Why do people disregard walking?

Losingthedamnweight

Walking is THE way on which I lose the weight. In my eyes, walking is the best way to lose weight because not only is it easy to do, but it's something you can do every single day consistently without dreading!

For me walking is relaxing. There's nothing better than getting out of the house and walking for an hour or two at the park listening to podcasts. Really. Time flies. When I finally look at the time, I've been walking for more than an hour and already have most of my daily steps. Last week I just kept going and going and blew last my 10,000 step goal and went into 16,000.

Maybe when I lose a little more ill try running, but for now, walking is the ****

sand1941

I'm a walker too! I'm trying to get to 10 miles a day.

IanBee93

It seems like the thing that burns the least amount, aka pointless.

Iwishyouwell

Good grief, do I love to walk. It's great for the body, mind, and soul. I never cease to just feel all around better after a good, long vigorous walk. When I'm out I do a minimum of 8 miles, up to 11 or 12. It is an incredible form of exercise, and one that most people can do. I hate to see especially large and/or out of shape people struggling hard to push themselves doing exercises that they're not ready for, while forsaking the one exercise we're designed to do most.

And if you get really good at it, in form and speed, its wonderful for the cardiovascular system. Walking is my main form of exercise, and I'm VERY good at it. Burning a ton of calories and sweating up a storm. My wife had gotten into jogging, but decided one night to accompany me on one of my long walks. She was flabbergasted at my speed and was totally unable to keep up, even while adding jogging into our walk.

You can do a lot with walking, trust me.

holidaygirl1224

Leslie's videos helped me lose at least 30 lbs. At the time I was living in Brazil, and yes I did walk outside, but I wasn't familiar with the area so I felt safer exercising indoors.

I usually did her 3 mile walk video 5-6 days a week for 45 minutes (about a 15 minute mile). I hung a little black dress I bought in a smaller size on the wall for motivation. I'd walk and look at that dress daily. Next thing you know I was healthier than ever and fit into my special dress (:

Those videos mixed with some basic calorie counting on myfitnesspal were my main sources of success. I don't know why people brush walking off so easily. It is an "easy" and great source of cardio and toning all at once. Keep up the good work! (:

lessofme43

Walking is my exercise of choice these days, and I'm getting the results I want, so while I appreciate others sharing what works for them, I won't feel pressured to change what's working for me. Keep enjoying what you do! - and thanks to all those replying here for sharing your successes with walking, too!

littleburgy

I did just walking for years when I was recovering from a back injury and didn't have a car. Kept my weight down, too. It only sprung back up when I was able to start driving again... LOL

I prefer vigorous cardio training in a group setting but really, walking is great. Free, convenient, flexible, beginner friendly, stress relieving, etc!

astartig

...,when I'm asked what is the best workout to get in shape and/or lose weight, I always say "whatever exercise you will actually do and STICK WITH." If that's walking, then you go right ahead and walk your butt off!

This, ^
I know for me personally, if someone tells me what I am doing is not optimal and I should do "this or that" odds are I'll end up dropping everything in an attempt to do something else. (if I decide they are right) I won't be doing the thing that was working for me and I won't be doing the new thing. If you're doing it, and you're enjoying it... then it's a great thing and certainly nothing to be dissed.

lessofme43

I'd like to add that those who thumb their noses at walking probably don't have the patience for it - to them it's a waste of time for a puny couple-hundred-calories burn. They'd rather go hard to lose weight/get fit faster...but how many can sustain that pace long-term?

pinkraynedropjacki

I did just walking for years when I was recovering from a back injury and didn't have a car. Kept my weight down, too. It only sprung back up when I was able to start driving again... LOL

I prefer vigorous cardio training in a group setting but really, walking is great. Free, convenient, flexible, beginner friendly, stress relieving, etc!

Plus you get a great tan in the summer & get a ton of vitamin d that is great for bones.

MstngSammy

I'd like to add that those who thumb their noses at walking probably don't have the patience for it - to them it's a waste of time for a puny couple-hundred-calories burn. They'd rather go hard to lose weight/get fit faster...but how many can sustain that pace long-term?

