Why do people disregard walking?

I'd like to add that those who thumb their noses at walking probably don't have the patience for it - to them it's a waste of time for a puny couple-hundred-calories burn. They'd rather go hard to lose weight/get fit faster...but how many can sustain that pace long-term?

I'd also like to address your last sentence there as well.

There are SEVERAL options that will bring about a higher cal burn and are VERY sustainable.

Weight training (strength training) for instance has a low initial calorie burn but lasts for several hours after. Aerobic/cardio is meant for building endurance so is sustainable in the long run because you build endurance if you keep at it.

Too many options here to list.......

I walk because it is free. There were no treadmills, Gyms, racetracks or theme parks in prehistoric times

SO WALKING WAS THE THING.

Running was the thing you did to avoid getting eaten.

not strictly true. Humans (and bipedal ancestors like australopithecines) can't run fast enough to outrun the kind of predators that ate them. Early prehistoric humans, australopithecines, etc would more likely have relied on group co-operation and crude weapons (e.g. stones and pointy sticks) to chase off predators, rather than trying to outrun them.

it's thought that early humans used both walking and running to hunt, using the persistence hunting method, where you track and chase an animal for hours, tracking it down repeatedly and never letting it rest, until it drops dead from exhaustion or it's exhausted enough that you can kill it with sticks and stones (later palaeolithic humans would have used more sophisticated weapons). Humans are much slower at running than other mammals, but humans also have way more endurance and better heat control (sparse body hair, sweating over the whole body) than other mammals, so can run for hours, while other mammals sprint fast but get exhausted and overheated quickly. We're built for long distance running and walking, with occasional sprinting here and there.


Regarding which is the best exercise, running and walking are both good and people should do the one they enjoy the most so they'll stick with it long term. Personally I hate running but really enjoy walking and don't care if the calorie burns and intensity are lower. I'm not into self-torture so I'm going to stick to exercise that I enjoy. And I can see why if someone doesn't like walking much, it's going to feel totally pointless *for them* to choose walking as an exercise as they can get the same benefit in a shorter time with a more intense exercise. It's a matter of what works for the individual.

I lift heavy, but I walk my dogs daily, and I walk up hills (hiking). I burn most of my calories while walking, it is my main weight loss tool to be honest. Even when I go in the gym and do my 720lb leg presses, it doesn't compare to the calorie burn while walking. Don't let anyone get you down over walking!

Several studies are now showing just 150 minutes/week of exercise such as walking is also enough to show general health improvement and lower your risk of diseases like diabetes, even if you don't lose weight! Of course that's just a minimum, but if all you can do is walk 150minutes/week, that's a huge improvement, and if you do enough to lose weight, more power to you.

Also I reckon walking is great cos you can do it everyday and see results in both fitness and weight loss and it doesnt put a ton of pressure on yr body. For me, I have got best results from walking at a decent pace pretty much every day

Probably because walking isn't that regarded as a high calarie burner. Used to do a walking class and we walked 2 miles everyday. I didn't see much results because I still ate like I didn't care, but I did have slight improvements.
I think of walking more of a clense of thought, but its one of the more simpler things to do and still burn off calories.

we had legs before we had bikes or cars...or treadmills....
it's how we get around naturally

get yourself a dog and walk....walk.....walk......walk

love it !

I'd like to add that those who thumb their noses at walking probably don't have the patience for it - to them it's a waste of time for a puny couple-hundred-calories burn. They'd rather go hard to lose weight/get fit faster...but how many can sustain that pace long-term?

Speaking from experience (having had jobs for 25 yrs on my feet, walking, all day everyday).....they may also walk a lot anyway and see walking as normal as washing dishes....and not realize that there are people who don't do a lot of walking.


(Also...I'm going to have to google that walking plan that the OP is talking about. I may have to check out a walking plan that raises the HR to 150 or higher. Wow!)

Definitely doable. There is a big difference between "walking, all day everyday" and walking fast, with good form, and purpose.

The speed and distance that I walk gets my HR up to similar levels that high impact aerobics do, except I can sustain it much longer. It's awesome. I am drenched in sweat by the end of all my walks.

I'm a walker and LOVE IT! I was a runner when I lived in Kansas a couple of years ago but since moving to Colorado (6500ft elevation) the air is so thin and I just haven't managed to become that runner that I once was but I'm not sad about it. Walking doesn't bug my knees as much as running does. I used to be a back catcher for my high school softball team and my knees have never been the same. According to my bodymedia armband I burn a good amount of calories on my hour long walks (350-400 calories).

My mom and her cousin took a walking vacation in England and just loved it, I think they were in their late 50s when they went. I try to walk each day for 2-3 short stretches (10 min.) --- since I sit at my desk most of the day.

recently I discovered Jillian's Body Revolution program ---- which is definitely NOT a walking program! You will feel muscles you never knew you had...

To find out more about this program --- go to transformmybody.org

I am a walker, I use my Fifbit Flex wristband to make sure I get in 10,000 steps a day.

Walking is great!

I do a 10K every single day to pick up my daughter at school. Her school is 3.1 miles away from home by my GPS pedometer, so there and back is 10K. Usually, I walk there and walk/run back while pushing a jogging stroller. I just picked it back up in the past 3 weeks.

I lost most of my 60 pound weight loss by walking at least 15,000 steps a day. I think right now, I'm sitting around 17,000 steps a day, sometimes more.

I just really like to walk.

Walking IS good exercise. But folks want to excuse the condition of their body, if all you have to do is walk to get in shape that is one BIG excuse down the drain. Then there are some that say to TRULY get in shape you need to work all the muscle groups, but for many of us walking is the best option.

I walk because it is free. There were no treadmills, Gyms, racetracks or theme parks in prehistoric times

SO WALKING WAS THE THING.

Running was the thing you did to avoid getting eaten.

not strictly true. Humans (and bipedal ancestors like australopithecines) can't run fast enough to outrun the kind of predators that ate them. Early prehistoric humans, australopithecines, etc would more likely have relied on group co-operation and crude weapons (e.g. stones and pointy sticks) to chase off predators, rather than trying to outrun them.

it's thought that early humans used both walking and running to hunt, using the persistence hunting method, where you track and chase an animal for hours, tracking it down repeatedly and never letting it rest, until it drops dead from exhaustion or it's exhausted enough that you can kill it with sticks and stones (later palaeolithic humans would have used more sophisticated weapons). Humans are much slower at running than other mammals, but humans also have way more endurance and better heat control (sparse body hair, sweating over the whole body) than other mammals, so can run for hours, while other mammals sprint fast but get exhausted and overheated quickly. We're built for long distance running and walking, with occasional sprinting here and there.


Regarding which is the best exercise, running and walking are both good and people should do the one they enjoy the most so they'll stick with it long term. Personally I hate running but really enjoy walking and don't care if the calorie burns and intensity are lower. I'm not into self-torture so I'm going to stick to exercise that I enjoy. And I can see why if someone doesn't like walking much, it's going to feel totally pointless *for them* to choose walking as an exercise as they can get the same benefit in a shorter time with a more intense exercise. It's a matter of what works for the individual.

Yep they were not outrunning predators.
http://youtu.be/826HMLoiE_o

I'd say you're doing awesome! You're getting out there and at least walking, let alone doing so at a level which makes for a pretty intense level (going by your heart rate). I have no idea/experience with Sansone, so I can't comment on that part. I will say you're putting in the effort and enjoying it is something in which you should be applauded for, not lauded.

So............. Keep up the awesome efforts!