Best for burning calories: Slow walk or Fast walk

Peanutmanak47
Peanutmanak47 Posts: 75 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I usually go to a walk during my lunch time at work and the route I've been doing is 1.25 miles long. I've done some days where I walk at a 3mph pace and other days where it's more of a 2-2.5mph pace.

I'm trying to get the best bang for my buck here calories burnt wise. I'm 336lbs if that matters.

Replies

  • KameHameHaaaa
    KameHameHaaaa Posts: 837 Member
    I'm 330 lbs and what works best for me is changing it up. I'll start out slow, then walk briskly to warm up for 5 or 10 minutes. Then I'll speed walk for 2 or 3 minutes, slow down for 1 minute, then speed walk again for a few minutes and etc. Also, I HATE hills but I burn more calories speed walking up hill in a shorter period of time so sometimes I'll walk leisurely, then speed walk up a hill and back down it, walk leisurely, speed walk up the hill etc. But I live in a wooded area with lots of steep grassy hills!
  • jayscionz
    jayscionz Posts: 7
    If your trying to burn calories at a good rate i recommend hit cardio.
    For example walk at 3.0 1 minute then turn it up to were you can run the fastest for 1 minute and the repeat if you do 20 mins. Good thing about this you also burn calories even after you finish running also.
  • Peanutmanak47
    Peanutmanak47 Posts: 75 Member
    I'd run but while I'm at work I'm in business casual and don't feel like sweating all through my cloths and smelling horrible the rest of the day lol.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Over the same distance, your calorie burn is going to be roughly the same. The difference will be the time it takes to complete the walk.
  • Peanutmanak47
    Peanutmanak47 Posts: 75 Member
    Over the same distance, your calorie burn is going to be roughly the same. The difference will be the time it takes to complete the walk.

    I can finish it in 18-20 Minutes with my faster pace and when I walk slower it takes about 26 minutes.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    3.5 mph is the most efficient speed - meaning least calorie burn.

    Going faster or actually slower burns more. For the short distance and time though the total difference isn't significant. Though going slower and burning more during the summer would have been nice to know.

    http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/WalkCalExp.html

    WalkRunEnergyExpenditures.gif
    (that site will allow the pic to be shown eventually, it's time delay, though link above gives the figures too)

    But you can always see what it would be.
    And these formula's have been found in studies to be within 4% of measured calorie burn, so more accurate than HRM. Select Gross for what database or HRM would tell you, select Net for what to log to eat back.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    Fast walk, but not so fast that you give yourself shin splints. You can get more distance during your allotted time (such as lunch break) that way.

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