Is walking the best type of exercise for you?

[YojanaFitbit]

What do you think? Is walking the best type of exercise? 🤔 ... for you? 😉

Walking is a great way to improve or maintain your overall health. I've heard that several studies have consistently shown that significant health benefits accrue well below 10,000 steps per day. But I think that it depends on what is your personal goal. For some of us is too difficult to walk for 30 minutes at one time, but we can do regular small bouts (10 minutes) three times per day and gradually build up to longer sessions.

I've noticed that walking encourages my creativity 🤓. That's right, when you walk it allows your brain the opportunity to recover from fatigue, you rejuvenate your mind in walking which gives a restored state, perfect for letting creativity flow!

I personally enjoy walking during the afternoon when the sun is not too bright, it gives me time to relax and meditate about my day. 

Favorite walking phrase: Don't think just get up and walk!

[Heybales]

For my goals - no, not the best type of exercise.

Eats up a huge chunk of time for minor benefits, time better spent on something that supports my goals.

During some injury recovery time though carrying a weighted pack, or when raining and too cool, so running or biking is out - the opportunity to listen to some podcasts, or indeed take a breather from other input, is a nice time to think.

Trail hiking or backpacking is same nice time thinking about things.

[alexthecat]

I think walking is a great entry point for someone who was previously sedentary. Once they've become more fit, it's probably going to take something a little more intense to accrue any Active Zone Minutes. That's what I find for me, anyway. I love walking, but I view it more as relaxation than exercise. 

[shipo]

As others have alluded to, walking is good for someone rehabbing or starting out, but once you're in better condition the amount of time necessary to get in a good workout is just too much.  As I've posted elsewhere, starting in the spring of 2017 through this last December I was dealing with a series of injuries, errr, and COVID, which kept me from my normal running regimen; during that period I walked and hiked nearly 3,000 miles and all I did was get fatter and fatter and fatter; to the tune of about 50 pounds (and I'm only 5' 8").  Really annoying.

In December I was finally able to shake off the effects of the last four years and start running again; granted I'm only up to about 100 miles per month, but already my weight has come down 15 pounds.  Looked at from a different perspective, I logged over 200 hiking miles in a single month four times last year, consuming roughly 14 hours per in the process, and it didn't do diddly to help control my weight.  Now I'm running about 5 hours per week and my weight is noticeably dropping every week.

[Heybales]

Good point about calorie burn too.

Though exercise does allow you to eat more and keep the same deficit for weight loss (or no deficit for weight management), walking for most just isn't going to add that much to the day unless you spend hours, and then you better note the calorie burn and eat correctly.

And since most walking is at best approaching 4 x your laying around rate of burn, it just doesn't add much if not going fast and long.

Frankly, walking for me makes me more hungry.

I can do a 1.5 hr hard bike ride in the evening fasted from prior night eating, and not be hungry afterwards. Eventually I will be of course, and pretty stupid if I didn't eat.

But I can finish a 1 hr walk almost 4 mph, and feel very hungry right afterwards, and it doesn't seem to go away. And I didn't burn that much, maybe 350 calories above resting rate. And in a often below sedentary day, that just barely gets me above sedentary level burn.

I was going to wait to add - the other problem when used for weight loss I'll mention now.

Usually pace can only go so high when walking, and that can be reached before losing lots of weight.

But as weight is lost - there goes a decent amount of calorie burn carrying around less weight.

It actually becomes less of a workout then, for the heart and the muscles.

It would be like squatting 200 lbs, and slowly lowering the amount for same reps and sets - no one would imagine you are getting stronger going down in weight on the bar.

But that's what walking becomes if it's the only exercise done.

At least it's as easy as adding weight to the bar - start jogging!

[shipo]

---

@Heybales wrote:

At least it's as easy as adding weight to the bar - start jogging!

---

And then when jogging becomes too easy, ever so slowly dial up the speed.

Last year I was walking at about a 15-minute per mile pace and hiking at, well, depending upon the trail. anywhere from a 17-minute pace to a 30-minute pace.  When I started running in December my initial runs weren't much faster than a walk, you know, like in the 14-15 minute per mile pace.  The cool thing about running is there are two ways of "adding weight to the bar", go longer, or go faster, or both.  That said, when starting out, I never recommend the faster bit, keep it slow, and if your body wants to speed up, just add mileage.  Once your body has developed to the point were you're running say, an hour at a time, then you can start dialing up the pace.

