Hiking versus Walking?

[KarenLeah]

So what is the difference between the Hiking exercise and the Walking exercise? Other then the nifty picture on the screen 😄 

[Donnamt16]

i wonder this too. hope someone has an answer.

[WavyDavey]

Hi @KarenLeah,

That's a very good question. Hiking and Walking both are measured by distance, pace and elapsed time.

So what's the difference?

It has to do with intensity. Hiking usually involves more exertion, going up and down terrain of various types. So it gets assigned a higher intensity factor than walking for calculating calories burned.

Basically, hiking burns more calories than walking. Hope this helps.

[JohnnyRow]

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@WavyDavey wrote:

Hi @KarenLeah,

That's a very good question. Hiking and Walking both are measured by distance, pace and elapsed time.

So what's the difference?

It has to do with intensity. Hiking usually involves more exertion, going up and down terrain of various types. So it gets assigned a higher intensity factor than walking for calculating calories burned.

Basically, hiking burns more calories than walking. Hope this helps.

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I could see that for trackers without heart rate monitor, but with HR monitor, intensity is built into the heart rate. Could it be hiking vs. walking is most useful for earlier trackers that didn't have heart rate to measure intensity and calories, and is just carried over from them without really making any difference here, other than to categorize activity for reference?