Walking in place of Cardio?

AshFace22

I feel like I’m going a bit crazy? Lately I’ve been lacking motivation to hit the weights and do my normal cardio session. I know I’m bored and need to switch it up- and I have! I’ve been doing a lot of walking- according to my tracker I get around 14-20,000 steps a day! But I’ve been avoiding the gym- I go at least 3-4 days a week, and I’ll GO, but I’m miserable the whole time. Is walking a lot enough to keep me fit and healthy? That’s just my main concern- remaining fit, lean and at my current weight. I feel like a failure for not going to the gym- I’m miserable when I am- I’ve been eating at 2,000 calories or a little bit more a day (according to my Fitbit I should be eating roughly 2300-2700 a day)

cmriverside

You've done really well with all of this in the past. Trust yourself.

Maybe set some other types of goals. Buy a bike? Train for some fitness event like a Mud Run or something similar...join Crossfit, take up swimming or scuba diving, horseback riding, kayaking, golf. Get on a softball team. Tennis.

Really you're only limiting yourself.

Get out there!

With that said, I cannot work out in a gym - I've never liked it. Outdoor stuff for me. I do a lot of nature hikes/long hilly walks.

middlehaitch

Walking will maintain a reasonable cardio fitness level, but not the same as if you were running, or doing a high energy class.

As far as retaining the muscular leanness one gets from lifting, you will lose that look, you will just look lean instead.

I have had to take time out of lifting for the past few months and though my measurements are virtually the same (not noticeable by friends), I have gone soft looking.

You sound as though you are burnt out. It is easy to do if you are under fuelled, lifting, and doing high or higher intensity cardio.

Try a less taxing lifting programme, and alternating it with the walking.

If you have been doing a full body programme with 5-7 lifts for 3 days a week you may find recovery better doing a 4day split with just 2-4 lifts.

Look at what you have been doing and see what can change to make you feel better.

Taking time out of the gym walking outside and doing bodywork at home for a couple of months may be the break you need.

Cheers, h.

VUA21

Walking is cardio. All cardio means is that it is an exercise for cardiovascular health. Yes, walking is enough

cheryldumais

I got to goal weight without going to the gym and just walking daily. Do what you can maintain and that you enjoy.

lorrpb

Walking is fantastic and many start there. However the benefits of strength training in addition to walking are immense and cannot be overstated. There are many ways to do strength training and I would encourage you to find a routine you can enjoy.

Leejay40

One thing that my PT always tells me is that Diet is over 70% what you eat and the rest can be attributed to exercise.
Many have lost weight without a significant exercise regime.
So if you do hit a period of not wanting to exercise, then as long as you stick to a healthy eating plan/diet you should still lose weight .

AnvilHead

AshFace22 wrote: »

...Is walking a lot enough to keep me fit and healthy? That’s just my main concern- remaining fit, lean and at my current weight...

The answer will depend upon how you define "fit". Fit enough to run a 5K, 10K or half-marathon? Fit enough to have the strength to lift some certain poundage of weight in a bench press, squat or deadlift? Fit enough to participate in some particular sport? Or fit enough to walk around in your day to day life without undue fatigue or soreness? If it's the latter, then walking is enough; if it's one of the former, walking won't be enough.

You appear to be young, judging from your profile pic; as we age, sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) becomes a factor, and some sort of strength training becomes increasingly important as far as counteracting functional decline and letting older people maintain their independence.

Remaining healthy, lean and at your current weight will be more a function of diet than exercise. Eating a nutritious, balanced diet in which you're getting adequate macro and micronutrients (along with adequate sleep and good personal habits) will go a long way toward the 'healthy' part. If you're exercising less, you'll have to cut back your calorie intake accordingly to compensate to maintain weight and stay lean.

heybales

More on the fit aspect, since as above - lean and current weight are part of diet.

If you have been doing more intense efforts than walking up to this point - your body improved because of the stimuli. Fitness as part of aerobic ability, heart/lung improvements, ect.

Now you will lowering that to a much lower level (unless you do something to the walking to make it just as intense), and without the stimuli the body will lose the adaptions to cardiovascular health it made.

By walking it will be a slower decline than stopping all activity - but it will decline.

In 4 weeks if you attempted to go out and do a higher level effort of whatever like you used to - you'll discover that fact.

Now - it will be better than if starting at nothing, or if you did nothing with cardio at all - so it will help compared to those levels.

But it won't keep you at the same fit level. And that may be just fine for your goals.

Just be aware in 2 months don't go sprinting out full force to challenge some friend to a foot race to show off.

rainbow198

I say something is better then nothing so good for you for getting movement and steps into your day. I guess it would depend on your goals, but I wouldn't do anything that would make me miserable if I didn't have to.

For me I walk daily and I count it as my cardio. I walk briskly (most days) and I get my heart rate at a good level and I keep it sustained for miles.

At one point I did cut back on the strength training and I noticed my body was getting a little soft and I did not like that.

For my goals I need to include strength training. It doesn't have to be weights or at a gym. I workout at home and use Youtube workouts and fitness dvd's. Or I'll get on the floor and do push ups on my toes, do bodyweight work, use a resistance band etc. Just something to keep my muscles engaged several days per week.

JustaJoe00

i've found walking is a good thing to do to get my body wanting more....more exercise so then it helps motivate me for lifting etc...it gets the good stuff flowing in the body...just keep doing something..

hikinggal11

JustaJoe00 wrote: »

i've found walking is a good thing to do to get my body wanting more....more exercise so then it helps motivate me for lifting etc...it gets the good stuff flowing in the body...just keep doing something..

This is so true. Exercise makes you want to do more of it. It sounds as though you just need a break from the gym for a while. Maybe find another activity to go along with your walking. Learn/do something new, yoga, swimming, biking, etc. A new activity will use muscles in a different way, keep interest up and make being active fun. Being active should be fun!

88olds

Great thread.

Try to keep an attitude of experimentation. No one can really answer your question, you have to find out what works for you.

And a word of caution, all these gadgets give the impression that they are spitting out the exactly right calories. The calculations are based on averages. To find out how many calories you actually need to maintain where you are, you need to be hooked up in a lab.

Last- keep trying different things. If we find a successful routine our tendency is to keep doing more of the same harder and harder. Look on YouTube there are a lot of ways to train. Just my view- walking is always good no matter what else you may be doing.