[YojanaFitbit · Accepted solution]

Excellent insights, I think that we all agree that while walking may not be a better workout, it may be a better exercise choice for some people. It depends on personal and fitness goal. If you're currently thinking to start walking but you're still undecided, consider the following: 

1. Improve Circulation: Walking wards off heart disease, brings up the heart rate, lowers blood pressure and strengthens the heart.

2. Shore Up Your Bones: Study of post-menopausal women found that 30 minutes of walking each day reduced their risk of hip fractures by 40%.

3. Enjoy a Longer Life: Research finds that people who exercise regularly in their fifties and sixties are 35% less likely to die over the next eight years than their non-walking counterparts.

4. Lighten Your Mood: Walking releases natural pain killing endorphins to the body – one of the emotional benefits of exercise.

5. Lose Weight: A brisk 30-minute walk burns 200 calories. Over time, calories burned can lead to pounds dropped.

6. Strengthen Muscles: Walking tones your leg and abdominal muscles – and even arm muscles if you pump them as you walk.

7. Improve Sleep: Studies found that women (ages 50 to 75), who took one-hour morning walks, were more likely to relieve insomnia. 

8. Support Your Joints: Movement and compression from  walking “squishes” the cartilage, bringing oxygen and nutrients into the area. 

9. Improve Your Breath: When walking, your breathing rate increases, causing oxygen to travel faster through bloodstream, helping to eliminate waste products and improve your energy level and the ability to heal.

10. Slow Down Mental Decline: A study of 6,000 women, ages 65 and older, performed by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that age-related memory decline was lower in those who walked more.

😁👟👟

[BruceM]

I agree that walking is great for someone who isn't in shape but I'm 78 with back and knee problems (I haven't been kind to my body over the years) and it's right for me at this time of my life. I can still walk 10 miles/day - it's easy, I'm retired. The walking along with some stretching and weights are what I need to keep my weight, and cholesterol in good shape. I also climb at lest 30 flights of stairs/day. 

[SunsetRunner]

I agree 100%. I started out slow, trying to get 5,000 steps a day and I couldn't walk for 30 min. at a time. I did try to move every hr. It's been a little over 3 months on my journey and I've walked over 10,000 steps the last 5 days in a row 200 some active minutes in a week. I feel much better. I too feel it helps my creativity. I'm doing pointillism painting and it's great to walk and enjoy the blue sky and scenery. Now I can walk over a 1/2 hr. at a time and it does add up. Walking clears my head and makes me feel better, Physically and emotionally. Stay strong, walk on.

[t.parker]

For me, walking doesn't do much. It actually does so little, I hardly see it as an exercise. I would need to invest lots of time into walking for any benefit. To keep me in the low-aerobic range of HR I need to elevate my HR between 132-145bpm (based on my current lactate threshold). With walking, I can barely reach 90-100. I like long hikes, though but I don't see it as something very beneficial for my fitness. It's more like a relaxation thing. In my case, it's not the best exercise, it's not really an exercise at all 🙂 I believe, however, that walking is great for somebody, who... well... doesn't do much of it at all. Kind of entry-level activity into fitness.

[SunsetRunner]

I agree with that, also. It is entry level for me. I'm a 67 yr. old guy and
have spinal stenosis and copd so this is all I can do right now. I am
noticing that the more I walk the lower my heart rate gets which is a good
thing but like you said, I'll have to pick up the pace and distance as I'm
able. It's like I'm walking around picking up dollar bills and after a bit
I'll only be picking up pennies. Take care.

[emili]

I think walking is a low impact activity that supports good health in body and spirit. I don't think one should look at it from a time commitment. Look at it as a way to get your body moving without extensive damage. I am a runner, but there are days I rather poke my eye than run, so I turn to walking. I put on a movie or a binge worthy show and get going. If it is nice out, I take my dogs and my daughter. In the end, I burned some calories, got moving and did something great for my heart. Not everything has to be about sweat and intensity. 

[t.parker]

@emili the topic says "exercise", hence my view on walking. As an exercise, for me, it just doesn't work. Even "calories" is not a reward here because within 2hrs walk I won't burn more than 200-300kcal. Yes, it is nice activity, I like to walk to explore, have a hike with my wife, walk the mountains etc. Is this an exercise for me? Not really. Walking has some benefits for my body (and mind) but there are better activities that can serve as proper exercise 🙂

[davidg92]

Walking is not a cure-all for all diseases and problems. But it will help keep the body toned, add an activity, which is needed. And it's just a pleasant way to relieve stress.

