Walking...slow, moderate or brisk?

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LauraDotts
LauraDotts Posts: 732 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a bit stumped by the definitions of slow, moderate or brisk pace for walking. A slow or casual pace is defined as 2 mph. I have to be walking fast to cover 2 miles in an hour. I have short legs and a short stride. Is there a better way to determine what "speed" I am walking at?

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  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Perceived effort. What's slow for someone else may be brisk for you; what you will find, though, is that as your fitness improves your walking speed will also improve. The human body is remarkably adaptable, if you keep at it you'll be amazed at what you can do.
  • maricash
    maricash Posts: 280 Member
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    You could do a test by plotting a 1 mile route from your house online and then timing yourself at your typical pace one way and a faster pace another way. Then you'd have an idea of what it feels like to walk at one speed or another.

    If you have a pedometer, you can check the mileage and the time you left/arrived and then calculate your miles per hour. I did this for awhile and now have a good idea of what my pace is.
  • LauraDotts
    LauraDotts Posts: 732 Member
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    You could do a test by plotting a 1 mile route from your house online and then timing yourself at your typical pace one way and a faster pace another way. Then you'd have an idea of what it feels like to walk at one speed or another.

    If you have a pedometer, you can check the mileage and the time you left/arrived and then calculate your miles per hour. I did this for awhile and now have a good idea of what my pace is.

    I live exactly 1 mile from my work. It takes me a half an hour to walk it at what feels to me like a moderate/brisk pace. That would be me walking fast but just slow enough not to be out of breath and unable to talk.
  • vnakkar
    vnakkar Posts: 30
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    Fitness App: Map My Walk

    Will GPS track your route, speed, and calories burned.
  • junipearl
    junipearl Posts: 326 Member
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    if you have a smart phone, get a GPS app like TrackPath which records your speed, time, and distance for you. =)
  • WDEvy
    WDEvy Posts: 814 Member
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    Nike + running app. It works for walking as well.
  • martose
    martose Posts: 13 Member
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    Approx 3mph is considered a moderate pace. You could consider making a game of improving your time each walk, that has worked to motivate me. As your pace increases, you could add distance little by little. I have a stop watch and each walk that my time improves (even by 2, 1 or a 1/10th of a second) I feel like a won the race. Google Pedometer can be used to plot your course so you know the exact distance. Well wishes on your journey.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    I live exactly 1 mile from my work. It takes me a half an hour to walk it at what feels to me like a moderate/brisk pace. That would be me walking fast but just slow enough not to be out of breath and unable to talk.

    by definition, that's a slow pace, but I don't care. If that's what you have to give, then that's what I want from you. Don't worry about the labels of fast/med/slow. Just give whatever you got and I'm satisfied. I want you to try to improve your time, but I'll never ask you to give more than you have in you at the time.

    As you keep walking, you'll find that you can walk at a faster pace for longer periods. So keep going and keep improving.

    Important note: for MFP cal tracking purposes. Put in the slow, 2 mph pace. Just because the perceived effort (PE) is high for you right now is no excuse to screw your progress by giving yourself a ton of extra, unearned calories.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    I live exactly 1 mile from my work. It takes me a half an hour to walk it at what feels to me like a moderate/brisk pace. That would be me walking fast but just slow enough not to be out of breath and unable to talk.

    by definition, that's a slow pace, but I don't care. If that's what you have to give, then that's what I want from you. Don't worry about the labels of fast/med/slow. Just give whatever you got and I'm satisfied. I want you to try to improve your time, but I'll never ask you to give more than you have in you at the time.

    As you keep walking, you'll find that you can walk at a faster pace for longer periods. So keep going and keep improving.

    Important note: for MFP cal tracking purposes. Put in the slow, 2 mph pace. Just because the perceived effort (PE) is high for you right now is no excuse to screw your progress by giving yourself a ton of extra, unearned calories.

