Don't People Walk Anymore?

it_be_asin

I don't drive, so there is a lot of walking to get places in my life. 45 minutes a day as a minimum, and I log it because my activity level is sedentary (I have a desk job, and any calories I burn I know about cause I'm walking, cleaning or at the gym).

The walking is definitely contributing to my burn and fitness, although going to the gym 4-5 hours a week certainly helps too!

grandtheftuno

I do a fair bit of walking, both as exercise and out of need. I don't drive, but I live with people that do, and I live in a city where those things not in walking distance are accessed by a decent public transit system. I only log walks of a certain distance and pace, but I honestly can't stand walking slow. Anything under 3MPH seems pointless. I've been taking great pride lately in walking places faster than the bus could get me there. On days that I can't fit in a walk/jog based workout (which is all I've really been doing lately-my "home gym" is in shambles at the moment), I make a note to walk to or from work/wherever I am going that day. Both yesterday and today I walked about 7.5 each, at somewhere between 3.5 and 4 MPH.

I think that the people who claim they need to drive/take the bus to the store etc are making excuses (no offense), but you could always park a little further away, get off a stop early, or make a note to work in a little walk before or after the errand you are running, even if you have to take the car to the store.

I have my status set to lightly active, I think. My workplace is a fairly active retail environment with a lot of walking and lifting. I don't count it towards my daily exercise, but I do notice that when I am not working in retail I do see a negative change in muscle tone and weight.

Pebble321

I walk everyday - to and from the bus to work, to the pub on Friday night etc. I have my daily activity set at lightly active then I only count extra exercise, like when I go running.
I used to drive everywhere but now I live and work in a location where public transport is an option so we only have one car which my husband drives to work - his work hours and location mean that bus is not an easy option for him.

Lugh00

I don't count walking I do unless it's walking specifically for the purpose of walking. I don't really have the option of walking everywhere, the closest store is over 2 miles and if I'm going I'm generally going with children in tow and past several busy streets. I'm not comfortable trying to carry groceries and kids past several busy streets. The rest of the shopping is at least 5 miles away. We do lots of hiking though, I do count that. But walking in the mall, or at the park, no I don't count most of it.

questionablemethods

I do! I walk a ton for transportation because I have lived in dense urban areas and have decided I didn't like owning a car (driving is super stressful for me). But I realize how hard it is to walk for transportation whenever I decide to take a bus out to a suburb to visit a store that might not be in the city. They are just typically NOT designed for walking at ALL. Even in shopping areas there are often huge expanses of parking lots and no sidewalks along the roadside.

I hate driving and like walking/busing/biking, so I chose to live in places where this is easy to do (even in winter in Minnesota!). Not everyone has that choice or likes living in dense urban areas or likes walking! It does take longer, but I also don't find myself needing to spend much time at the gym, either.

jkelley15

Walking is all good...you have to do alot of it though ...
I run.

questionablemethods

Walking is all good...you have to do alot of it though ...
I run.

I don't like grocery shopping all sweaty and carrying the bags home would make it awfully hard to run.... :happy:

jkelley15

Just left Frisco love it there ...couldn't believe all the runners. Either going to run or coming from a run...awesome

JNettie73

I think that the people who claim they need to drive/take the bus to the store etc are making excuses (no offense), but you could always park a little further away, get off a stop early, or make a note to work in a little walk before or after the errand you are running, even if you have to take the car to the store.

I know you didn't mean any offence in your comment and I appreciate that. But I disagree with your statement to an extent. I don't think it is fair of you to judge others and make an assumption that we are just making excuses why we need to drive. However, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I want to explain where I am coming from. I am sure at least 1-2 other people on here, if not more, are in the same situation as I am.

Where I live, the roads I have to take to get to the stores have a large amount of traffic on it at any given point of the day. There are no sidewalks and hardly have a shoulder. Never mind the fact that we do not have crossing lights that assist you in crossing the busy road safely. In reality, it is not safe for pedestrians to walk to and from the stores. So I resort to driving to them. When it becomes an issue of my life and safety or going for a walk "just to get in some exercise". Of course, I choose my life. I think any reasonable person would do the same. This by all means is not an "excuse" not to walk but very much a reality for those of us who do not live in areas where walking is an option. I prefer to go to a park, or select an area in my community that is safe for me to walk. The great thing about where I live is there are a lot of community parks that have trails that are 100% safe for you to walk on. The local high schools and middle schools have tracks that you can also use providing the schools are not in session or using them for a track meet or other event. I am a nature lover so I enjoy going to the woods and going on a nice hike or taking my bike out and going for a nice ride. One of the many benefits of living in the burbs rather than the heavier populated areas, at least in my opinion.

That being said, I do agree with you on the fact that people can always park a little bit farther away from the stores and so on. I am not one of those people that has to get a spot as close as possible to the store, except of course if it is heavily raining or snowing. I will park anywhere there is an open space. I do the same when I go to grad school in the evenings, usually this means parking at the far end of the parking lot. I don't mind walking to and from the buildings. However, I don't consider these short walks (10-15 minutes) enough to be counted as my exercise for the day. I consider these moments just part of my daily activity.

I hope this helped you to understand a little better where I. and some of us, are coming from. :flowerforyou:

FearAnLoathing

You live down town where it is easy to walk where you need to go. I live in the country not so easy.
I do go for walks with my daughter and sometimes the dog but I dont log them

dreamangel18105

Living in the suburbs, I don't really get to walk anywhere unless I feel like walking across an airport (I live next door to O'Hare....seriously!) I consider my "walking around at work" and stuff like that just part of my daily routine. It doesn't raise my heart rate enough for me to really consider it my exercise for the day. I mean, if I logged all of my walking around, I'm sure I'd gain a whole boatload of calories for my day, but since I don't really consider it exercise, I prefer to just factor them into my lifestyle.