body, but still a great work out. Some places even have pools that are shallow and designed for you to jog in them. But if you can't find that just jogging through the water shallow end to shallow end is a pretty good alternative.

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3/1/12 10:53 A

You don't have to jog to be healthy. If you wanted, you could walk every day. there are members who've lost over 100+ pound just by walking and watching what they ate.

If you have problems with your feet, knees and hips, you might want to avoid a high impact activity like jogging. So, how about taking a daily walk ? If you don't want to walk, you could ride a bike, go for a swim, take yoga class, etc... There are many different things you could do to stay active. Pick something you really enjoy. Because when we enjoy doing something, we look forward to doing that something each and every day.

Also, if you are going to start walking, DO make sure you're wearing a proper pair of walking shoes. Don't wear any old shoe. Your feet are going to need good support. wearing the wrong shoes could make your knees worse. Any reputable walking/running store will fit you for a good pair of shoes for free.

One thing I am going to recommend you do is make strength training a part of your exercise routine. Don't neglect your strength. it's an important part of your long term health. add lean muscle. muscle burns fat and the more lean muscle you carry, the more efficient your body will be at burning fat. You don't need a lot to start. Buy a set of resistance bands. You can find them for cheap at any Walmart, Target, Sears or even TJ Maxx. Resistance bands can and do provide a good strength training workout.

Another thing you could do is check out the fitness section. Coach Nicole has a bunch of short 10-15 minute workouts you can do at home. Do a couple of those along with any walking you do. I'm a big believer in walking. It's great cardiovascular exercise and relaxing too.

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3/1/12 10:26 A

I've finally started (again) to lose weight. I'm down 20 pounds and really need to add exercise to the equation. I've always had a lot of nervous energy and jogging has been what my mind says I want to do. Unfortunately I have arthritis in my feet, knees and hips so I'm not sure that is even realistic. Any ideas out there for what I can do to harness the nervous energy, burn some calories and not reek havoc on my joints?