What is YOUR Opinion?

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  • Kristhin
    Kristhin Posts: 442 Member
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    i say if its something you do for exercise purposes that you wouldn't have otherwise had to do, then yes, add it in.
    when i see stuff like, food preparation, cleaning etc. i think well thats not really exercise bc you have to cook and clean anyway. but i think walking does count.
  • TeachTheGirl
    TeachTheGirl Posts: 2,091 Member
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    If it wasn't exercise, why would there be a huge medical push for it? They say it's one of the best things you can do to improve your health, especially if you don't do any other exercise; it's the first step.

    This image is pretty big but... http://www.loveinfographics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/health-benefits-of-walking-health-infographic1.jpg
  • mostaverage
    mostaverage Posts: 202 Member
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    Yes, you will burn roughly the same amount of calories per mile walking as you would jogging, it just takes longer. Walking is great exercise
  • emnk5308
    emnk5308 Posts: 736
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    Yes! Walking is very good for you. =)
  • curtnrod
    curtnrod Posts: 223 Member
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    A calorie burned is a calorie burned. To get cardiovascular benefits you need to elevate your heart rate which also burns more calories doing the same exercise.

    Do what you love, burn calories, eat healthy in a caloric deficit to lose weight and have fun
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Just keep on trying to improve your life. You're doing fine
  • fit4lifeUcan2
    fit4lifeUcan2 Posts: 1,458 Member
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    YES it is exercise. I walk 2x's a day with my dog for half an hour each time and count it. I burn 140 calories with each 30 min. walk at that pace. Even walking around the mall is exercise.

    By the way, I can't run either. Never could.
  • dvisser1
    dvisser1 Posts: 788 Member
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    Walking. I don't speed-walk, I'm most often at a 3-3 1/2 mph pace. Should I consider this "real" exercise? Of course I know it's exercise, but I mean opposed to running, biking, elliptical, etc.....? I try to walk for at least an hour, hopefully making it a bit more productive. I HAVE begun to intersperse short jogs (I'm embarrassed to say I can't jog for longer than 20-30 seconds at a time) within my walks, but that's rare.

    Thoughts?

    Thanks in advance!

    ~Allie

    Walking burns calories. I lost my first 20+ lbs by only walking and not even fixing my diet. Adopted a dog who needs lots of exercise and that forced me off the couch and walking 1.5 to 4 miles pretty much everyday...at about a 3 mph pace. After joining MFP back in January I have continued with the walking on top off all the other higher intensity exercises I am now doing. It's great for both the calorie burn and stress relief. As for not being able to jog, I was there. Due to being very overweight and my legs so weak I could not run or my bad knee would buckle. Between the daily walking and starting some basic bodyweight strength exercises (squats & back step lunges) in January, I got my legs strong enough to jog 0.1 miles on a treadmill in late March. Yeah, that was a victory and a starting place. Keep at it and build from there slowly. I started with walking / running intervals and slowly added overall distance and made the running intervals longer. If you read up on C25K it does much the same with intervals.

    And it does work. I ran my first 5K in late June, another in early July and just ran my first 10k last weekend (Aug 18).
  • BikinimomE
    BikinimomE Posts: 116 Member
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    Walking is fantastic and should be considered real exercise. Sitting on the couch watching TV should not. :)

    What ^he said!
  • cbeutler
    cbeutler Posts: 667 Member
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    Walking is great exercise. If you want to do intervals I suggest a gym boss timer. It is well worth the 20 bucks. You may even surprise yourself in a few months if you stick too it. I did 10 miles yesterday in 2:21 using the walk jog method. That is awesome considering in March I was having trouble walking around the block.
  • fishermanmatt
    fishermanmatt Posts: 308 Member
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    It's absolutely exercise and with a proper diet, you will see results from it. A couple years ago I was at my highest recorded weight when I got a puppy. She was an absolute terror if she didn't get a daily walk. Over the course of eight or nine months my weight dropped from 554 to 501. I didn't make any changes to my diet, just made sure to walk Gertrude an hour or so per day. (For what it's worth, our pace on these walks never got above two miles an hour.) In addition to the weight loss, my cardio was greatly improved. I could walk for hours and wouldn't get winded like before I got my pup.

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