Q. My husband, who is 76 years old, has taken up walking since his two knee replacements. This makes me very happy, and he likes for me to walk with him and the dog. I like to spend time with him but we argue almost every time. I have always been a walker and go at an increased pace for my heart. He walks at his own pace and gets upset when I go out in front of him. HELP!! What should I do? ~ Donna, Three Lakes

     A. The first thing I want to say is that it is great you are both working out, and it’s important for you to enjoy your time together. Working out together will help your relationship, as well as help both of you maintain a healthy lifestyle and give you a support system for fitness.

    That being said, it would be unreasonable for you to expect your husband to change his opinions. The only person you can change is yourself, so I’m going to give you some ways to increase the cardio aspect of a walk without increasing the pace.

      One of the ways to add intensity to your walking is with the use of a weighted vest. NEVER use ankle or wrist weights when walking. Don’t place any extra weight on or in hands or feet when walking. The added weight places too much torque, or stress, on shoulder, hip and knee joints, throwing everything out of line and does more damage than any perceived benefit.

    Weighted vests remove this torque by placing the weight over your center of gravity. They can be purchased or home-made, so the amount of weight you’re using can be changed as your fitness increases. If you decide to make one, it is important to remember that the weight needs to be evenly distributed on both sides, as well as front and back. Hunting and fishing vests are good for this, as they have a lot of pockets on all sides, but any vest or shirt with plenty of pockets all over will work.

    For the weight, you could buy flat weights such as dive weights, or you can use household items such as pennies, rolled money or shotgun pellets. Just be sure to put the items in containers or small bags rather than leaving them loose. You want to be able to control the weight distribution through your entire workout.
      
    Whenever you walk you must be concerned with your posture. This is even more important when you are using weights, as they can throw things out of whack faster than when you aren’t, but it is always necessary to maintain correct posture to avoid injury.

    A mental checklist to ensure good posture is vital. Your chin should be level and pulled back, shoulders back and down, abs firm and knees soft.

    An unexpected area that is also vital for good posture is the position of your hands. Your shoulders cannot be properly aligned if your hands are not even on the sides of your body, palms facing each other. If your palms are facing forward or backward, use your shoulders alignment to pull them back to the proper position; if you simply use your wrist, you have not corrected the problem and added more strain.

    Last, as a substitute for the weights, or in addition to them, adding mini-lunges to your walk is a great way to increase the cardio and improve leg strength tremendously. Stronger thighs help strengthen knees, so adding mini-lunges to your walk, or full lunges to your daily workout, is a great idea.
   
    Note: If you have an exercise, health or fitness question, write to cihla@newsofthenorth.net. Confidentiality will be respected.