Has anyone had luck with just walking as cardio?

2

Replies

  • CharityMiskelly
    CharityMiskelly Posts: 5
    Walking is definitely a good source of exercise. I lost 20 lbs when I moved to a city where I had to walk to and from the train each day. I walked an additional 40 minutes each day with my commute, from a commute where I was driving the entire way. My diet did not change at all during this time. That was a huge eye-opener for me. The human body needs to move.
  • AndiJoy812
    AndiJoy812 Posts: 236
    I'm walking my subdivision, very hilly, a 2.3 mile loop, 3x per week, and I have lost 34 lbs since Feb 9 - also watching my calories. I am having major issues with my joints that I will hopefully have an answer to here soon, but my rheumatologist said this was the best exercise for me, at this time. I tried Zumba last week for the first time, and loved it and felt great after...until the next day. I had a two lb weight gain due to inflammation that took 6 days to resolve, and lots of pain. Not worth it. At all. Walking is great, especially if you can find a path that is flat and hilly, and listen to your body, and push. There are days when I power-walk it, some that I go a bit slower, and then one day I actually jogged a bit - because I could handle it that day. And try something else...Zumba and aerobics are out for me for now. But you won't know until you try!
  • Aliciaaah
    Aliciaaah Posts: 379 Member
    I've lost 20 pounds in 10 weeks by cranking up the incline. I do really heavy incline at at least 3 mph, but I try 3.5 - 4 as long as I don't have to rely too much on hand rails.

    I should add that I do the elliptical, and some strength and circuit training each as well. But I do think you can, just make it really intense for you. Sometimes my heart rate can get really high with incline and speed at moderate-high. Depends on your level of fitness I guess. Good luck!
  • retunks
    retunks Posts: 34 Member
    I've had a bit, usually walk around 3.5 miles at a time, at a pace that it is difficult to carry on a conversation.
    I have better luck on an eleptical.
  • Celeigh12
    Celeigh12 Posts: 763 Member
    I started walking a mile a day, now I do about 4-5 miles a day. I know I need to add in strength training, but walking was a good starting place for me. I split it in two, because I wear out my older dog who comes with me.
  • kayhatlen
    kayhatlen Posts: 46
    I just burnt 438 calories on a Matrix treadmill for 45 minutes of level 5 intervals with a 5 minute cool down at speed 1.8. I get my heart rate into the cardio zone just fine on this program. I have horrible arthritis in both knees and am not able to run. This was the alternate suggested by my trainer. I am working my way up gradually to higher intervals. It is working for me. Some days I also up the spped of my walking. So you increase the speed and the level of intervals as you train. Hope this helps you. :smile:
  • lynniesue42
    lynniesue42 Posts: 33
    I've had great luck with walking only as cardio thus far...I've noticed I get the best results when walking atleast 3.5mph (non treadmill) for 30 minutes straight, and try to do this twice a day...when I was doing that I noticed results quickly and felt great.
  • Klem4
    Klem4 Posts: 399 Member
    That's pretty much all I do right now, occasionally the elliptical. I love walking though (on the treadmill), right now I aim for 45-50 min at 3.8-4.0 and 3-5 incline. I walk on incline the whole time except for a little warm-up and cool down. I'll increase as I get stronger.
  • shmunster
    shmunster Posts: 538 Member
    I lost my first 30 pounds with walking 40 min a night and diet, I then went to some Jillian Michael dvds once I was feeling fitter
  • jsapninz
    jsapninz Posts: 909 Member
    Yup, walking works too!! But you have to be careful if you are eating back your cals because you may overestimate if you don't have a HRM.

    ANY exercise is constructive. You do as good as you can do and that is great, don't let anyone tell you different!

    I go hiking/walking about once a week for and our or two and burn a hundreds of calories (according to my Polar Ft4).
  • catmom2cj
    catmom2cj Posts: 47 Member
    I walk 25 minutes on my lunch break on an indoor track , usually 1.5 miles, 3-4 times a week. With that plus staying under my calories most of the time, I lost 30 pounds in 6 months.
  • jonhuebner
    jonhuebner Posts: 2
    walking a mile burns as many calories as running a mile. the only thing that is different is how fast the calories are burned. As far as cardio benefits there would only be some if you can get your heart rate higher and sustained to see any benefit there. so I guess the question is are you trying to burn calories or increase stamina and cardio endurance.
  • MissTattoo
    MissTattoo Posts: 1,203 Member
    All the people who say walking isn't good are crazy! Walking is good for you! It's motion!

    Try Leslie Sanson DVD's Walk At Home. TThe 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk is 4.5-5.0 mph and they are 11-12 min miles. There are people who have lost hundreds of pounds by just walking alone. You don't have to have an extreme routine to lose weight.
  • cjdstephenson
    cjdstephenson Posts: 10 Member
    I am burning fat with walking, but found when walking outside I wasn't keeping my pace up to 4 mile per hour. someone suggested the couch to 5k program: http://www.c25k.com/podcasts.htm I have no intention of running a 5K, but this downloaded to my ipod kicked my walking up the notch I needed. I do this 26 minute walk, then continue at a 4 mile/hour pace for another 34 minutes. It is a workout!!
  • kaitlynnrogers
    kaitlynnrogers Posts: 142 Member
    i've had amazing results with just walking as cardio in just 2 weeks! if you add me and message me i can send you pictures after 2 weeks..but i walk on a treadmill with a 15% incline:p
  • oberon0124
    oberon0124 Posts: 10,524 Member
    Whith the propper diet and a few small other exercises I have walked 126 lbs of me since 08/14/11. So yes walking does work very well. At least it has for me!! I do do a few other things like run the stairs at work for ten minutes a day but for the most part I just walk!!
  • kaotika
    kaotika Posts: 34
    All I do is walk and do push ups. When I go for a walk, I just walk around the block or to the park, sit down at the lake, and come back. Takes 30minutes most days @~3.3mph or to the park and back is about an hour.

