I'm not a personal trainer, but I know more about fitness than my friends, both of whom are over 300 pounds. They asked me to help them with walking three times a week. After two sessions, I'm not sure how hard I should be pushing one of them.
The one I'm not concerned about knows his limits. He takes a break after an easy walking lap on the track (he seems as exerted as I'd be after getting into my run), has added half a lap of total distance, and doesn't seem to be suffering joint pain, muscle strain, etc. The one I'm concerned about has more stamina than my first friend, but she also gets shin splints before completing the first lap at the same sedate pace. She takes the same length break as my first friend after a lap but isn't as exerted as he is, just with notable shin splint pain. It increases with each lap, and she's exerted at the end of exercise.
During our last session, she was wondering out loud if she should jog the last half lap and I told her to just take it easy due to her shins. She's very determined to improve each session obviously, but I'm a little afraid she might go beyond her limit, especially after I read up on the physiology of shin splints. Her gait looks perfect, but her spine is straighter than it should be (doc said it was muscular overcompensation for her weight). So I'm wondering what a more professional opinion would be on whether she's doing too much too early or not. If you think she's doing too much, what are some good ways to lower the intensity of the activity while continuing to walk? (She's rather insistent about walking no matter what)
The one I'm not concerned about knows his limits. He takes a break after an easy walking lap on the track (he seems as exerted as I'd be after getting into my run), has added half a lap of total distance, and doesn't seem to be suffering joint pain, muscle strain, etc. The one I'm concerned about has more stamina than my first friend, but she also gets shin splints before completing the first lap at the same sedate pace. She takes the same length break as my first friend after a lap but isn't as exerted as he is, just with notable shin splint pain. It increases with each lap, and she's exerted at the end of exercise.
During our last session, she was wondering out loud if she should jog the last half lap and I told her to just take it easy due to her shins. She's very determined to improve each session obviously, but I'm a little afraid she might go beyond her limit, especially after I read up on the physiology of shin splints. Her gait looks perfect, but her spine is straighter than it should be (doc said it was muscular overcompensation for her weight). So I'm wondering what a more professional opinion would be on whether she's doing too much too early or not. If you think she's doing too much, what are some good ways to lower the intensity of the activity while continuing to walk? (She's rather insistent about walking no matter what)