To make bushwalking (especially the hilly steppy bits) easier and much more enjoyable, I need to do cardio workouts at the gym. I aim for 4 sessions a week, usually get in 3 I do treadmill on incline (level 15 - 20 depending on how I go), interval type stuff. I don't run, just walk fast, somewhere between 6.5 to 7 km/hr, depending on my energy levels 20 - 30 mins only, but I'm sweating by the end of it. I'll usually do 20 mins on the bike too, sometimes some rowing Swim afterwards, if it's not peak kiddy lesson time Out of the gym I might go for a walk in our hilly town a couple of times a week - more in summer when it's not so cold in the mornings. And then I have my weight circuit, especially to build up my quads. Before I was fit I had some horrible days after a rocky bushwalk, with jelly legs during, and completely sore and seized up afterwards for a few days. It's so much better now
Basically, I don't walk to get fit, I get fit to walk
For all the desk jockeys like myself, I reckon getting a standing desk apart from general health benefits would also help greatly with walking fitness.
LandSailor wrote:For all the desk jockeys like myself, I reckon getting a standing desk apart from general health benefits would also help greatly with walking fitness.
Watch out for varicose veins in later life if it's primarily stationary standing. Compression stocking should be part of that investment.
THE 10 BIGGEST FITNESS MYTHS Do you stretch before going on a run? What about after? Do you guzzle electrolytes to stave off muscle cramps? Are you thinking about throwing your running shoes in the trash to go barefoot? Does your recovery meal include ibuprofen? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are now under arrest for breaking the basic laws of fitness.
LandSailor wrote:For all the desk jockeys like myself, I reckon getting a standing desk apart from general health benefits would also help greatly with walking fitness.
Agree with that. The only time I'm aware of bad posture is when I sit at a desk. Even with a good chair and proper height desk, its hard not to slouch after a while. I've been following the sit/stand revolution (it's slowly arriving in Australia, but it's been an item for some time overseas) and recently ordered a sit-stand desk for this reason. It has motor control so that the height can be adjusted on the run.
The other item in the same ballpark worth mentioning for desk jockeys is this:
i cant find it, but there was a guy on a reclining bike who cycled all over the states, it was years ago, he had an apple mac built in to it and had converted the handle bars to have a modified keypad that only needed as many buttons as fingers or less.... and he typed as he rode around the states, he was a journo by trade....
wayno wrote:... had an apple mac built in to it and had converted the handle bars to have a modified keypad that only needed as many buttons as fingers or less.... and he typed as he rode around the states, he was a journo by trade....
He'll get a ticket if he rode and typed at the same time here. LOL
Apparently (in the US of course) there is a bracket that attaches your iPad or tablet to the steering wheel of your car. I'll find a pic when I am at my desk. Doesn't sound safe to me at all, especially just after that model drove into a tree along the Wakehurst Parkway while on the phone to her boyfriend. Off topic again sorry