Running vs Walking

helyg
helyg Posts: 675 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This may be a daft question, but here goes...

What is the difference fitness-wise between jogging 3 miles at 5mph and walking 3 miles at 5mph?
«1

Replies

  • ShaneTAMU99
    ShaneTAMU99 Posts: 3 Member
    I'm gonna say there's not one, but can you actually sustain a 5 mph walk for 3 miles?
  • nas061
    nas061 Posts: 256 Member
    This was in the news a few days ago.....

    "Walking, running produce similar improvements in heart health"

    http://www.healio.com/cardiology/chd-prevention/news/online/{D2A46213-3F66-4FBE-BE11-D66B4D31526A}/Walking-running-produce-similar-improvements-in-heart-health
  • GlitterMamma11
    GlitterMamma11 Posts: 143 Member
    I can't say for sure but I think I have heard you will burn more with the motion of running. More of your body/muscles are involved than if you were just walking. I'm a suuuuuuuuper slow jogger (anyone could walk right beside me) but it is much more of a workout than if I were to just walk that same speed.
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
    I'm gonna say there's not one, but can you actually sustain a 5 mph walk for 3 miles?

    Yes I can.
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
    This was in the news a few days ago.....

    "Walking, running produce similar improvements in heart health"

    http://www.healio.com/cardiology/chd-prevention/news/online/{D2A46213-3F66-4FBE-BE11-D66B4D31526A}/Walking-running-produce-similar-improvements-in-heart-health

    Thank you, a very interesting article to consider.
  • millkins
    millkins Posts: 4
    That's a really interesting question to pose. I'd agree that running/jogging would as you're using more muscles to allow your body to leave the ground and gravity works against you more than it would if at least one foot was on the ground.
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
    I can't say for sure but I think I have heard you will burn more with the motion of running. More of your body/muscles are involved than if you were just walking. I'm a suuuuuuuuper slow jogger (anyone could walk right beside me) but it is much more of a workout than if I were to just walk that same speed.

    It is the difference in motion that I am wondering about. Obviously when I walk at 5mph my arms are swinging and my whole body is involved in the action, but I know when I run I pick my feet up higher.
  • jcmartin0313
    jcmartin0313 Posts: 574 Member
    MFP and other sites severly overestimate calories burned for exercising. A 150 pound person expends an average of 100 calories per mile whether they are running or walking. Since I am 242, I did the math and it comes out to about 150 calories per mile. As this article points out, as long as the energy expenditure is the same, the health cardiovascular health benefits are also. Keep in mind, however, that running will get it done more quickly, but also stresses the skeleton and muscles more.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/health/walking-health-great-running-will-get-you-there-quicker
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
    That's a really interesting question to pose. I'd agree that running/jogging would as you're using more muscles to allow your body to leave the ground and gravity works against you more than it would if at least one foot was on the ground.

    That is what I'm thinking... But in terms of health and fitness, if a person finds it easier to sustain walking at 5mph than running at 5mph, is it better to walk and do it for longer/further?
  • helyg
    helyg Posts: 675 Member
    MFP and other sites severly overestimate calories burned for exercising. A 150 pound person expends an average of 100 calories per mile whether they are running or walking. Since I am 242, I did the math and it comes out to about 150 calories per mile. As this article points out, as long as the energy expenditure is the same, the health cardiovascular health benefits are also. Keep in mind, however, that running will get it done more quickly, but also stresses the skeleton and muscles more.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/health/walking-health-great-running-will-get-you-there-quicker

    Another interesting article, thanks. But your 100 calories per mile estimate is actually higher than the one my running app gives me! It estimated my 3 mile run this morning as having burned 244 calories. I weigh 160lbs.
  • jcmartin0313
    jcmartin0313 Posts: 574 Member
    Unless you go and get your metablism actually measured during exercise through what is call V02 Max testing, any app or what i told you is an estimate. The number of calories burned during exercise will vary from person to person. Many apps and HRM use a formula to as accurately as possible estimate your burn, but they are all still estimates. Some researchers scoff at the 100 calories per mile regardless of running or walking, but in doing my own research I chose to use said estimate.
  • jcmartin0313
    jcmartin0313 Posts: 574 Member
    "There is also a level at which walking burns more calories per mile than running. But, at speeds of 5 MPH or faster, running will burn more calories per mile than walking."

