h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Post 32 does not address my points. But it's your Entry.

I quite like the title, just the first part would sound a bit dull to me, if I'm honest.

Fine, I relent. I must be taking my myth and magic too seriously

No, I see where you are coming from, but for me, the myth/magic relates to the NUMBER of steps, not to the walking as such, whose benefits for your health, as you quite rightly say, is neither mythical nor magical.

Yes, that's exactly it.

'10,000 steps to health' as a title is exactly the opposite of what I'm trying to say.

Myth and Magic may be a bit ott perhaps, but I'm trying to explore whether 10,000 steps is a magical answer to obesity, no need to diet, etc, just stroll around as you feel like. Perhaps 'miracle' would be better (and I'd happily replace 'magic' with 'miracle'), as so many tabloids refer to 'miracle diets' or 'miracle pills' that help people lose weight. Or whether it's an urban myth that 10,000 steps is a cure-all for people who are unfit or fat.

My article is trying to show that really it's neither, but that walking can help if done in the 'right' way, regardless of whether you do 10,000 steps or not.

I hope that's better explained what I mean.

It has indeed. I would be skeptical about any health panacea that didn't mention diet.

"Post 32 does not address my points. But it's your Entry." (Recumbentman)
Exactly, as Eco states in response to my posting 25:

"I've explained why I don't feel I need to add that information to the entry. As the author that's my right, so thanks for reading and commenting."

Yes, it is Eco's Entry, but it is *not* Eco's Guide.

As a reviewer, I see that my first responsibility is to the Guide and its readers, and *not* to the author.

Are we so short of Entries that we must fill the Guide with even the most casually researched and prepared material?

"The research I did found that no warm up or stretching is necessary, other than the starting slow and finishing slow if necessary. Most people do enough warm up/stretching just taking coats and shoes off!" (Eco posting 26)

I don't know how anyone could have overlooked advice from sites like these:

Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/AboutThisSite/AboutMayoClinic

The Walking Site: http://www.thewalkingsite.com/stretching.html

A doctor: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/sportsnick/8506/stretching-can-decrease-injuries-improve-posture

American Diabetes Association:http://www.diabetes.org/weightloss-and-exercise/exercise/good-health-rewards.jsp

The Rob Roy Challengehttp://www.robroychallenge.com/training/

About Aerobics: http://www.aboutaerobics.com/walking-workout.html

Wellness Institute: http://www.wellnessinstitute.mb.ca/news/articles/askphysio_051704.php

The Walking Connection: http://www.walkingconnection.com/Walking_Warm_Up.html

Spine-Health.com: http://www.spine-health.com/topics/conserv/walking/walking01.html

America's Walking: http://www.pbs.org/americaswalking/health/health3minute.html

Harvard Medical School: http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/EMIHC000/7165/31795/349997.html?d=dmtContent


"My article is trying to show that really it's neither, but that walking can help if done in the 'right' way, regardless of whether you do 10,000 steps or not." (Eco posting 45)

Doing it "in the 'right' way" includes stretching.

This is a direct link to the Mayo Clinic's 'Walking for Fitness':
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/walking/HQ01612

>>Are we so short of Entries that we must fill the Guide with even the most casually researched and prepared material?<<

I think that's a very unfair remark, just because Eco doesn't agree with you about the stretching.

Just because a million of people believe in something, it doesn't mean it's true.
Here, opinions about stretching vary, depending on the coach who is doing the classes.

To be honest, it wouldn't occur to me that I needed to stretch my muscles after walking. I'm sure it wouldn't harm, provided my muscles are warm enough, but as I won't use muscles I don't use anyway, I wouldn't see the need for it. Furthermore, I'm convinced that the inhibition threshold to do the suggested walks would increase if you asked people to do some stretching - most people wouldn't know how to go about it, so would have to do a sports class to learn. That's too much hassle for the average overweight and will probably keep them from trying altogether.

I agree with Bel on this one, I do *some* walking every day, and unless you are about to walk a marathon I don't see the need for warm-ups or warm-downs.

I thought the whole point of walking is to get the heart going, no muscles are used that wouldn't be used in the normal course of the day, neither are they stretched beyond their normal range - we aren't talking jogging, running, aerobics or gymnastics here - just walking - most of us can manage it without any specialist training or advice.

The Entry is not about going for a stroll - Eco makes that perfectly clear - It's about walking sufficiently briskly *to produce a training effect*.

You might benefit from reading some of the links in post 47 - or would you prefer me to quote the experts' advice here?

"My article is trying to show that really it's neither, but that walking can help if done in the 'right' way, regardless of whether you do 10,000 steps or not." (Eco post 45)
[So, we don't need pedometers anyway - a watch does come in handy, though.]

