Does walking make you gain muscle mass?

saundts

I have been on a diet for 5 weeks and lost 23 pounds. I was wondering, does walking 3.5 MPH make you gain muscle mass? I walked for 50 minutes yesterday and my legs hurt. Currently I am 247lb. and 42 yr. male. Please help as I do not want to gain any weight whether its muscle or fat!!! Yesterday was my first day walking.

Christine_72

I'd say no, but that depends if your'e walking on a flat surface or lots of hilly inclines, the latter may help to build "some" muscle, but not 100% sure on that.

I walk a lot, but only flat surfaces, no hills, and my calves are very tight/lean looking, but that's probably because i lost a layer of fat that was covering the muscle.

middlehaitch

Walking will help you maintain the muscle you have in your legs, you need them, but it won't add any muscle or fat.

If you have just started walking you may want to slow down a little and build up your endurance, speed, time, and distance. The sore legs are just DOMS. It should go in a couple of days. Take a few slow 10 min walks over the next couple of days, it will help ease them.

Cheers, h.

malibu927

No. And you generally aren't going to gain muscle in a calorie deficit anyway.

Afura

If you're not used to walking, that's a pretty decent walk length. I'm heavier than you are, and I can promise you if I don't walk for awhile and then go for a long walk, I feel it no matter the speed I go but I'm definitely not gaining muscle. DOMS is delayed onset muscle soreness btw.

lynn_glenmont

IF you're so out of shape that just 50 minutes of walking is a challenge to what muscle you do have (which your soreness suggests is possible), and
IF you have sufficient stores of fat to fuel your deficit plus building some muscle, and
IF you consume adequate amounts of protein to be physical building blocks of more muscle,
you MIGHT manage to gain some small amount of muscle, over time. A negligibly small amount, if any, at a deficit sufficient to lose 23 pounds in five weeks. An infinitesimally small amount from a single 50 minute walk.

And even if you keep increasing your walks, speed, and inclines to keep challenging your muscles (which is going to require really pushing yourself, as you're losing weight, and thus decreasing the work your muscles are doing), you would not be gaining enough muscle to offset the fat that you're losing. You're not going to see a net gain of weight in a deficit, even if you're gaining some tiny amount of muscle.

You're worrying about something that won't happen.

TimothyFish

Yes, but it won't make you look like a body builder. (Though it might make you look like a mail carrier.)

ccsernica

It might add a small amount as you acclimate, but nothing to write home about. If you want to put on muscle mass in a significant way, you have to pick up heavy things.

You're not going to add mass if you're in a calorie deficit anyway. Exercise doesn't negate the laws of thermodynamics.

saundts

Thank you all for clarifying this, it is really nice to have a forum like this and you all are very helpful and supportive!!!

peterbuller8

Ive been walking 2+ hours a day for a few months and it just helps to burn off the calories but not build any more muscle unfortunately

trigden1991

I hoped that walking uphill would help build my calves, alas it has not.

CSARdiver

saundts wrote: »

I have been on a diet for 5 weeks and lost 23 pounds. I was wondering, does walking 3.5 MPH make you gain muscle mass? I walked for 50 minutes yesterday and my legs hurt. Currently I am 247lb. and 42 yr. male. Please help as I do not want to gain any weight whether its muscle or fat!!! Yesterday was my first day walking.

Don't overthink this. Congrats on the progress!

No - walking will not gain any significant muscle mass. This will help defend against muscle loss, which you want. Your muscle mass is the primary driver of your metabolism and you want to do what you can to preserve this for long term health and weight management.

AliceDark

What it may do is cause temporary water retention, which can show up as a stall or small gain on the scale. Don't freak out if that happens! It'll go away, and the benefits of walking far outweigh a temporary stall on the scale.

BrookeRunningMom

I walked for years and never lost any weight or built much muscle mass.
But walk a lot and then try and jog for 2 minutes then Build your way up to 3 minutes a few days later or walk then jog walk and jog like (HIIT) suppose to help you loose weight quicker, then eventually start weight training. Good luck buddy

inertiastrength

If you lost 23lbs in 5 weeks walking is most definitely not going to help you build lean mass. You probably lost an unnecessarily large proportion of it to boot.

JaydedMiss

My legs are lean and sexy i blame walking. Tho i walk ALOT (10-12 miles 5-6 days a week) Gaining muscle wouldnt be bad youd look leaner and more fit so even if it did its a good thing. But no i doubt it i think i just lost fat and maintained my muscle