Why do people disregard walking?

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Replies

  • 615katz555
    615katz555 Posts: 4 Member
    I walk 20-25 miles a week. I'm down 20 pounds... official weigh in tomorrow.... in 11 weeks. You do what you like and what you will stick with. Don't worry about what others think. This is YOUR life and everyone is different :) No shame in being a walker!
  • EvelynBfly78
    EvelynBfly78 Posts: 240 Member
    I walk every day 3x a day with my dog. Total miles is between 4.5 & 5 per day. When the weather is too bad (Pacific NW rain) to go out I walk with Kendra Kemerley on InDemand TV.
    Any way you can burn off calories is a good way. I don't worry that people think walking isn't exercise. I've lost 1" off my waist & thighs just by walking since about April. It might not seem like a lot but it works for me.
    Keep walking! If it makes you feel good, continue on. Who cares what others think.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    I walk a marathon a day, it's my ONLY form of exercise at the moment. I started walking, I'll die walking. I don't drive, so even shopping is made up of walking. I walk ALL day.

    People who say that walking is not a workout, or walking is not exercise....or even those that say you HAVE to walk & get your heart rate up for it to count are just pathetic.
  • Msdnice
    Msdnice Posts: 50
    www.walkawaythepounds.com

    she is the best!
  • Msdnice
    Msdnice Posts: 50
    I love her. I really do. I get emotional thinking how she has changed my life. I have worked out with her tapes more this past year than I have since I was in High school.
  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
    Cardio is great for your heart and stamina and lifting weights is great for strength and tightening up, but walking is the best way to burn fat. Walking is low impact and effort and cumulative so you can really burn a lot of calories over the hours. Slow twitch muscles also rely on fat burning since they have to maintain power over an extended period of time which stored glycogen can't provide. Fast twitch muscles do burn glycogen and use it up quickly, so they work really hard when they work, but you can't push them anywhere as long as slow twitch muscle.

    It's still hard to exercise your way to weight loss. That does still take calorie deficits, but walking helps increase your calorie burn to give some headroom in the daily calorie limits.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    I have joined gyms at various times in my life time and after the first month I hardly ever went. Walking is the one exercise that I actually do, that I enjoy and that I keep up. Should I do strength training and weights? Absolutely. Will I actually do them if I get a gym membership? Highly unlikely. Might try Pilates for toning though.

    'Keep walking and be proud' is my motto :-)
  • ice1200s
    ice1200s Posts: 237 Member
    You just keep right on walking. That's what did it for me. I live in a very small, don't blink, kinda town and I would walk just about everywhere I needed to go. I often would do the loop around town, which is about four and a half miles, in about an hour and a half. I now have an active part-time job, so I don't need to do that anymore. Until I give it that is.
  • arlenem1974
    arlenem1974 Posts: 437 Member
    90% of my exercise is walking 2ML an hour and since I have been on here September 2012 I have lost 61 lbs. Don't believe them when they say its not exercise because it is I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't.
  • fultimers
    fultimers Posts: 153 Member
    I was walking 1 1/2 miles every day on the treadmill (it's too hot here in South Texas in the summer to walk outside). However, my feet are in pain the entire time probably because I have 85 excess pounds. So now I walk 4 days a week for a mile and a half and ride on the exercise bike 3 times a week for 8-9 miles each time.

    I used to do Leslie Sansone videos in an informal get-together with friends but we only had two of her videos and I really got bored with the same routines day after day.
  • walkinthedogs
    walkinthedogs Posts: 238 Member
    I'm a walker and I love walking. I've tried to be a jogger, but I just really don't enjoy it and it hurts, so walking is one of the many activities I enjoy and do as much as possible. I have a dog that HAS to be walked every morning, which is great cause he makes me get out of bed and go. I think the most important thing is to find something that gets you moving and that you enjoy, makes it more fun and you're more likely to stick with it. So just keep walking!
  • jen_zz
    jen_zz Posts: 1,011 Member
    I always walk on the treadmill. I can't really run coz I have bad knees and I have a bunion on my right foot.
  • eso2012
    eso2012 Posts: 337 Member
    I have not read/heard anyone who disregard walking. It is a good overall low impact exercise. You can up the intensity a bit as well, by alternating speeds, do run/walk, or Leslie Samson-ish workouts.

    However, walking will NOT challenge your upper body/arms muscles, it will not work many parts of your abs/obliques, it does nothing to your shoulders. Strength training - by weight or resistance - is an important part of the whole package.

    Leslie Samson's workout is "walking indoors", with modifications to engage some (mostly lower body) muscles that are not usually used in a typical walk. It is a good cardio. Low impact, safe.

    For weight loss, maintenance, bone health and more, I would say, add strength training. And make sure all your body parts are engaged in a variety of workouts.

