Walking Shoes - Walking and Other Exercise

[Guest_1055]

Hey to anyone reading this.

Last night I had an idea about starting a new thread about exercise especially walking. I am aware that walking is very beneficial for our mental, emotional and physical well being. And by actually doing it....well it can make a huge difference to how we cope with the storms that we face in life.

OK, I am not real good at disciplining myself to walk, and have to really push myself to do it. And sometimes it is even hard to leave this bedroom. Anyway I am not a beginner walker, as I have stuck to sort of a plan before. So I know that it does make me feel somewhat better. But I only stayed on the plan for a couple of months, then gave up.....for whatever reason. So here I am again wanting desperately to not fail this time.

So I guess this thread is for anyone that does walk, anyone that is struggling to walk because of depression or anxiety issues. And anyone else really......

I am unsure of the outcome of all this. But my ideas included: Sharing about things we have found out about exercise especially about walking. Writing down the reasons that one would chose to walk ( like something to help motivate). Being accountable in same way. Sharing about the places where we actually do walk, like the beach, gym, around the block, with the dog, out to the clothesline and back. And any other useful tips that could help others. So here we go......

[Doolhof]

Hi All,

I went out for another walk this morning along some of the streets in our small town. I stopped at the pond and was very surprised to see the water is actually clear! If there were fish in there you would have been able to see them.

A man arrived in a small paddock to load up his sheep. The sheep all ran to the other end of the paddock. I wondered how long it would take him to get them all rounded up and loaded in his truck.

Some geese I had seen previously in a paddock were in the front yard of a  house that had no fences or gates. I hoped the geese were okay with me walking past and didn't get the urge to squawk at me and chase me away. Thankfully they seemed quite content where they were. 

Some wild ducks were on a dam and all flew away as I walked past. Pigeons on the electrical wires just watched as I walked past. Parrots flew from bush to bush ahead of me then took off to some trees in the distance. 

The sky was very grey this morning.

[Guest_1055]

Oh gosh Mrs D you noticed so many different types of birds last week on your walk. That's great. Between you and Eagle Ray writing about birdlife a fair bit, well it keeps inspiring me to learn more about birds. When I visited mum just recently a large amount of these white birds flew over.  An Incredible amount. There is a dam/ lake/ wetlands at the back of there place. We were thinking they were ibis. Some were in the water as well. Hanging around the edge of it.

[Guest_1055]

Thankyou Eagle Ray for sharing this story about your road trip. Maybe you are still on it. You write so well. Wonder if you could write other things and get published somehow? Could bring in some income for you

I love walking in crispy and misty mornings, like you described and with the scent of wood burning fireplaces. The chill feels invigorating on my face.

You mentioned the gym in another post. Maybe you could a sports doctor is it ? I forget what they are called. But they could put together a program for you.

And the runners high does feel good. I too have noticed when out walking especially up hills, the muscles are stronger in my legs and it makes it easier to walk uphill. And I definitely have more endurance and a feeling of more energy after the cardio. It just makes walking and moving around more enjoyable as I just feel fitter and even more flexible. Maybe it is the increased oxygen supply moving around in the body.

[Guest_1055]

Hello

I have been exercising everyday in some way. My son asked me to go on this 30 day challenge with him, which involved exercise every single day. We are currently on day 23. We are eating no junk food as well. Eating fruit( which he use to struggle with). Just eating more healthy in general. It also involves drinking 2 litres of water each day. Getting sunshine each day. I do feel so much better. My head is clearer with hardly any fogginess. Concentration is improved. And my emotions are not so up and down. More calmer in other words. I definitely have more physical energy. I can walk further too. And sometimes my body just desires to move and get out there. Motivation has increased I guess.

Learnt a lesson though through a mistake. I ate 2 large bowls of homemade popcorn ( think salad bowl size) it had coconut oil and Celtic sea salt at around midnight. Not good. Sleep was not as good and I had less energy that following morning. Lesson for me...don't eat late at night, salt can be addictive. 

Some of the exercise I have done over the last few weeks is walking outside in the fresh air, some sunny days there. Walking on the breakwall, walking in the coastal walk, pedalling on the exercise bike in the front room. Cross trainer and lifting weights at the gym. Pulling weeds in the garden.

I find I don't want to let my son down by not sticking to the challenge. This is motivating me too. Though in the back of my thoughts some days are words like " I can't be bothered or I am not feeling it" 

We message each other every day listing what we completed in the challenge 

[Guest_1055]

Now that the previous post said how much energy I felt and it had improved. Well I just got back from walking at the rec and I am feeling tired this time. I am glad I walked though ,even if it was at a slower pace 

It was lovely out. walking past the hobby farm , I noticed the white chickens were out . Some near the tiny water hole. There was a large white duck as well. I watched him waddle across the grass. Super cute. There were also some wild rabbits in that farm. I saw them bouncing along towards the wood pile.

As you walk along this gravel road there are 2 horses in the paddock on the right. I fed one on the way back. I spotted some long juicy grass growing along the fence up some. I picked a large handful. The horse ate it and I patted it's head. 