    Since I am fairly overweight, I end up burning almost 250 for each 30minutes. As I get more fit and lighter this number will go down, but then I'll be physically able to do more stuff...

    Do anything you can to be active, no matter how ya do it, just do it.
  • cjdstephenson
    cjdstephenson Posts: 10 Member
    I love the Leslie Sansone's walking dvd's, Get's you moving and it goes so quickly, before you know it you have done 45-60 minutes. A must have!
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    Walking is the only cardio I do.... about 4 miles per day - 5 to 6 days per week.
  • Jennyisbusy
    Jennyisbusy Posts: 1,294 Member
    Walking is great exercise, and when I walk I don't get the crazy hungries like I do after a run. If you need to make a walk more challenging add some handweights or a weighted vest, change pace and stride.

    Someone else mentioned swimming which is very low impact but you can get a really high burn. I hate the elliptical machine so I can't recommend it to another human. :P I love doing Just dance on the wii and you could modify most of the moves since the remote is in your hand.

    Good luck!
  • cdnwinter79
    cdnwinter79 Posts: 26
    For me, being quite overweight, walking is the best form of cardio right now, because anything I do is a form of cardio. I've had luck with walking, it may not do too much with burning fat and losing a ton of weight, but I find after a while I can walk longer with less effort and pain, and that right now, is my goal. I try to eat better, but also try to walk a little bit every night. One day I'll make it around the block at a brisk pace without dying :)
  • SkinnieFinnie
    SkinnieFinnie Posts: 145 Member
    I joined MFP on January 9th of this year weighing in 188lbs. I'm 5' 4". I've lost 16lbs so far & all I do is walk & watch my calories. It works for me. I walk between 3.0 & 3.5 for 60mins on my treadmill, 5 days a week. Instead of splitting it up, I walk for a full hour.
  • mydogmeesha
    mydogmeesha Posts: 1
    Walking is great and not as hard on your joints as running, although I do run personally. It takes a lot longer to burn the calories you want, but it still works. Have you thought of doing something else? I LOVE Zumba and burn an average of 515 calories in a 55 minute class. It's a ton of fun too. Look around your area to find a class to try, but be sure to go more than once before deciding if you like it. The moves are not impossible, but hard if you only go once.
  • shepherdbl
    shepherdbl Posts: 32 Member
    My doctor and my trainer BOTH say walking is as good as jogging and much easier on the knees, therefore I WALK alternating fast/slow/fast. Keep up the good work. :drinker:
    "
    I also agree with Jennyisbusy about swimming and dancing. I was in a dance class for a short time that was designed for seniors and if someone was just coming off knee surgery or something like that, they did the "dancing" while seated in a chair. They continued to lose weight.
  • fragilegift
    fragilegift Posts: 347 Member
    I mean anything is good but it's really not enough........

    It seems to be working for me...

    its working for me as well. Started walking 6 months ago doing 7 mins a morning. Lost about 11 kilos. paused for Nov and Dec. Started again in Jan, have lost another 6 kilos walking morning and evening - totaling about 100mins.
  • jleslie66
    jleslie66 Posts: 31
    I have lost 30 pounds with just walking/hiking as my exercise! start slow, do maybe 2 miles a day to start and work your way up! Im up to 8 mile hikes on the weekend in less than 2 hours! so you can lose if you stick to it!! (started 3 days a week, now obsessed with 5 to 7 days a week!!!!)
  • misty2ann
    misty2ann Posts: 127
    Thank you for your support and suggestions! I figure some movement is better than none! I am just going to go for it and see how my body feels. It will tell me when I am doing too much or too little. Thank you, again! You guys are awesome!
  • NotGoddess
    NotGoddess Posts: 1,198 Member
    I've been walking at least 10k steps a day in March - 153 miles to date since 3/1 :)
    Not a lot of calories burned (according to my ipod not quite 4lb worth) but my endurance has definitely gone up. Walking 2+ miles to the store and back with a backpack full of food is nothing to me now, where this time last year I would have balked at walking one mile. I count my walking as NEAT - Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Something I do to ensure that even if I'm not 'exercising' I am still keeping my fitness level up.

    Plus, it's fun to go out and walk, think about the day and relax a little.
  • Meggeler
    Meggeler Posts: 42
    A treadmill is my main mode of exercise anymore. I have to walk on a treadmill or I 'meander' when street or trail walking. In the past I have lost 20-25 lbs using my treadmill and a Wii; and eventually I'll re-incorporate the Wii into my routine. Not all Wii exercise is seen by my Fitbit so I'm hesitant. I do not run on the treadmill because of my knees but 3-4mph walking is enough to get me going.
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    The public transit system where I am sucks. I walk everywhere. I walk 9 miles or more some days. Pretty sure this has done nothing but benefit me. Also pretty sure the numbers my Polar HRM are giving me are pretty accurate too. I burn ~100 calories/20 minutes. If I do nothing, I burn ~50 calories/hour.

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