Is walking a legitimate exercise?

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  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    It's exercise. Like any other exercise it has it's place and benefits.

    I agree 100%. I'm just curious about other's justification for saying it isn't.

    I just put that in the same category as the "running will make you a woman" trash talk from the anti-running part of the bodybuilding community. It's trash talk and nothing more.
    been bodybuliding for years and never hear that about running. I run all the time. lol
  • AglaeaC
    AglaeaC Posts: 1,974 Member
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    :laugh:
    Ahh, so you're the one to blame... :grumble:
  • mchanido
    mchanido Posts: 6
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    My doctor said walking 30 minutes a day is what he wants me to do.I am close to 80 so anything is a blessing to me.When I was younger sure I speeded it up but now at least I'm not a couch potato and I admire anyone who does anything to feel better and enjoy
    better health.:flowerforyou:

    You are so amazing! I hope you enjoy your health and fitness and I wish I will be like you at your age.
    Have a very good day! :flowerforyou:
  • DeeBerning
    DeeBerning Posts: 131 Member
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    Walking is absolutely exercise as long as you work up a sweat and get the heart rate up. It is one of the most commonly suggested exercises by doctors. It's low impact and moves almost all of your muscles. If you want to add a little more "workout" to your walk, add hand and/or ankle weights.

    And just keep moving! THAT is what's important. :glasses:
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    For curiosity I looked up "exercise" in the Oxford Wordpower Dictionary. The definition is: exercise-verb to do some form of physical activity in order to stay fit and healthy / exersice-noun physical or mental activity that keeps you healthy and strong. I would say that walking definately fits the category, in my opinion. So good luck OP! Best. :smile:
    [/quot ]

    This is for GuitarJerry who always says walking is an "activity" :smile:
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    It's exercise. Like any other exercise it has it's place and benefits.

    I agree 100%. I'm just curious about other's justification for saying it isn't.

    I just put that in the same category as the "running will make you a woman" trash talk from the anti-running part of the bodybuilding community. It's trash talk and nothing more.
    been bodybuliding for years and never hear that about running. I run all the time. lol

    Spend more time on bodybuilding.com or t-nation. Or not. Okay, they often have some good articles, at least t-nation does, but there's also plenty of laughable filler
  • eddiesmith1
    eddiesmith1 Posts: 1,550 Member
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    Well the American HEart Association seems to think it is, I'll take their word over Guitar Jerry's . My walking speed borders on jogging without doing the race walking moves BTW (between 7.5-8.3 minutes per Kilometer depending on the route and traffic lights - so 4.5 - 5 mph )

    "Examples of Moderate Intensity:

    Walking briskly (3 miles per hour or faster, but not race-walking)
    Water aerobics
    Bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour
    Tennis (doubles)
    Ballroom dancing
    General gardening

    Examples of Vigorous Intensity:

    Race walking, jogging, or running
    Swimming laps
    Tennis (singles)
    Aerobic dancing
    Bicycling 10 miles per hour or faster
    Jumping rope
    Heavy gardening (continuous digging or hoeing)
    Hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack "
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    It's exercise. Like any other exercise it has it's place and benefits.

    I agree 100%. I'm just curious about other's justification for saying it isn't.

    I just put that in the same category as the "running will make you a woman" trash talk from the anti-running part of the bodybuilding community. It's trash talk and nothing more.
    been bodybuliding for years and never hear that about running. I run all the time. lol

    Spend more time on bodybuilding.com or t-nation. Or not. Okay, they often have some good articles, at least t-nation does, but there's also plenty of laughable filler
    I am a member on bb.com too user name: scullin
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    It's exercise. Like any other exercise it has it's place and benefits.

    I agree 100%. I'm just curious about other's justification for saying it isn't.

    I just put that in the same category as the "running will make you a woman" trash talk from the anti-running part of the bodybuilding community. It's trash talk and nothing more.
    been bodybuliding for years and never hear that about running. I run all the time. lol

    Spend more time on bodybuilding.com or t-nation. Or not. Okay, they often have some good articles, at least t-nation does, but there's also plenty of laughable filler
    I am a member on bb.com too user name: scullin

    That's dandy
  • Veil5577
    Veil5577 Posts: 868 Member
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    Definitely. Walking helped me go from a size 18 to a size 4 eight years ago. Unfortunately I can no longer walk due to Achilles' tendinitis :sad:
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    [/quote]

    That's dandy
    [/quote]You sun-of-a -beach!
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    That's dandy

    You sun-of-a -beach!