Speaking from experience (having had jobs for 25 yrs on my feet, walking, all day everyday).....they may also walk a lot anyway and see walking as normal as washing dishes....and not realize that there are people who don't do a lot of walking.


(Also...I'm going to have to google that walking plan that the OP is talking about. I may have to check out a walking plan that raises the HR to 150 or higher. Wow!)

MstngSammy

I'd like to add that those who thumb their noses at walking probably don't have the patience for it - to them it's a waste of time for a puny couple-hundred-calories burn. They'd rather go hard to lose weight/get fit faster...but how many can sustain that pace long-term?

I'd also like to address your last sentence there as well.

There are SEVERAL options that will bring about a higher cal burn and are VERY sustainable.

Weight training (strength training) for instance has a low initial calorie burn but lasts for several hours after. Aerobic/cardio is meant for building endurance so is sustainable in the long run because you build endurance if you keep at it.

Too many options here to list.......

Nenny1985

I love walking and walk everyday. I particuarly enjoy walking with my little girl in the pram. Walking is also great for incidental exercise. Eg I try to walk really fast around the supermarket/shopping centre and try to park in the furthest carpark from the store

neandermagnon

I walk because it is free. There were no treadmills, Gyms, racetracks or theme parks in prehistoric times

SO WALKING WAS THE THING.

Running was the thing you did to avoid getting eaten.

not strictly true. Humans (and bipedal ancestors like australopithecines) can't run fast enough to outrun the kind of predators that ate them. Early prehistoric humans, australopithecines, etc would more likely have relied on group co-operation and crude weapons (e.g. stones and pointy sticks) to chase off predators, rather than trying to outrun them.

it's thought that early humans used both walking and running to hunt, using the persistence hunting method, where you track and chase an animal for hours, tracking it down repeatedly and never letting it rest, until it drops dead from exhaustion or it's exhausted enough that you can kill it with sticks and stones (later palaeolithic humans would have used more sophisticated weapons). Humans are much slower at running than other mammals, but humans also have way more endurance and better heat control (sparse body hair, sweating over the whole body) than other mammals, so can run for hours, while other mammals sprint fast but get exhausted and overheated quickly. We're built for long distance running and walking, with occasional sprinting here and there.


Regarding which is the best exercise, running and walking are both good and people should do the one they enjoy the most so they'll stick with it long term. Personally I hate running but really enjoy walking and don't care if the calorie burns and intensity are lower. I'm not into self-torture so I'm going to stick to exercise that I enjoy. And I can see why if someone doesn't like walking much, it's going to feel totally pointless *for them* to choose walking as an exercise as they can get the same benefit in a shorter time with a more intense exercise. It's a matter of what works for the individual.

Kr1ptonite

The majority of my weight loss cardio was just from walking on a treadmill at a high pace and incline. Even today i still just walk for my cardio.

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

I lift heavy, but I walk my dogs daily, and I walk up hills (hiking). I burn most of my calories while walking, it is my main weight loss tool to be honest. Even when I go in the gym and do my 720lb leg presses, it doesn't compare to the calorie burn while walking. Don't let anyone get you down over walking!

Several studies are now showing just 150 minutes/week of exercise such as walking is also enough to show general health improvement and lower your risk of diseases like diabetes, even if you don't lose weight! Of course that's just a minimum, but if all you can do is walk 150minutes/week, that's a huge improvement, and if you do enough to lose weight, more power to you.

hulahoopmama

If you can walk for 2 hours - walking is great for working out and losing weight.

Nenny1985

Also I reckon walking is great cos you can do it everyday and see results in both fitness and weight loss and it doesnt put a ton of pressure on yr body. For me, I have got best results from walking at a decent pace pretty much every day

srobertking

I'm 128 lbs down in a little more than a year. I never joined a gym. My main calorie burner? Walking. Granted, I live in a very hilly area. I'm sure that helped.

TheDoctor_13

Probably because walking isn't that regarded as a high calarie burner. Used to do a walking class and we walked 2 miles everyday. I didn't see much results because I still ate like I didn't care, but I did have slight improvements.
I think of walking more of a clense of thought, but its one of the more simpler things to do and still burn off calories.