After this gravel bit is a super large oval. We walked around almost the whole perimeter of that. Then walked past the ponds with the jetty. The grass feels a bit spongey around here. Making it a challenge to walk on. On the second lap, we here a horn form either a steam train🚂 or an old diesel one. It my imagination I go back in history, only for a few seconds or so. I really like that old train horn sound. 

I heard the ducks quack ing 🦆🦆🦆from somewhere over in the wetlands. Their noise often sounds like laughing to me. I love that happy sound. We also heard a rooster 🐓.

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Shell and Dools,

 I loved reading about the animals and birds you both saw. Lots of farm animals. It’s so lovely how you fed the horse Shell. I love feeding and connecting with horses.

It’s so lovely too Shell how you and your son are supporting and motivating one another. I’m so glad you are getting great benefit from the exercise and healthy eating. Yes, a sports or exercise physiologist could be a good person to help me with my arm injury. There is a local gym in my town but I haven’t used it so far.

I am back from my trip. I arrived home yesterday. I had many lovely walks in semi-arid country with beautiful eucalypt woodlands, lakes and salt marshes (kind of lake beds that are damp but not filled up like a lake with salt-tolerant plants such as samphire growing). I saw many different birds and was in my element exploring. It did my spirit and morale so much good.

Today I got a walk in between two squally rain showers. There were lots of puddles to walk around. As a kid I enjoyed jumping in the middle of them! I only walked up the street and back but I saw seagulls circling in the wind and a magpie chasing some galahs. I could hear black cockatoos calling nearby. It was good to get out even for a short while.

[Guest_1055]

Yes I can see how you would be in your element there Eagle Ray. With all the birds and nature around you. And you noticing it all. Perhaps drinking it all into your very soul. It can feel so very calming as well. 

It does feel good to get on out outside, maybe I will soon too. I am laying in bed still typing away. But a walk is calling me and I can hear birds chirping away happily through my bedroom window.

I wonder if you still enjoy jumping in puddles of water ? Have a lovely day Eagle Ray

[Guest_1055]

Hi

Just recently come back from a walk. We went somewhere different. It was in a suburb about 20 mins drive from us.

We walked along the footpath passing beautiful houses steeped in history. Most were very well kept with beautiful gardens. A couple had wide verandahs out front. I really liked most of these houses. This is a super old suburb, I think one of the first settled in this area in the 1800 something. I stopped twice to touch my fingers on some lavender flowers, that were growing near someones fence. Actually I reached over one of them. The aroma was lovely. I noticed camellias in a garden too. 

We passed 2 little ones, they were selling oranges. $1 for 5 of them. We didn't have any small change, but we got some later on from a shop and bought some on the way back. They melted my heart these little ones. We bought 15 oranges and gave them 3 dollar coins. The boy counted out 15 oranges and placed them in my bag. They were so excited to get customers. So adorable. He placed the money inside a toy cash register and asked me if I needed change. I think he was probably about 5 or maybe 6. They had there little tiny table set up just inside the gate on their driveway. I looked at the childhood writing on the paper sign on the table. Truly did my heart good. And I was happy to buy the oranges as well as they were a good price. And also I know what it is like to sell items out the front of your place. For I did that when I was young. I remember getting a real buzz out of serving a customer and receiving money for it.

Anyway this walk included walking along the river here. I have only ever walked in the other side of this river, so it was so very different looking across in the other side. The other side is an old suburb as well and first have some historical buildings over there. But we saw them from a different perspective. I did like walking along the river here on this side.

[Eagle Ray]

Thank you Shell. I think jumping in puddles for me now would be very therapeutic! A couple of times in the last year I’ve allowed myself to get really wet in the rain. It is like being really alive with the elements instead of shielding against them with umbrellas and raincoats. Sometimes it feels really good to do that.

Your walk today sounds lovely. I love older houses with the wide verandahs. And the little ones selling oranges sound gorgeous. It is wonderful how you remember doing that yourself as a child and the excitement of having a customer. It’s interesting seeing things from a new perspective from the other side of the river. I live near a river. It takes a very long time to drive to the other side but only 5 minutes by boat. I still have never been to the other side.

 I didn’t get a walk today except in my backyard I guess while I was hanging out the washing and looking at the garden. There were honeyeaters darting about amongst flowers. I actually have some red camellias flowering at the moment. The lavender is full of flowers too and some daisies are starting to flower. A few hibiscus too.

[Guest_1055]

It's good you got outside into your backyard Eagle Ray to hang out the washing. A bit of fresh air and maybe sunshine for you. Maybe you are a bit tired today. I like all those plants you mentioned. Um maybe not the red flower on the camellia but I like other colours of camellia flowers. Lavender 🪻 is beautiful. And daisies too. Maybe you planted them.

Can you go across on a boat then, like is it easy to do? Like hire one or something, is there a ferry there? Might be adventurous for you going across and walking on the other side.

You are right about the feeling alive when you get wet by rain. The sensation of it all. I am quite happy to walk in the rain, not lightening though. My sister and I got drenched once while we were walking out near the beach. So drenched that droplets of water were dripping off our faces. The rain was not letting up any time soon , so we simply walked in it. 

Maybe you could walk in a puddle when it rains next and if you find one. You got some gumboots?