is walking enough?

rocket_ace

so, my gut tells me I need to throw in running and strength training. but ultimately, if my diet is within limits and clean, and I just walk for an hour or two a day, is that enough? (btw, I'm asking is more of a thought experiment - I am not a novice at this but was just curious if I walk, say, 10 miles in a day, does it matter if I didn't run any of those miles? and if so, how much)?

fitbum19

You can run, walk, or whatever, but unless you are constantly introducing new challenges, your body will only change but so much. You have to use weights, and different tyoes of cardio to make changes. If you are simply trying to maintain what you have, or are just starting out....then walking my work. It worked for me to get me started a few years ago, but it will NOT make big changes and it shouldn't be your primary form of exercise.

5stringjeff

Depends on what your goals are. When I first started, my goal was simply to drop weight. Walking was just about the only exercise I did, and I was able to drop 20 pounds. However, if your goals include building muscle mass, you'll need to do some sort of strength training.

TheVimFuego

Depends on what your goals are. When I first started, my goal was simply to drop weight. Walking was just about the only exercise I did, and I was able to drop 20 pounds. However, if your goals include building muscle mass, you'll need to do some sort of strength training.

Yep ... To be honest I see the benefits of the calorie burn between walking (my favourite exercise) and jogging/running/whatever to be very marginal from an effort/reward point of view.

Adding resistance training would be a better use of my time/effort generally, retaining muscle and all that ...

JesterMFP

I agree, it depends what your goals are. Walking is enough if you just want to lose weight. In fact, you don't have to exercise at all to lose weight. Walking vs no exercise will also improve your general fitness.

If you want significant improvement in cardiovascular fitness, there are other things (like running) that will be more effective than just walking. If you want to increase strength, or to preserve lean mass as you're losing weight, or to have a fitter looking body in the end, then there are other things (like weight training) that will be more effective than walking.

jacksonpt

Depends on what your goals are. When I first started, my goal was simply to drop weight. Walking was just about the only exercise I did, and I was able to drop 20 pounds. However, if your goals include building muscle mass, you'll need to do some sort of strength training.

Yep, this.

For simple weight loss, all you need to worry about is diet/cals. Can exercise help? Sure, but it's not required.
For body comp goals, you'll want to work in some strength training.
For overall health/fitness, a combination of cardio work and strength training.
For more specific goals (racing, competing, etc etc), training should be tailored to the specific goal.

BiscuitsNDavy

Depends on what your goals are. When I first started, my goal was simply to drop weight. Walking was just about the only exercise I did, and I was able to drop 20 pounds. However, if your goals include building muscle mass, you'll need to do some sort of strength training.

With a caloric surplus.

AJ_Pete

I walk/hike pretty much daily. I change the course, hit the big hills a couple times, add weights, go further, time & race my best time.

You can absolutely "just walk", but set little challenges everyday to complete.

EmilyOfTheSun

One of the reasons I'd choose running over walking is to burn calories more quickly. I'd rather spend one hour running than two hours walking. More relax time in my day that way.

STrooper

I went from 248 pounds to 190 pounds entirely by walking and only a slight adjustment in food consumption.

It took a more concentrated effort (mostly detailed food logging and staying within a food budget) and an increase of walking (to 22,000 steps/day) . Just recently, I added strength/core training

After reaching my goal weight I have switched MFP over to maintenance mode. Weight has stayed between 172-175 during the past 6 weeks.