    :drinker:

    I'm on there as sunsnstatheart though I'm not that active
  • Keepcalmanddontblink
    Keepcalmanddontblink Posts: 718 Member
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    I'm sick and tired of people saying "walking won't get you in shape", and "that's not exercise". What's your view on this subject? I walked two miles today. Was that exercise?

    Yeah that's exercise. Walking is actually an excellent way to burn some calories, improve your cardiovascular health and generally just feel better. Bodybuilders often swear by just going for a nice long walk in the mornings during a cut. Anyone who mocks walking as an exercise I think is just uninformed.

    If you have some pounds to lose really all it takes is adding a morning walk to your routine and paying attention to your calories. You don't have to break a sweat to be exercising, your aerobic range includes heart rates that are not going to make you pant and sweat.

    Most weight I have ever lost in a short time I lost doing nothing for exercise but walking.
    This!!! I've lost 36lb so far and my husband and I walk nearly every night and not much else. Its a great workout and you can challenge yourself to walk further each day till you can hit 5 miles. Its a great form of cardio!
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
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    It's exercise. Like any other exercise it has it's place and benefits.

    I agree 100%. I'm just curious about other's justification for saying it isn't.

    I just put that in the same category as the "running will make you a woman" trash talk from the anti-running part of the bodybuilding community. It's trash talk and nothing more.
    been bodybuliding for years and never hear that about running. I run all the time. lol

    Spend more time on bodybuilding.com or t-nation. Or not. Okay, they often have some good articles, at least t-nation does, but there's also plenty of laughable filler

    I think you are referring to the T-nation article, "The Jogging Delusion"
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
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    I walk my dogs 8-10 miles Monday-Friday. Why wouldn't it help? It burns calories.
  • goalss4nika
    goalss4nika Posts: 529 Member
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    Yes!
  • EddieHaskell97
    EddieHaskell97 Posts: 2,227 Member
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    Yes, it is. It doesn't burn or shape as quickly as running, but it is absolutely legitimate exercise.
  • conqueringsquidlette
    conqueringsquidlette Posts: 383 Member
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    Heck, one of those "walk at home" videos of Leslie Sansone's gets me up to the 150s.

    That's not being "aerobic', that's being in very poor physical condition.

    As a gateway to more meaningful exercise and as a way to keep from sitting around all day, walking has value, but in general that value is highly over-estimated by MFPers. In terms of creating a deficit, you're only burning 35 calories per 100 pounds of bodyweight per mile.

    Those doing 3+ hour hikes across terrain (which I love) are of course in a separate category again.


    This was many pages ago, but I want to reply to it.

    My HRM gave me near 200 calories for one of her videos this week. And being in the 150s is absolutely in the aerobic conditioning range, which one is supposed to spend 30 minutes a day in?
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    It's exercise. Like any other exercise it has it's place and benefits.

    I agree 100%. I'm just curious about other's justification for saying it isn't.

    I just put that in the same category as the "running will make you a woman" trash talk from the anti-running part of the bodybuilding community. It's trash talk and nothing more.
    been bodybuliding for years and never hear that about running. I run all the time. lol

    Spend more time on bodybuilding.com or t-nation. Or not. Okay, they often have some good articles, at least t-nation does, but there's also plenty of laughable filler

    I think you are referring to the T-nation article, "The Jogging Delusion"

    Or "Cardio Kills," "The Death of Steady State Cardio," "Regular Cardio Will Make You Fat," . . .
  • gaelicstorm26
    gaelicstorm26 Posts: 589 Member
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    I enjoy walking for exercise. I'm in poor physical shape, and walking is a great fit for me. I pair it with P90 and resistance band training. I use the last 15-20 minutes of my lunch to walk around the city. I love the fresh air, sunshine, and just how it really boosts my energy level for the rest of the afternoon.

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