Is walking a legitimate exercise?

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Replies

  • Nedra19455
    Nedra19455 Posts: 241 Member
    Yes, in fact it's a very healthy and sustainable form of exercise. My favorite part about walking is that I can do it whenever I want -- I don't have to have special clothes or make time in my schedule to take a shower right afterwards. I can just go for a walk with my baby in the stroller.

    One great tool for folks whose primary form of exercise is walking is to get a fitness tracker that counts steps. I have a fitbit and average 14,000 steps per day. If I get to the end of the day and haven't hit 10,000, I do jumping jacks to make up the difference. It really encourages me to get moving! My fitbit also syncs with MFP and rewards me for my hard effort with an extra 200-600 cal per day. I never have to "log" exercise in MFP because the only cardio I do is step-based and the fitbit takes care of logging that with MFP for me.
  • breezybeees
    breezybeees Posts: 6
    I think walking is exercise. Any time you chose to move your body over taking the car or sitting on the couch or at the computer is great!
    I walk 30 minutes a day and I feel a gazillion times better on days when I do it. I lose more weight on weeks when I do it than on weeks when I don't.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Walking is exercise if you walk without stopping at a reasonable pace. If it's walking the dog or going to the mall and stopping every 2 minutes... no.
  • marilandica
    marilandica Posts: 88 Member
    Tell the 107 lbs I'm no longer walking around with that it's not exercise. Mind you, I fitness walk an average of 25 miles per week at rates between 4-4.5 mph, plus I do longer hikes on the weekends. I don't log the general walking around I do during the day -- I just count that in my base activity level. But, I absolutely count and log the fitness walking I do daily.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I walk the dogs with a heart rate monitor. The shortest walk we do is 1.07 miles in 15-20 minutes (depending on potty stops). I normally burn 150ish calories on that walk. When we go on longer walks, they're around 3 miles in about 65 minutes and I burn between 300-400 calories. I have MFP set to sedentary, so I count all walking-to-exercise as exercise. If I put on a sports bra to walk it, I log it.
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
    It is a very good exercise, I love walking.
  • pommesvertes
    pommesvertes Posts: 24 Member
    This is an awesome thread to stumble across. Because of money/time/space restrictions, walking is just about the only thing I can fit in at the moment, it's nice that it's recognised positively.
  • sfbaumgarten
    sfbaumgarten Posts: 912 Member
    Yes, it's a legitimate exercise.
  • Jestinia
    Jestinia Posts: 1,153 Member
    Walking is great. Plus, if you walk on a nice sunny day, Vitamin D.
  • SephiraRose
    SephiraRose Posts: 766 Member
    I feel walking is a great exercise for me.
  • Irishb118
    Irishb118 Posts: 25 Member
    I am going to say the people who say walking isn't exercise are the ones sitting on their butts doing absolutely nothing. Walking is a great form of exercise and is fairly easy on your joints. When you are moving and you are moving for any period of time it is helping to strengthen your muscles and it is good for your heart!
  • nicca_jb
    nicca_jb Posts: 1,278 Member
    Walking is exercise. If it wasn't, pedometers would have no place in the world and Fitbit would be out of business (disclaimer: I own a Flex and I adore it, as it helps me to see how active I am and what I should be aiming for daily).

    As for "legitimate"? I think you might mean "will it tone and shape my body"? If you're looking to build muscle and not just burn calories, a simple walk around the block isn't going to do much there - it will get your heart rate up slightly and will work your legs slightly, it will help you drop excess weight, and it will make you feel good. If you want to bulk, cut, or "tone", you need more intensive cardio (for heart rate) and/or weights (for muscle building).
  • bizgirl26
    bizgirl26 Posts: 1,795 Member
    Definition of exerccise:


    : physical activity that is done in order to become stronger and healthier

    : a particular movement or series of movements done to become stronger and healthier

    : something that is done or practiced to develop a particular skill


    Yes it is. I try to push myself a little more and ensure that I can feel a difference in my breathing, am sweating etc...It is exercise and great place to start
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    Yes, walking is a legitimate exercise.

    Prancercise on the other hand I would say is an illegitimate exercise. http://youtu.be/o-50GjySwew
  • kateangel2312
    kateangel2312 Posts: 242 Member
    yes, I do quite a lot of walking instead of driving
  • LoupGarouTFTs
    LoupGarouTFTs Posts: 916 Member
    Walking is exercise if you walk without stopping at a reasonable pace. If it's walking the dog or going to the mall and stopping every 2 minutes... no.