    http://www.runningplanet.com/training/running-versus-walking.html
  • CoopGrain
    CoopGrain Posts: 1
    I agree Speed Walking or Running you will burn more. I run i know. I feel like i benfit more.
  • gramacanada
    gramacanada Posts: 557 Member
    None. A mile is a mile is a mile.
    As long as there is some effort being put into it.
    Any study I have read or heard about says walking or running a mile uses 'about' 100 calories.
    I haven't figured out why running equals. I keep thinking all that heavy breathing and chest heaving
    ought to be burning more, but apparently not.
    Lots of this info on Google. From 'real' Universities and Medical facilities. Kinesthesiologists.
    Not the diet industry.
  • klmoorman
    klmoorman Posts: 8 Member
    I have also heard that however when i program a treadmill i alway burn more running. Another thing about running is that it is much better for your heart than walking the same distance and after you are done running your body will continue to burn calories after you are done. I would rather take 20 minutes to run a few miles than 40 or 50 to walk them. Extra time for strength training!
  • G__Force
    G__Force Posts: 280 Member
    You expend more energy running than walking mainly becasue your are having to make bigger movements. I know when I run rather than walk I hurt alot more and I can feel the the muscles working harder in less time. I can walk at 4.5 mph and for me thats almost a slow jog, anything faster and i'm jogging. With that being said I dont like running but i know running will get me there and done faster
  • OMGeeeHorses
    OMGeeeHorses Posts: 732 Member
    get a body media core armband, it will show you how much your burning when doing the walking 5mph or the running/jogging. thats why I <3 mine as it helped me see what works better for my body!
  • chezz
    chezz Posts: 69 Member
    i think if you walk or run least you are getting some kind of exercise and not being a couch potato everyone is different i like to walk (power walk} but would not knock a runner neither just not my cup of tea
  • cowgirlslikeus86
    cowgirlslikeus86 Posts: 597 Member
    If you have a Heart Rate Monitor, wear it while your walking 5mph, then wear it while your running 5mph.If your heart rate is higher than your burning more. I do think that you burn a little more while your running. I think that the bouncing off the ground requires a little more effort. I'm just impressed that you can walk 5 mph. You must be TALL!!
  • artickb22
    artickb22 Posts: 411 Member
    I like to incoorperate both, as the intervals really get your heart pumping. I typically will run for 2 mins and then walk for 1-2 mins, it's kinda simliar to high intensity interval training and I burn mega calories do this as compared to when I only walk. I use a heart rate monitor. Just my opinion and what works for me!
  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
    Cardio is designed to increase your heart rate to a zone that trains your heart. I'd be interested to see which one elevates your heart more. Some would have to do with how efficiently you are walking versus running. I think I would be able to run more efficiently at 5 mph. That is a very fast walk.
  • jaygreen55
    jaygreen55 Posts: 315 Member
    According to this website http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php calories burned per 1 mile for me (177 lb male)
    would be

    Walking 3 MPH for 20 minutes I would burn 88 calories
    Walking 4 MPH for 15 minutes I would burn 100 calories
    Walking 5 MPH for 12 minutes I would burn 128 calories
    Running 6 MPH for 10 minutes I would burn 134 calories

    If this is accurate you can conclude that brisk walking burns more than leisurely walking and that walking at a a 5 MPH pace is
    almost as strenuous as running
  • terri0527
    terri0527 Posts: 678 Member
    I'm gonna say there's not one, but can you actually sustain a 5 mph walk for 3 miles?

    Yes I can.

    That is awesome because no way could I do that....my legs are too short..lol I'm only 5'4....:bigsmile:
  • CMGoodie
    CMGoodie Posts: 93 Member
    A calorie burned is a calorie burned.
    The difference in burning calories in one mile of jogging vs a calorie burned in one mile of walking is the amount of time it takes to burn it: The faster you move the faster you burn it.

    I walk 3 miles at work at a 3.5 mph pace, I burn about 350 calories. If I interval the same 3 miles....walk/jog/walk/jog backwards.... I can burn up to 375+ calories in the same exact 3 miles.
  • Msjay2blue
    Msjay2blue Posts: 26 Member
    I am 196 lbs, but I can move pretty good. I typically burn 10-12 cals a min just walking. I can burn the same amount at a lower mph if I add an incline, so for me, the difference is not just speed, which I agree makes a difference, but incline can help you reduce the speed and get same results.
  • Msjay2blue
    Msjay2blue Posts: 26 Member
    Atleast this is what I've found. Not to say the actual cals are accurate, but when I don't feel like walking fast, I just add incline.
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
    This may be a daft question, but here goes...

    What is the difference fitness-wise between jogging 3 miles at 5mph and walking 3 miles at 5mph?

    I would be dying walking 5mph for 3 miles...rather run it... But speed walking I've heard burns more calories because you are working your muscles harder.
  • lovemitch125
    lovemitch125 Posts: 257 Member
    I'm gonna say there's not one, but can you actually sustain a 5 mph walk for 3 miles?

    Yes I can.

    You are working different parts of your body and I think running may help your heart more? I may be wrong but my mom always said, either one is good for you, just in different ways. It just takes longer to walk 3 miles than to run 3 miles. And you'll sweat more, working off water weight.
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
    I'm gonna say there's not one, but can you actually sustain a 5 mph walk for 3 miles?

    Yes I can.

    You are working different parts of your body and I think running may help your heart more? I may be wrong but my mom always said, either one is good for you, just in different ways. It just takes longer to walk 3 miles than to run 3 miles. And you'll sweat more, working off water weight.

    Correct me if I'm wrong....but if you're walking at 5mph for a mile...and running at 5mph for a mile...it will take you the same exact time

    Or has everything I've been learning in math all these years been totally wrong? :laugh:
  • lovemitch125
    lovemitch125 Posts: 257 Member
    I'm gonna say there's not one, but can you actually sustain a 5 mph walk for 3 miles?

    Yes I can.

    You are working different parts of your body and I think running may help your heart more? I may be wrong but my mom always said, either one is good for you, just in different ways. It just takes longer to walk 3 miles than to run 3 miles. And you'll sweat more, working off water weight.

    Correct me if I'm wrong....but if you're walking at 5mph for a mile...and running at 5mph for a mile...it will take you the same exact time

    Or has everything I've been learning in math all these years been totally wrong? :laugh:

    haha, well I wasn't assuming she was walking 5mph, because I don't know many people who can do that for 3 miles. :laugh:

Categories