[Heybales]

I think if you have plenty of time to spare in life with all priorities, you can look at walking as not a time commitment.

But I absolutely have to look at it from a time commitment, and I'm sensing that from other's comments too.

Only so much time in the day and week, and for many of us we know there are better workouts to improve our body in some way, and would rather use the time for that improvement.

I think it's good point to not forget the mental/emotional state too - and sometimes we do need time for no input only thinking - and walking may be that avenue.

[SunsetRunner]

What a great question by Yojana Fitbit! Certainly elicited a lot of responses. I'm retired and have a lot of time, I'm also getting healthier, walking and practicing better eating habits. Walking right now is exercise for me and is helping a lot. After reading everybody's responses I see it all depends on the individual. I'm going to start using a rowing machine this week. I wouldn't have even considered that a few weeks ago. Yay, Fitbit! 

 Stay strong, exercise on.

[t.parker]

@Heybales this is what I exactly meant by saying that walking is too time-consuming. Having very little time available for physical activity I prefer to use that time on something that is worth it, something that I will benefit from. Walking outdoor as a form of social activity is fine, however, walking indoor, on the treadmill - sooner I would poke my own eye out 😄

I think, the question is formulated wrong and it should be more like "Is walking the best type of exercise FOR YOU". As this thread shows, everyone is different, what works for one person may not work for somebody else. There are people for who walking is challenging. After my hernia surgery walking was a very important element of my recovery and then I would consider it as a form of exercise (and at that time, not only it was the best exercise but really the only one I could do). I also had plenty of time for long walks staying off the work. Everything depends really on individual needs and on what one is able to do. I can perform a low-aerobic run (improving base or just for recovery) for 2hrs or walk. There will be a significant difference between the effects of each activity on my body. Walking will be more like active recovery. There's no point to think about calories burnt during walking as what I would burn would be insignificant (lucky, if I burn doughnut). It is relaxing, true, but I learned to relax during my runs, too (maybe even more). I will always choose to run at this intensity because it is pretty much effortless and builds my runner's base. I had such run yesterday and with an average pace of 6:00/km, HR 132-145bpm for 1,5hr and power 160W/sec (my critical power is 264W/sec so I kept my efforts very low) it was a very easy, refreshing, and pleasant run with nice views (running takes me further) after which I just came back to the office and continued working. I burnt almost 900kcal without generating muscle fatigue (staying way below my lactate threshold). I can't get that from walking even after 6hrs invested into it, and I usually have maybe 1 hour free for exercise 🙂 Why am I saying all of it? To show, that when we speak about exercise, for one person walking may be very challenging and be the best exercise and this is absolutely fine, for another aerobic run becomes the new walking. That's why I stick with my opinion - the question is badly formulated 😉

[Heybales]

@t.parker 

Another reason I think this is a good topic, especially on a site for a device that encourages challenges based on walking and getting steps.

I have seen people on here and in life flat out admit they are NOT doing a workout they know would be better for them, merely to get steps in for challenges.

Like resistance training, or running because of longer stride length less steps, or cycling because of miscounts, ect.

They are putting the available time to getting steps.

Now that is really sad.

Because to repeat something I said before which you added to - if you lose weight and walking is the only workout, it becomes LESS of a workout than before when carrying around more weight.

People have lost fitness when they didn't figure out how to increase intensity in some manner, because they could not say run, or selected not to do other things.

This will be good for some to think about. Some need to stick at the walking, some may not have to.

[shipo]

---

@Heybales wrote:

I have seen people on here and in life flat out admit they are NOT doing a workout they know would be better for them, merely to get steps in for challenges.

^This...

True story, back in 2016 my boss roped me into our company's "Fun Fit For Fall Challenge", I decided to see how many miles I could run in the two months of the challenge.  I ended up with 350 miles in October and 325 miles in November, averaging just under 30,000 steps per day for the 61-day stretch ending with almost exactly 1.8-million steps.  Other folks opted for, dare I say it, less strenuous forms of exercise to maximize their steps; I ended the competition in 14th place and lost to, shall we say, folks who were anything but fit.

Needless to say, I've gone my own way since then and haven't accepted any invitations into new challenges.

[YojanaFitbit]

Wow, thank you all for sharing your point of view. I've just modified the title of this topic thanks to all your responses, as @t.parker I think it sounds more appropriate. @SunsetRunner it's great to have so many people adding their personal experience to help others.