Walking Pain, Push thru or stop?

[phillyman]

I wanted to lose some serious poundage, I am 5'10 and 251LBs. I figured if I cut all the calories that I drink each day, and started walking and going to the gym....that those 3 things alone should take care of at least 20lbs of excess weight. Here is my problem......I started walking this month....this is my daily progress....


02-25-09 = 1.5 miles
02-26-09 = 1.5 miles (3 miles total)
02-27-09 = 3.0 miles (6 miles total)
03-03-09 = 1.5 miles (7.5 miles total)
03-04-09 = 2.5 miles (10.0 miles total)
03-06-09 = 1.5 miles (11.5 miles total)
03-07-09 = 3.0 miles (14.5 miles total)
03-08-09 = 3.0 miles (17.5 miles total)
03-09-09 = 3.0 miles (20.5 miles total)
03-10-09 = 3.0 miles (23.5 miles total)
03-11-09 = 3.0 miles (26.5 miles total)
03-12-09 =3.0 miles (29.5 miles total)
03-13-09 =3.0 miles (32.5 miles total)
03-17-09 =3.0 miles (35.5 miles total)
03-18-09 =3.0 miles (38.5 miles total)
03-20-09 =3.0 miles (41.5 miles total)
03-21-09 =3.0 miles (44.5 miles total)
03-22-09 =3.0 miles (47.5 miles total
03-23-09 =1.5 miles (49.0 miles total)
-

The only thing that is stopping me from walking faster or further is my one leg. My right leg for some odd reason is in pain, the left leg is absolutely fine! The pain I am experiencing is on the outer side of my calf (about 3 inches above my ankle bone). The pain only starts after I have walked about 1/4 of a mile, and lasts until I get done. The pain disappears almost immediately upon me sitting down, and if I get up to walk a short distance later.....I do not notice any pain.

I have tried stretching this area by tucking my foot to the inside and applying downward pressure on my ankle for 30 seconds or so. Other than this pain I have nothing holding me back from walking faster and more frequent. One thing I should mention is that I am walking on uneven ground, mostly dirt roads and gravel, I also deal with steep hills.....where I either go up or down depending on my mood.

I do experience some fatigue in my left leg also, but that is where the top of the foot meets the calf. It gets tired right where the laces of your sneakers would end. But this is nothing compared to what is happening with the other leg. I have tried powering through this pain since March 13th, and all subsequent walks still present this pain. Should I take the week off and just concentrate on weight training and come back to my walking schedule next Monday?

Advice?

 

[spike99]

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If a body part pains, stop doing that specific exercise. Seriously. Do a different exercise instead. For example, try some swimming, canoeing / kayaking, non-impact gazelle Glider, Peddle bike riding or some other non-impact tasks. Give your legs some time to recover and its current pain to go away. Pushing past pain is always a very bad idea.

To me, "pain" (not to be confused with minor burning feeling) in a specific body area is like an alarm clock alarm. Its a signal to one's brain like "hey - wake up - this task is too much on that body part". I love internal alarm clocks. It tells "the mind" to stop doing that specific task and focus on something else. Just like an engine RPM needle being "in the red zone" too much. Time to reduce engine RPMs and let the engine cool down as well...

Talk about body pain during long distance exercise... For me, my body can only jog a max 7 consecutive miles. After this distance, my knees pain way too much. Comfortably, my body can easily jog 4 miles every other day. It can only do 7 miles on weekends. For my SIL (who is 10 years older then me), she can easily jog 24 miles. For her, a simple 7 miles is her "Warm Up" distance. No kidding. As she often tells me, some bodies can handle long distances and some cannot. One should only do "the max distance" that is ok on their unique body. In other words, I should NOT try jogging more then my max 7 miles. Wearing out bone movement joints, ripping out muscle or causing other long term knee damage isn't worth it. If my body cannot do more then 7 miles of jogging, then it cannot do it. Perhaps your body can only walk a max distance as well??? Something to think of...

Hope this helps...

.

 

[phillyman]

I stopped walking from 3/24 to 3/29 and started back up yesterday, Walked 1.5 miles and did not experience any pain at all, I walked today and experienced a tiny bit of pain (in a new spot). The new pain is in my foot, I think its the tendon that connects to my big toe. More of an annoyance then a real pain.....going to do 1.5 mile walks for the rest of the week and then on Saturday and Sunday do my 3 mile walks, Then next week I will alternate between 3.0 and 1.5 miles.

In the month of March I walked 52 miles, my goal for April is 79 miles!

 

[cherrygarcia]

i just wanted to say i find you very inspiring...your very dedicated with your walking. i'm on week 5 of exercising at the gym and in my first week i did about 15miles, it was probably more miles than i'd walked in the past i don't know how long. i had initially started just doing two 45min sessions on the treadmill but now switch it up alot with classes since walking on the treadmill can get so boring.

which is why i find it so inspiring that you do your walks everyday outside (i would love to walk outside but don't for two reasons, 1) i don't have the discipline and 2) i'm too afraid of what others will think). But as soon as i'm down to a weight i'm more comfortable with will start walking outside.

anyway, i also just wanted to mention that at the end of the day when i've done my full gym programme, i've never experienced any pain, however my left ankle gets slightly puffy...but by morning is usually okay again and so on. i'm however monitoring it closely and if it gets worse will probably go for a check up.

i noticed you mention your route is mostly on uneven ground...maybe try a flat route one day and see if that makes any difference? i guess other issues are such as making sure your using a good pair of sports shoes? maybe it might also be worthwhile getting a check up? just in case. but otherwise all the best as i see your gunning for 79 miles in april? good stuff!

 

[spike99]

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cherrygarcia.

