OK I know I am getting older 

 

I need help in exercise recovery

 

I walk the shelter dogs 3 times a week and each day i can be walking/running or being pulled for 4 hours straight and whilst I am there I can keep going until the last dog is walked I never get out of breath so I dont think its fitness but boy I can hardly walk the next day!

 

should I be strength training?

should I take supplements?

should I do stretching?

 

when I was younger I could do this everyday but not now :(

 

any help from the more mature endurance people would be great please, I rest on the in between days and at weekends I am usually doing some activity ie long walks

 

what more can I do?

 

 

 

 

Rollerblades :)

You should be stretching before you walk them especially long distances. 

Rollerblades :)

ummm no lol

 

Zee Ginger agrees with Zee DD, stretching super important. Aside from that, your body will naturally adapt gradually. What you have is delayed onset muscle soreness.

going to stretch after today and see if that helps

 

thanks xx

For reasons I do not understand, it is known that as we age it takes longer to increase our muscle strength. That's just the way it is.   And it might take quite a while for the delayed onset muscle soreness you feel to go away, if it ever does.

 

My personal experience (as a "mature" person although not an "endurance" person) is that my fitness improves faster and with less pain when I have frequent short exercise sessions rather than fewer longer sessions. At this point in your life, a single 4-hour session may be too much for you all at once. Try two 2-hour sessions a day. Or 2 hours every day rather than every other day. If that is not possible, do 2 hours of dog walking and gradually increase it to 4 hours. 

 

I think that stretching before dog walking is a great idea. I also think that 2 ibuprofen and a hot shower the morning after dog walking may ease your muscle soreness. But if you still have pain, try not pushing yourself so hard in the beginning. This level of effort may have been trivial for you 10 years ago, but now it is not. It is wise to accept reality and figure out ways to compensate for the inevitable changes to our bodies rather than needlessly hurting ourselves or risking serious injury. 

Two hours is a short session??? Holy crap am I out of shape!!!  :umnik2:

What kind of shoes/inserts are you wearing? Proper support for your feet is so important, especially when putting in that much time on them. It not only affects the feet but knees, hips, and back as well.

Unfortunatelynged tactics a bit, I walked the dogs first i knew were good walkers before working upto the huskies lol so i was a bit warned up before running the legs were stiffening up by the time I got home but i took buddy out for a walk then did stretching and had a hot bath

 

plus rez massaged my legs :)

 

Feel better today than ever before in fact i might even go to gym and swim

 

Unfortunately chrysalis i am an all or nothing personality but i see your logic but i just cant walk away until i know all dogs are done :(

 

Yes babs i must invest in better footwear for the job as its not just a walk in the park!

 

Thanks everyone x