    The perfect answer!
  • LauraDotts
    LauraDotts Posts: 732 Member
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    I live exactly 1 mile from my work. It takes me a half an hour to walk it at what feels to me like a moderate/brisk pace. That would be me walking fast but just slow enough not to be out of breath and unable to talk.

    by definition, that's a slow pace, but I don't care. If that's what you have to give, then that's what I want from you. Don't worry about the labels of fast/med/slow. Just give whatever you got and I'm satisfied. I want you to try to improve your time, but I'll never ask you to give more than you have in you at the time.

    As you keep walking, you'll find that you can walk at a faster pace for longer periods. So keep going and keep improving.

    Important note: for MFP cal tracking purposes. Put in the slow, 2 mph pace. Just because the perceived effort (PE) is high for you right now is no excuse to screw your progress by giving yourself a ton of extra, unearned calories.

    Thank you. I appreciate your encouragement. I've watched when I walk with others and I can match them foot fall for foot fall yet they will quickly be way out in front of me. That's why I've wondered about the "labels".

    I'm not really worried about giving myself unearned calories. More times than not "earned" calories don't get eaten. My calorie goal is more of a guideline for me. Some days I end up eating well under. Other days I eat over. I aim to have them average out on target over the week. Plus, right now my exercise, even if over estimated, only gains me a couple hundred calories. It's not enough to mess with my progress one way or the other.

    But, I don't want to fool myself into believing I'm doing more than I am. As I progress in weight loss I know I will have to increase exercise. I know that right now just carrying all the weight that I am burns calories. That won't always be the case.
  • lesnla
    lesnla Posts: 2 Member
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    Here are some definitions given by the outdoor club of NJ-- (http://www.ocsj.org/hiking/pacedescriptions.html)


    WALKING PACE DEFINITIONS

    WALKING PACE
    These are averages only; actual results may vary due to factors such surfaces (e.g, trails, vs roads), terrain (e.g., bushwhacking vs clear), elevation changes, (e.g.,hilly vs flat), and weather.
    PACE:
    EASY less than 2.5 mph
    MODERATE 2.5-3.0 mph
    BRISK 3.0 – 3.5 mph
    FAST over 3.5 mph
    Avg. time 25 or more 20-25 17-20 17 or lessper mile minutes minutes minutes minutes

    HIKE DESCRIPTIONS
    • EASY - pace defined as slower walking with more frequent rest breaks (e.g. for
    viewing surroundings, nature calls, equipment adjustments, and allowing walkers
    to catch up). For the slower walker.
    • MODERATE - pace defined as as comfortable walking with occasional rest
    breaks. For the average walker.
    • BRISK - pace defined as faster walking with occasional rest breaks. For the
    average, better conditioned walker.
    • FAST - pace defined as fitness walking with few rest breaks for any reason. For
    seasoned, in fit condition walkers.
  • dopeysmelly
    dopeysmelly Posts: 1,390 Member
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    I live exactly 1 mile from my work. It takes me a half an hour to walk it at what feels to me like a moderate/brisk pace. That would be me walking fast but just slow enough not to be out of breath and unable to talk.

    by definition, that's a slow pace, but I don't care. If that's what you have to give, then that's what I want from you. Don't worry about the labels of fast/med/slow. Just give whatever you got and I'm satisfied. I want you to try to improve your time, but I'll never ask you to give more than you have in you at the time.

    As you keep walking, you'll find that you can walk at a faster pace for longer periods. So keep going and keep improving.

    Important note: for MFP cal tracking purposes. Put in the slow, 2 mph pace. Just because the perceived effort (PE) is high for you right now is no excuse to screw your progress by giving yourself a ton of extra, unearned calories.

    The perfect answer!

    ^^This.

    I do my walk, log it, and then manually set my calories to 1. so MFP doesn't change the calories, protein etc goals. Some people eat back 50%, others more, others less, but setting it to 1 calorie works for me. If I find that I'm losing weight too quickly, then I manually change my calories to a bit higher, but still keep logging that 1 calorie walk.

    It works for me.

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