Walking/jogging on soft sand vs. ground...

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coold
coold Posts: 85
in Fitness and Exercise
I am wondering how many more calories you burn walking or jogging on soft sand at the beach...one website said twice the amount of walking on hard ground. I walked/jogged for 55 minutes this morning on the beach and I don't know how to log it in...:drinker:

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  • Edestiny7
    Edestiny7 Posts: 730 Member
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    You should get a heart rate monitor, then you would know exactly. Also, walking/jogging on soft sand is better for you when you are barefoot. (Wasn't sure if you were) :smile:
  • coold
    coold Posts: 85
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    i know...i really need to invest in one. I bought a watch that was supposed to track calories and it didn't work or i couldn't figure it out. (it was on clearance...haha..:embarassed: )

    Thanks!!! The only site I came across said that walking through sand burns double the calories as walking on solid ground....so I'll just double that and hope i am close.
  • deckerp
    deckerp Posts: 4,365 Member
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    I never really thought about soft sand vs hard surface before. It's worth investigating. I've also read there are health benefits to walking on cobblestones. It forces you to use small support muscles or something. It also recommended wearing shoes that were thinner soled or going barefoot. I don't think that would be a great idea if you're doing 55 minutes of walking/jogging daily.
    You should get a heart rate monitor, then you would know exactly.

    I think this is misleading. I read another post on MFP forums about this. There is the perception that a HRM will give you accurate calories burned, but they said it depends on the HRM. You need to have one that will allow you to enter some information for them to base the calories on. I don't remember all the factors you needed to enter but my HRM doesn't allow entry of one of them. So when I do 45 minutes on my elliptical, the elliptical says 700 calories, but my HRM says 465.

    I think the truth is probably somewhere in between those. Judging by my goal calculated by MFP and the food I track, along with my weight loss progress so far.
  • coold
    coold Posts: 85
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    :drinker: Thanks!!! I just logged it in as 70 minutes (one time) and 50 minutes another time of walking at 4.0 mph pace..even though i didnt go 4 miles....the resistance was incredible compared to walking on the ground...especially with the wind we are having here in Orange Beach Alabama!!! :love:

    The exercise database estimated i earned 400+ calories per hour @ 4.0 mph...it may have been more truthfully b/c it WAS HARD!! usually when i walk on the beach, i walk where the waves hit. The sand there is hard and packed down. Today, i made myself walk in the really soft sand and it was WORK!!!

    I even walked backwards for a while and that was strange!!! I felt it working the hamstrings and lower calves!!! :smile:
  • aiodoit
    aiodoit Posts: 3
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    love walking the beach, i do it twice a day, and yes i think you burn twice as many calories as you would on hard surface's....(just my own opinion)...
  • Queen_Christine
    Queen_Christine Posts: 342 Member
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    I just read an article about the benefits of walking on the beach at DiscoverWalking.com. The article confirmed that you burn 20% -50% more calories walking on sand than on a hard surface. It also said that walking on the beach at a slower pace burns more calories than walking the beach at a fast pace (baffling).
  • Bamacraft
    Bamacraft Posts: 175 Member
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    i would not think it doubles. i would say walking close to the water in wet sand would be ~25% more. Up where its dry and much softer maybe 50-75% more. interesting findings on speed tho..

    Get a HRM and compare terrain and speed and let us know what you find.
  • Fallonthomas
    Fallonthomas Posts: 1
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    I am just starting on the calorie count , all I want to do is lose the excess weight around my stomach.I`m hoping that 4 kg will do the trick. I try and play 18 holes of golf 3 times a week and do some exercising at home for about 3/4 hour a day. (light aerobics.)

    If I read that a certain activities burns x amount of calories I deduct a fair amount to be on the safe side, and I add a bit more calories to my daily estimate for the same reason.

    That way I hope to avoid disappointment.

    I`m 75 and weigh 66 kg, was 69 kg 2 weeks ago, so things seem to be working weight wise, trouble is the stomach seems to be just as fat.
  • baccimar
    baccimar Posts: 3 Member
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    Walking on the soft sand is really the only exercise I do. I have no idea how many calories it burns but I weigh about 135 and would guess that for me it probably burns around 300 calories and hour at a slow pace. This estimate is based on the number of calories I eat being about 2000 a day and I don't really gain or lose weight by walking on the beach an hour a day.

    What the calorie count doesn't include is how much stronger it makes you. If you make sure you stand up straight when you walk this is an amazing workout for your abs and your legs. I think it is basically like cardio and strength training in one.

    Like I said, this is the ONLY exercise I do and I have a 6 pack and my legs are strong. You probably burn more calories at rest from this additional muscle mass.

    Keep it up and good luck to everyone trying to live a healthy life!
  • ashleyisgreat
    ashleyisgreat Posts: 586 Member
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    I have no information to add but I wanted to say that I was shocked the first time I really walked on sand (I'm from the Midwest and I currently live in the desert, so beach-going isn't one of my normal activities). We parked fairly close to the water--we THOUGHT--and by the time we walked through all the super soft sand we were exhausted. It was probably only a quarter mile but it felt like so much more. On the way back to the car I had a panic moment where I thought "I'll never make it. Just leave me where I drop."
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
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    Not sure how to log it, but keep it up, because running on sand is a lot better for your feet than running on concrete or asphalt.
  • RunnerElizabeth
    RunnerElizabeth Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I don't know. I was on a beach vacation this week. I ran 5.5 miles (10:48 pace) one day and 7.1 miles (11:20 pace, wind resistance like you wouldn't believe). Second run was as hard as I ever remember a run being. Mfp gave me just about 700 calories, that felt accurate. I wasn't anymore hungry than I normally am after a 7 mile run, so I'd say even though i perceived it to be harder, increased calorie burn was negligible. I wouldn't give myself credit for extra time to compensate.

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