    Dogs walk at a much faster speed than people do. Why would walking the dog not count as exercise?
  • Inkratlet
    Inkratlet Posts: 613 Member
    Hoping to do the Three Peaks challenge in a few months.

    http://www.thethreepeakschallenge.co.uk/

    Tell me that's not exercise.
  • Iwishyouwell
    Iwishyouwell Posts: 1,888 Member
    Yes.

    I'm a speed walker. I walk so fast that I often, down on the promenade, pass joggers and slower runners. When I speed walk specifically for exercise, I do a minimum of 8 miles. I am drenched in sweat by the time I'm finished, and my heartrate is more than sufficiently elevated. I also burn an insane amount of calories. My wife was doing the C25K program, had become a regular runner, yet when she finally convinced me to let her join me on one of my exercise walks she was winded in the first TWO minutes and couldn't keep up even while running.

    I could run, but I chose to walk.

    Walking is a great form of exercise, and if pushed far enough, can be used for conditioning and overall greater cardiovascular health. But you don't need to even become a race walker to reap the benefits. A lot of really out of shape, or severely obese people aren't comfortable going out and running, or going into a gym. But because so many people don't think of walking as a legitimate form of exercise they just sit around on their bums, doing nothing, when walking could be a great intro into the world of exercise for them.
  • msbeeblebrox
    msbeeblebrox Posts: 133 Member
    Walking is exercise.
    The exercise that you choose to do depends heavily on the fitness goals that you have.
  • tracydr
    tracydr Posts: 528 Member
    Many studies show that even short walks many times a day ( like 5 minutes) will decrease heart disease and blood sugar. It's definitely exercise. So is house cleaning and gardening.
  • seabee78
    seabee78 Posts: 126 Member
    I've also had friends say walking isn't exercise. Yeah, at your present fitness level which is probably pretty good. One guy said "Hell, I could walk for days, its so effortless." Oh, yeah? Strap a 50lb bag of potatoes on your back and see if its still effortless.
  • vmclach
    vmclach Posts: 670 Member
    Yes. As a Boston Marathon Qualifed runner, I can assure you walking is exercise. Whoever is tell you it isn't legit exercise, please send them my way :)
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    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?

    Depends...............

    If you were strolling around the supermarket, moseying around the neighborhood.....then no. This would be activity not exercise.

    If you were deliberately walking at a fast pace, using your arms to propel yourself....then yes. Walking can have a definite cardiovascular benefit, but you have to push yourself. Walk at a fast enough pace where you can talk (some)....but not so slow you could sing.
  • jennalennafur
    jennalennafur Posts: 80 Member
    I had lost 20 lbs by the end of high school just by walking a ton. I also lost six pounds last month from walking (and calorie restrictions of course) so I would definitely consider it an legitimate exercise!
  • NormInv
    NormInv Posts: 3,303 Member
    Walking in many cases is better than running or lifting as a workout. Do not listen to the so called MFP experts.
  • Kitship
    Kitship Posts: 579 Member
    Walking is exercise if you walk without stopping at a reasonable pace. If it's walking the dog or going to the mall and stopping every 2 minutes... no.

    :huh:

    What if I walk my dog without stopping at a reasonable pace?
  • Kitship
    Kitship Posts: 579 Member


    If you were strolling around the supermarket, moseying around the neighborhood.....then no. This would be activity not exercise.

    Exercise IS activity, and vice versa.
  • maureli
    maureli Posts: 722 Member
    absolulely is! Keep on walkin' :happy:
  • frood
    frood Posts: 295 Member
    Walking only counts as exercise if the wind is blowing from the southeast and Mercury is retrograde. :tongue:

    But seriously, walking is great exercise, even the much underrated "strolling."

    http://gizmodo.com/5889888/why-walking-is-the-best-exercise
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member


    If you were strolling around the supermarket, moseying around the neighborhood.....then no. This would be activity not exercise.

    Exercise IS activity, and vice versa.

    I tried to answer the question that the OP asked......"legitimate exercise?"......to me this is exercise that I might log into MFP.

    MFP has people set an "activity level".....sedentary, lightly active, etc. When you set this activity level you are given a few more calories (a hundred or so). But when people log ALL of their daily steps as exercise they get this huge "exercise" bonus. They eat those calories back and are confused as to why they are not losing weight. This is double counting......you already get "credit" for some activity.

    Because daily steps don't raise my heart rate.....I don't consider them exercise. Shopping is not exercise for me.....but for some people it might be.

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