Walking opinions

texasblackrose
texasblackrose Posts: 17
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello
I have been wondering if it is better to slow walk a 3mile in an hr or fast walk it in 45mins - I am trying to loose weight

Replies

  • Cyndesire
    Cyndesire Posts: 56 Member
    Walking is my primary source of cardio. Experience says that walking faster is better because increasing your heat rate burns more calories. Good luck.
  • Eric_DeCastro
    Eric_DeCastro Posts: 767 Member
    any walking will help you lose weight but i would think the faster walk will get you there faster. no pun intended. just keep it sustained for the entire distance. I walk fast 4miles a day and it works out for me.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Hello
    I have been wondering if it is better to slow walk a 3mile in an hr or fast walk it in 45mins - I am trying to loose weight
    Whichever one burns the most calories
  • Starfish1277
    Starfish1277 Posts: 13 Member
    As it has been said, whichever one burns more calories, but I will also add: Whichever one you're more likely to do is better. Also, it doesn't have to be one or the other. You can switch it up depending on your day and energy level, or do intervals of going as fast as you can, followed by a few minutes of walking at a more moderate pace. They all have benefits. But the most important thing is to picking something you can stick with for awhile.
  • jefferytmc
    jefferytmc Posts: 26 Member
    Compromise, walk the faster pace for an hour, best of both worlds and will help you lose even faster.
  • The_GingerBeard_Man
    The_GingerBeard_Man Posts: 197 Member
    I find it is best to walk with a dog on MFP because we all know they can only go 3 MPH, and that really helps with tracking.
  • tworthen79
    tworthen79 Posts: 1,173 Member
    I walk laps around a football field track. So I walk one slow, next one moderate and then fast. And I keep doing that, alternating. Sometimes I even jog a half a lap and walk the rest. I lost all my weight by only doing walking as part of my exercise. Good luck.
  • MickeyCastello
    MickeyCastello Posts: 269
    Walking was a major contributor to my weight loss. My normal walking pace is about 3 MPH. I do a 4.5 mile loop around our town in about 1.5 hours. Now that I've given up my pretty active part-time job, I need to start doing that again.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    For losing weight, exercise in and of itself doesn't matter - you just have to eat at a calorie deficit to do that. And with MFP, the work's done for you, you just have to keep your intake within your daily goal!

    However, you'll likely burn more calories going at a faster rate. If you've got an hour, why not go farther than 3 miles and burn even more calories?
  • daweez04
    daweez04 Posts: 35 Member
    Without knowing how much your Heart rate goes up, and how much faster is "faster" there is no way to tell.

    Walking was my primary source of exercise when I started, I picked a distance and always tried to PR. When I decided that distance wasn't burning enough calories anymore (getting in better shape, HR had fallen) I upped the distance and tried to PR even more. I got the point where I was walking 4 miles as fast as I was walking 2.5 miles when I started. Now my heart rate won't get high enough with walking, so I started C25k.
  • GLH2576
    GLH2576 Posts: 83 Member
    Do you have a heart rate monitor? If so, check out http://www.thewalkingsite.com/thr.html. The HR for losing weight is only 60-70% of max which you will probably reach pretty easily. Higher percentages have some health benefits not related to losing weight but without a HR you are guessing. Any amount of walking will help. I've heard three fitness experts over the past month say that the break-even number of steps per day is 6,000 for health. They recommended more for weight loss. If you have a heart rate monitor that ties into your cell phone there are several interesting apps to help keep you motivated and on-target if you need that support.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,654 Member
    What I've noticed is that whether I walk it fast or slow, I burn about the same amount for the same distance.
  • AquabearGO
    AquabearGO Posts: 232 Member
    Sign up right now to walk a 5k 12 weeks from now, then go to Google and put in " How to walk a 5k ". Follow that plan and make it your goal to do it under an hour. You will get speed and distance workouts in the plan and you have a goal to keep you motivated, but also remember to watch the calories you take it, by doing this you should lose weight AND accomplish a great goal. WIN WIN!
  • Rebamae
    Rebamae Posts: 603 Member
    I have done nothing in the past but walk and it has always worked. I am trying to get started again!

    That being said: I would love to do a walking thread as accountability if anyone is interested. It just really helps me to be accountable, otherwise I have a tendency to put it off, and put it off, and put it off - well you get the picture.

    I am thinking each person report as they want to: steps, time, distance etc. Whatever works - walking outside, walking inside w/ equipment, walking to a DVD - seriously whatever works for the individual! Just set goals and follow through. I would love to have MFP walking buddies.

    Would any of you be interested? Please message me if you are interested.
  • grandmothercharlie
    grandmothercharlie Posts: 1,063 Member
    Why not see which burns the most calories? Log it as cardio both ways. You can erase them from your diary. Which burns the most calories. Which are you most likely to do consistently? If you start slowly, you will naturally find yourself walking faster and further. If you don't, I'll be surprised. I hate treadmills. I walk outside (take a different route and use MapMyWalk usually to measure it) or indoor track with earphones and really fast music. The music will get me going sometimes really fast pace depending what songs come on when I shuffle. No matter what, the music always as me going about 4 mph. I didn't start like that though. I would go slower. Walk 1/2 mile. And avoid hills. I love walking. If you have to use a treadmill, find something to keep your mind off the walk. I have to do this with the stationary bike. I will get too bored, so I watch Hulu either movies or a series. Only let myself watch it when I workout, so I look forward to that 1/2 hour everyday.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Walking is my primary source of cardio. Experience says that walking faster is better because increasing your heat rate burns more calories. Good luck.

    Not necessarily true, the calories burned walking are primarily a function of mass x distance (there are exceptions for extremely fast walking - ie race walking over 5mph)

    In general runners world suggests the following formula for walking at "normal speeds (under 5mph)

    .30 x weight (in lbs) x distance (in miles) - this will yield the net calories expended ie those directly attributable to the activity.

    The benefit in walking faster and elevating your heart rate is improved cardiovascular health, in that respect walking faster does offer more benefits.
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
    I'd walk faster to get more out of the workout. A stronger heart and lungs (endurance) and burned up calories (a good thing!).

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