You might be onto something. re: Ensure proper fitting shoes. Great idea.

Every 3 or 4 nights (weather permitting), I often jog 4 miles. Very short distance compared to my summer time 7 mile distance (on the weekends). For this jogging events, I put 2 x insoles into each shoe. Yes. 2 x fabric insolve - instead of one. Thus, giving the bottom of my feet extra soft landing. Folks might want to try this trick (to their shoes) as well. Works for me...

For more details, surf:



Hope this helps as well...

.

 

[phillyman]

i just wanted to say i find you very inspiring...your very dedicated with your walking. i'm on week 5 of exercising at the gym and in my first week i did about 15miles, it was probably more miles than i'd walked in the past i don't know how long. i had initially started just doing two 45min sessions on the treadmill but now switch it up alot with classes since walking on the treadmill can get so boring.

which is why i find it so inspiring that you do your walks everyday outside (i would love to walk outside but don't for two reasons, 1) i don't have the discipline and 2) i'm too afraid of what others will think). But as soon as i'm down to a weight i'm more comfortable with will start walking outside.

anyway, i also just wanted to mention that at the end of the day when i've done my full gym programme, i've never experienced any pain, however my left ankle gets slightly puffy...but by morning is usually okay again and so on. i'm however monitoring it closely and if it gets worse will probably go for a check up.

i noticed you mention your route is mostly on uneven ground...maybe try a flat route one day and see if that makes any difference? i guess other issues are such as making sure your using a good pair of sports shoes? maybe it might also be worthwhile getting a check up? just in case. but otherwise all the best as i see your gunning for 79 miles in april? good stuff!

The reason I do outside walks is because I work at a big estate, I am their IT Support Technician and most of my duties can be done from my desk. Since I started this job 2 years ago, I have gone from 230lbs to 255lbs. I now force myself to walk the perimeter of the Estate, which is 1.5 miles. I walk down to the water and then back up to my office, Going clockwise gives me a steep decline hill, and a gradual incline hill, and then I do the reverse.....a gradual decline and a steep incline. This is what gives me the 3 miles of walking Monday Thru Friday, then on the weekends I have a 3 mile walk planned out around my neighborhood.

My current status is that I have stopped drinking calories.....no soda, no ice tea, no starbucks.....and have replaced it with water. This for me probably is creating a 750 calorie deficit on its own. Bundle that with my 21 miles of walking each week, and avoiding places with a drive thru......and weight training 3 times a week......well you get the picture. I am now bouncing between 248 and 251, I will be extremely happy once I get the next 10lbs to drop off.

It is hard though......just gotta keep trying.

 

[maleficent]

The pain I am experiencing is on the outer side of my calf (about 3 inches above my ankle bone). The pain only starts after I have walked about 1/4 of a mile, and lasts until I get done. The pain disappears almost immediately upon me sitting down, and if I get up to walk a short distance later.....I do not notice any pain.

First thing I would do is make sure you are properly fitted for your sneakers... poor fitting shoes are probably about 80 percent or higher of the reasons why people feel pain...

Get thee to a running shoe store that understand about overpronation etc with your current sneakers and let them fit you with a good pair..

 

[phillyman]

First thing I would do is make sure you are properly fitted for your sneakers... poor fitting shoes are probably about 80 percent or higher of the reasons why people feel pain...

Get thee to a running shoe store that understand about overpronation etc with your current sneakers and let them fit you with a good pair..

Yeah you are probably right, but 15 out of 21 miles that I walk each week....is at my job. I wear dress shirts and pant and have some sketchers work shoes. No sneakers for me.....could be my problem.

 

[maleficent]

while any movement is good - walking that you're doing during the day as part of your job, I'm not sure I would count as "exercise" - it really doesn't get your heart rate up and that's one of the points behind cardio...

If footwear is indeed your problem - there are inserts that you can get for your shoes that will give you more support...

 

[edisraw]

As long as its not in your thigh or calf the pain (and its not constant or swelling) it should be benign for now (granted im no doctor) but nonetheless if you keep exercising with the pain, it will just get worse i'd take an off day or two even, and if it comes back instantly maybe take a quick trip to the doctors, because its always better to be safe then sorry, and to be fair you dont have to even take an off day, just do weights, or the rowing machine, things that dont involve your legs.

 

[AprilFool2008]

I had foot and knee problems when I started a year ago. I also walk quite a bit. If it's possible you could ride a bike and alternate your days plus your body will love the change of exercise. I now walk pain free from the weight loss but I still ride my bike.

I ride listening to my tunes with a small mp3 player (low volume so I can hear traffic approaching) . Fast paced songs help me pick up the tempo.

 

[phillyman]

while any movement is good - walking that you're doing during the day as part of your job, I'm not sure I would count as "exercise" - it really doesn't get your heart rate up and that's one of the points behind cardio...

If footwear is indeed your problem - there are inserts that you can get for your shoes that will give you more support...

I would have to disagree, I think that by walking 21 miles per week....that it would have some benefit. I walk around 3.0-3.5 mph, and very little of this walk is on a flat surface. I have 70 steps to go up from the water, and then a steep incline of at least 200 feet. By the time I get back to my desk I have to turn on a fan to cool off. At 250lbs I can't afford to run, its just too rough on my knees and shins and just leads to me having to take "days off" to recover.

My end goal is to get up to power walking 3 miles straight at work, at 4.5mph. Its better then just sitting at my desk all day.....my old job required me to stand for my 8 hour shift and walk around the store.....that job by itself kept my weight at 235lbs.....I only gained 20lbs more after I got this sit down job. I figure that if I can just start burning the amount of calories I was when I was at my old job, that 20lbs should just fall off. My diet was no different back then.....so that is my inspiration right now.