    If anyone "disregard" walking, guess they just think it is not muscle building or high intensity. But they are wrong, because a proper mix is important and walking is a free and safe method for many!
  • donyellemoniquex3
    donyellemoniquex3 Posts: 2,384 Member
    I walk all over my town. Everyone congratulates me.
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    I prefer to burn more calories in a short period of time. I like bodyweight HIIT workouts but if I am too sore I usually walk.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    Walking is AWESOME! Of course it counts. Speed walking is a fab burn. :drinker:
  • CarKiller2013
    CarKiller2013 Posts: 26 Member
    I'm a walker! Of course, I'm at the beginning of my journey but I already notice that I have more energy. I walk to and from work and on my afternoon break. Love it!
  • Darrelkun
    Darrelkun Posts: 152 Member
    I don't bother with tracking walking because I do so much of it just to get places. I don't drive so I take the city bus, and they often get me somewhat close, but not quite to where I need to go. I easily put in a good 3-4 miles a day just getting to my destination. (And sometimes when I miss the bus I just walk all the way downtown to catch the next bus I need or walk for 30 minutes along the bus route and stop to catch the next one that comes by).

    Only time I count walking is when I purposely go walk with a friend for exercise sake.

    Walking is a great exercise. I guess since it's easy for able-bodied people to do it's often considered no big deal.
  • determined_erin
    determined_erin Posts: 571 Member
    All I do is walk. My goal is 15,000+ steps/day. I've lost 80 lbs so far by walking and eating less.
  • erinxo13
    erinxo13 Posts: 892 Member
    I love walking! I started working out with walking and I still go for walks multiple times a week (weather and work permitting). I love it and I think it has helped me in my success so far. I loveee love love it.
  • jonsey_s
    jonsey_s Posts: 222
    Very little extra cals burnt running, and walking on sand is more effective than running on it!

    GO WALKING!!!!
  • Leighjr
    Leighjr Posts: 26 Member
    I only walk once or twice a week when someones with me, so your all doing great by me. I've started Kinect sports on the xbox360 which for me knackers me out fast enough, i'd use it longer but by 30 minutes ny backs killing me. The boxing is great fun though.
  • Msdnice
    Msdnice Posts: 50
    LOL....that's why I have 42 videos
  • margaretturk
    margaretturk Posts: 5,296 Member
    We live near a park and I walk 40-60 minutes a day. LOVE it. Whatever works and you can stick with it. Go for it.:smile:
  • DollyMiel
    DollyMiel Posts: 377 Member
    I feel that way too. Like it's not legitimate exercise, or that it's only good for old geezers with injuries. I'm 26 and I love walking, especially hikes. It's as challenging as you make it, can be done anywhere, even in a small room, and isn't too high impact. Walking is way underrated.
  • playitagainsam
    playitagainsam Posts: 84 Member
    I am a HUGE advocate of walking. The first time in my life that I lost weight, I lost 145 lbs in 11 months doing no other exercise but walking. Like many, I fell of the wagon and gained weight back...so, back to walking again...and just about everyday, I walk. Around Thanksgiving 2012, I was walking 7 miles every day. Doing about 5-6 everyday now. Walking is a great form or exercise and I know from experience that it burns a ton of calories. I've tried running in the past and found that I just get out of breathe...it kills my back and I don't nearly make 5-7 miles...I just feel like I want to quit right away. But, when I walk, about 15-20 mins into it, I get this burst of something...I just keep going and going...walking 3.5 to 4.2 mph and almost feel like I could never stop. I know strength training is important as well and I want to start up strength training again, but a great cardio workout is walking.
  • BonnieandClyde29
    BonnieandClyde29 Posts: 1,026 Member
    If I can walk instead of driving, then I will!!!! Trying not to be lazy, or take longer walks with my dog!!! Nothing wrong with it, I used to walk 5 miles a day and it helped A LOT!!! I am impatient though so I try to do other things to help me burn calories faster lol
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
    People who disregard walking are probably thinking of the leisurely strolls around the neighborhood or shopping at the grocery store or the mall.

    I've watch my grandma and my mom both use walking as their primary exercise and, along with reduced calories, take of weight. But their walking is pretty hardcore - 40-60 minutes dedicated to walking at as fast a pace as they can maintain, arms involved and everything. (Not quite the "power walking" races but they are still quite serious about it). I imagine what you're doing is similar.

    I guess there's walking and then there's WALKING? :laugh: I'm sorry that your support people haven't picked up on the distinction.
  • texasgardnr
    texasgardnr Posts: 2,617 Member
    There is a group here at MFP for walkers using LS DVDs. It is called: "Leslie Sansone Walk At Home".

    We have monthly challenges. Besides using Leslie Sansone DVDs, one can also walk the neighborhood outside, on the treadmill, walking with other trainer's walking DVDs, walking at the track, or any other way you mix up your walks during the month. It all counts.... just count your miles and make your own personal challenge and log in. Read the first post of the month for a welcoming introduction.

    Keep walking and getting strong and healthy. Good for you for finding a form of exercise that works for you!

    :flowerforyou:
  • FatOldBat
    FatOldBat Posts: 3,307 Member
    I feel that way too. Like it's not legitimate exercise, or that it's only good for old geezers with injuries. I'm 26 and I love walking, especially hikes. It's as challenging as you make it, can be done anywhere, even in a small room, and isn't too high impact. Walking is way underrated.
    As a certified (and certifiable) old geezer, I'd like to know where these walk disregarders are so I can smack 'em with my big old lady purse. Also: get off my lawn!

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