Does running burn more calories than walking?

skinnyjess15

I've heard different views on this. It seems to me that you'd burn more running because your heart rate is up more....right?

jack_

Jess - If your goal is to maximize weight loss ... high intensity cardio is not a good idea on a regular basis. By working out at a lower heart rate, you can actually burn more fat and subsequently you'll get better results on weight loss. Working out in high intensity zones all the time has a double negative effect for weight loss. For one, you are burning your temporary carbs rather than your long term fat. Second, you are not training your heart to work in the lower zone (the fitness zone). Working out more in the fitness zone will expand the range of that zone. I haven't done a lot of reading on the subject myself, but this is what I have learned through my fitness group at the gym. My preference for zone training is walking with incline on a treadmill because I have better control of my heart rate doing that.

http://walking.about.com/cs/fitnesswalking/a/hearttraining_2.htm

jack_

By the way, my wife is struggling with this exact thing. She's having a hard time staying in the lower zones because "it just doesn't feel right" and she wants to work out harder ... and the HR monitor says more calories burned right. ..... but regardless, it's true.

NikkiP80

Actually the institute of sport recently tackled this issue and clarified it in Women's Health magazine.

You do burn more calories when you work out at a higher intensity, your body burns glycogen typically and the old theory that if you work at a lower intensity is where your body has time to process the glycogen stored in your body fat, meaning you burn directly from your fat stores. However, when you work at a higher intensity you burn more calories and deplete your body of glycogen stored in your blood and liver. Once these glycogen stores are depleted and once you've stopped exercise your body then replaces your glycogen stores from your body fat. So in the end you're still burning fat. If you are time poor then exercising at a higher intensity can help you to burn more calories quicker. It is good though to do both longer, slower endurance training as well as higher intesnity sessions and it helps in keeping the variety in your training. It also depends for how long you can sustain the exercise for.

Jambe

Your body conditions itself as you do something more often.

For instance, I run a LOT. Running has become very easy for me and I know for a fact I am burning much less than what the monitor is saying due to my body becoming more efficient at running. It will use energy more efficiently to fuel it, meaning I burn less...

I walk on inclines much less frequently This is much more difficult for me. My monitor says I burn less, but you will know when you start to break a sweat only a few minutes into your uphill walk as opposed to 20minutes into your jog that you are probably burning more.

When it gets warmer out, I'll probably go back to swimming again.

Also- energy has to come from somewhere. Whether it's something you just ate, or stored, it's still energy that would otherwise be stored/replaced later. Higher heart rate, working harder, more calories burned.

tlapdx72

I use to workout five days a week. I was doing an hour of cardio five days a week, and about twenty to forty minutes of strength training every other day. The weight lose was very slow. I also became worn down. In september I decided to stop worring so much about making sure to get in the perfect amount of cardio. I still workout five days a week, but now I don't push myself so hard. I walk two days a week during my daughters soccer practice. I usually get around five miles in during the hour and a half hours that I'm there. then on off days, I do one to two miles on my elliptical, and I also spend a short time on strenght training in between my miles. I have now lost thirty pounds since September (almost sixty pounds total) I do not feel burnt out from pushing the limit with my cardio, and I feel great. Even if I only get one mile in on the elliptical just that small amount of exercise energizes me, and helps with food cravings. Also another fun way to get moving and burn lots of calories is roller skating.

Tan43

Yes, running burns more calories than walking. Higher heart rate increases calorie burn so the harder you work the more you burn.
What is important is to keep mixing up cardio, as Jambe pointed out your body adapts and becomes energy efficient after a while so whilst running is fantastic so is a nice long stroll.