Yes, to produce the training effect is simply to get the heart beating faster than it does at rest - walking more quickly than usual, but walking none the less. A walk with a purpose if you like.

You'd be more likely to need to do a warm-up for housework which not only increases your heart rate but also requires stretching, reaching and lifting.

A pedometer is only there to keep a count of your steps - yes you could do it without one, you could count in your head or average out how many steps you take in 10 minute sessions - either way no pedometer.

It's true, you don't actually need a pedometer. It's more a device to show people what they've actually gained, people who wnat to lose weight want to measure it, they want some control, and they want to know what they have done, note the progress they make. This is not going for a stroll, but walking with a purpose like Fizzy said. Still, it's walking, not running or jogging, just brisk walking.

I'm sorry Rudest Elf that you think I've been very casual about this. As I've said before, and will happily say for the rest of my online life, I rarely use websites as research in my entries as I feel this is a lazy way of writing and researching an entry.

I've been on lots of Walking for Health type walks, lots of other group walks, done lots of this type of walking myself and I've spoken to the walk leaders and *none* of them see any reason to stretch. Your experts are clearly different from mine, and as we all know, we'll find a different expert to claim the exact opposite about anything if we look hard enough.

As I say in my entry, we're talking about brisk walking, the type you do when you're late for something - you can still hold a conversation without getting breathless. It's not necessary to stretch when you've spent ten minutes walking quickly because you're late for the dentist, and I think most people would be laughed at if they did.

If my entry was talking about going for a five or six mile brisk walk, then I would indeed mention the benefits of a proper warm up and stretch because I've been for long walks and experienced the muscle ache that comes with just charging off into the distance for that long. But as the other Researchers in this thread have mentioned, we're talking about something that people are doing anyway, walking about, so those muscles are already warmed up and it isn't necessary to stretch after such a short distance. Even if you walk 30 minutes briskly, that's hardly a mile and a half for most people and probably less for the unfit. Loads of kids walk that to school every day (or further), and you don't see classes full of stretching children!

It's really not necessary when those same muscles will be used for the rest of the day, so it's not as if we are being demanding on certain areas of the body and then ignoring them for the rest of the day, as may happen with strenuous work outs (which this is not).

As I said, I'm sorry if you feel my research on this is slapdash and ill-prepared but I can assure you that it's not. There is nothing to stop you writing your own entry about the benefits of stretching after exercise which I would happily link to.

"But as the other Researchers in this thread have mentioned, we're talking about something that people are doing anyway, walking about, so those muscles are already warmed up and it isn't necessary to stretch after such a short distance."

I'm sorry, Eco, but it's clear from that sentence alone that you don't understand, any more than "the other researchers in this thread", the difference between "walking about" and walking at speed, up and down hilly streets and parks (not necessarily 'hillwalking') to achieve a training effect. You sure know how to take critism well, though - I'd been expecting a slap upside the head at the very least .

As I indicated earlier in the thread, walking fast has been part of my aerobic exercise programme for 30 years. Well into my forties, a typical week would include: fast walking for 30 minutes, 3 times every weekday and for 45 minutes on Sundays; a 30 minute jog 2 or 3 times a week; squash twice; step aerobics twice; swimming once - just "walking about" doesn't count. For many years, my resting heart rate did not rise above 40-44 beats per minute.

I do know what I'm talking about.

No need to worry, though; your Entry will be on the front page in no time - but I will have made my point.

Your Guide Entry has just been picked from Peer Review by one of our Scouts, and is now heading off into the Editorial Process, which ends with publication in the Edited Guide. We've therefore moved this Review Conversation out of Peer Review and to the entry itself.

If you'd like to know what happens now, check out the page on 'What Happens after your Entry has been Recommended?' at EditedGuide-Process. We hope this explains everything.

Thanks for contributing to the Edited Guide!

Congratulations

Well done must go now - for a brisk walk ............................................................................................

I'll just do a few stretches first

Thanks!

But you're still talking about fast walking. I'm talking about walking 'briskly'.

"I'm sorry, Eco, but it's clear from that sentence alone that you don't understand, any more than "the other researchers in this thread", the difference between "walking about" and walking at speed, up and down hilly streets and parks (not necessarily 'hillwalking') to achieve a training effect. "

Perhaps it's you who is not understanding that I'm not talking about walking up and down hilly streets at speed! Please realise that I'm not talking about any sort of training effect at all. I just want people to raise their heartbeat a little, most people walking briskly for 30 mins a day won't even lose weight, let alone get any 'training' out of it.