is walking enough?

If I walk for at least 30 min each day for 6 days followed by pilates every other day and weights on the "other" day....is that enough to loose weight and stay fit/get toned?
currently on my pilates days I run and I dont really enjoy it that I think its discouraging me. When I do walk I go about 4mph so I dont just walk slowly and I do work up a sweat.

Any opinions?
 
If I walk for at least 30 min each day for 6 days followed by pilates every other day and weights on the "other" day....is that enough to loose weight and stay fit/get toned?
currently on my pilates days I run and I dont really enjoy it that I think its discouraging me. When I do walk I go about 4mph so I dont just walk slowly and I do work up a sweat.

Any opinions?


Well how much do you weigh, how much do you want to lose, what is your diet like. If you dont have much fat to lose than walking wont do much. If you have a lot to lose I think it will help in the beginning as long as your diet is good but after those few beginning pounds I think you will have to start doing something a lil more fast pace because the walking at 4mph wont get your heart rate up to a great extent where you will be burning a great amount of calories. Is there a reason why you wont try running or cycling or something?
 
I am 5ft 108. I actually just want to maintain my weight more than anything and stay toned. I would like to loose 3-5lbs as an added bonus but it's okay if I dont.

I just dont like to run at all. I actually dread it. I dont have a bike and I can't go out cuz I have kids that need supervising at home! =)
 
I don't like running either, so I don't blame you.

I would say something along the lines of "why don't you get the kids out and all go for a bike ride?" -----

except I have 2 kids, and I know exactly what a pain in the ass that is to try and coordinate a 3yr old who can hardly ride, and a 1yr old who has to ride in the baby seat - along with trying to deal with dogs and protect your kids from them - and the weather (we have really really hot humid weather with lots of mosquitos)----so I'll spare you that. :p

If your main goal is to maintain a decent level of fitness and your current wt, then the main thing would be getting some amount of daily, or almost daily, activity - whether it be pilates, walking (or other cardio), or weights. You don't have to have a specific drawn out program and diet for that.

Just stay active and eat right, and you should be fine. If you decide you want to build some muscle (think arms like Madonna, not China the wrestler) - then you may need to look into some more specifics at that point.
 
oh my gosh you read my mind completely. My kids a bit older but it doesn't get that much easier!!!

Well I want to loose some weight and not be flabby but I'm not really in bad shape now. Maybe I can try jump rope and walking and alternate those. I just really hate running. It just seems so hard even though I've been running for a while now and my stamina is good... I think I just hate it so much that I can't see past it.


How does this sound for staying fit/getting toned and maybe even loose a few lbs

Mon/Wed/Fri - jump rope 30 min followed by pilates
Tue - walk 30 min, do weight for biceps, triceps 3 reps of 10 for each, plus stomach exercises
Thurs - walk 30 min, do weight for biceps, triceps 3 reps of 10 for each, plus stomach exercises
Sat - walk 30 min, do weight for biceps, triceps 3 reps of 10 for each, plus stomach exercises

or should I walk the entire week then jump rope the next week?
 
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I wouldn't worry about when you alternate jump rope/walking too much. The main thing is that you do it enough to increase your heart rate for a decent amt of time (30-45 min if keeping a steady pace), or do interval training (alternate high/med/low intensity during cardio workout) for 20-30 min. You would want to increase periodically.

For weights - ummmm, I'm assuming your legs aren't broke since you mention walking ;) For overall fitness, you need to exercise overall, not just pick and choose which parts you want to work on.

It's ok to maybe work one thing a little harder than another if you feel you need improvement in that area (keep in mind though, that it won't get rid of fat in that area). However, the best results come from working the whole body, not just bits and pieces.

Search around for full body workouts to get some good examples (p.s.- they are also less time consuming than working individual muscle groups - yay!):)
 
Well I actually normally do an all over workout. All that I mentioned in one workout but I read somewhere that it's better to rest your muscles so I thought to break it up? Better to just keep it all in one workout?
 
I understand that full body workouts 3x a week (a day of rest in between) works well (least it has for me). The New Rules of Lifting, by Alwyn Cosgrove and Lou Schuler is a great place to start if you want to get a good compound routine. I'm in the break-in program right now and am liking it a lot. And as Deschain said, it's more efficient because you're working more muscles at a time.

As for the walking, you'd get to a point of diminishing returns. The longer you do an activity, the more the body adapts to/becomes efficient at doing it. Inefficiency burns energy, so it's a good idea to change things up if you want to keep getting good results.
 
I, myself, have taken up walking and I really enjoy it. But it's not enough for me. I still love jogging and do it every other day now (I'll even go for a walk, on my jogging days, in the evenings). I also do Pilates (on my jogging days) and pushups/ab work/calisthenics (on my walking days). I really love it. Nothing hard, just simple and that I can do everyday and stick with it.
 
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