Does walking count as exercise?!? Ideas to burn more calories!!

lizholloway1003 wrote: »

mis_linzi wrote: »

Yes. I suppose its pretty hard work: And not to open a can of worms but I smoke so It can get pretty uncomfortable. I just find my self making excuses to not ever do it, and I feel like when I do exercise I look ridiculous. I shouldnt care eh.

I like using exercise videos. My favorite are from Leslie Sansone. She has miles for different skill levels. Plus I find her general attitude funny and motivating. I don't like working out in front of people either. About 2 years ago, I lost nearly 40 pounds this way. I also smoked at the time.

There are a few videos on YouTube if you want to try it out.

Definitely! I was going to say leslie! But walking is so awesome! You actually will firm up from just walking as you increase pace and distance and if you go for two hours thats a significant burn! I know I walk daily! So I don't know why people say you dont burn much cause I always burn 200 to 3000 calories! Depending on distance and pace. Brisk is better on the burn and I walk from 1 mi. To 13 miles walks during the week. I hace literally shed it off and my legs are nice and toned now!

You can do hills, intervals, fartlek just like running but walking instead. I can't run due to a hip/lower back issue (yes, I'm seeing a professional who got me back on my feet again and this is part of my rehab). Today, I did a 41.50 mins walk (8.50 mins/km, total of 4.85k) I use RunKeeper with a 5 mins warm up and then 20 secs fast pace and 10 secs 'slower' pace (a tad slower but certainly not at a stroll pace) at 145 bmp (I used a Motion Traxx podcast for bpm and music) and my Polar HR calculated that I burn around 421 calories. After I hit the ground with Runtastic sit-ups, Runtastic push-ups and Runtastic six pack and a 1 minutes plank. I would say that after loosing 14 lbs so far, yeah walking does count as exercises! The best thing is, I could careless what people think when they see me. I'm not doing this for them, I'm doing this for me! So put your sneakers on and go for it! What do you have to loose beside getting fitter, stronger and healthier?

yes - an hour (3miles) a day at 3-4 mile pace is what helped me lose my first 66lbs.

beemerphile1 wrote: »

spartan_d wrote: »

It's not great exercise. It's good and certainly worth doing, but be wary whenever someone says that it's "great exercise." As others have said, it will certainly help burn some calories, but it won't provide a lot of cardiovascular benefit.

Don't get me wrong. I would never discourage you from adding some walking to your program. It can be helpful for crosstraining or for days when your legs are too sore from previous workouts. And of course, it can be enjoyable in other respects. Just don't expect it to work wonders.

Personally, I advise people to think of walking, dancing, housework, etc as "activity" and to think of more vigorous work as "exercise." Obviously, there is a blurry line between the two. However, thinking in that manner has helped me focus on pushing myself more while maintaining an otherwise active lifestyle.

You are obviously expressing your opinion based on your health level, age, and fitness. You should not make such cast in stone declarations for others. My wife is older, has asthma, COPD, and would love to walk. For her it definitely would be "great" exercise because about one block is all she can do.

Sigh. Most peope understand that there are going to be exceptions. A very elderly person might not be able to run, for example. Nor would someone with serious joint problems or osteoporosis. I certainly wouldn't expect those people do to vigorous exercise.

For the vast majority of people though -- that is, as a general rule -- walking is exercise, but not great exercise. For people with serious health problems, it might admittedly be their best option. Even in such situations though, I wouldn't say that walking is great. Rather, it may simply be one of the better options available. I think most people can understand that distinction.

The fact is, walking is a great exercise for most people. It is very beneficial to the cardiovascular system and has a low risk of injury.

For most people? I cannot agree with that. It is good and indeed beneficial, but it's the sort of thing that produces diminishing returns very quickly. Also, unlike other activities that most people can do -- strength training, interval training, and so forth -- its results are fairly modest. It can help with calorie burning, especially for beginners, and it certainly beats sitting on the couch. Compared to most other forms of exercise though, these benefits are fairly modest.

You're my kind of guy.

BTW, I should emphasize that I used to do a lot of walking in my early days of getting in shape. It absolutely helped, and I do still incorporate some walking nowadays. At the time though, I was too naive to realize just how modest its benefits were in comparison to more demanding forms of exercise. I wish I had learned that lesson a lot sooner.

mis_linzi wrote: »

Yes. I suppose its pretty hard work: And not to open a can of worms but I smoke so It can get pretty uncomfortable. I just find my self making excuses to not ever do it, and I feel like when I do exercise I look ridiculous. I shouldnt care eh.

Yeah, don't worry about looking ridiculous, come on, it's your health.

That said of course walking's good.

My question: why is exercise uncomfortable? Does that happen when you go over a certain heart rate and have to breathe deeply? Does it feel like your chest is being squeezed, or do you wheeze? Not trying to give you a hard time, but it might be worth getting that checked out. An inhaler might help.

spartan_d wrote: »

beemerphile1 wrote: »

spartan_d wrote: »

It's not great exercise. It's good and certainly worth doing, but be wary whenever someone says that it's "great exercise." As others have said, it will certainly help burn some calories, but it won't provide a lot of cardiovascular benefit.

Don't get me wrong. I would never discourage you from adding some walking to your program. It can be helpful for crosstraining or for days when your legs are too sore from previous workouts. And of course, it can be enjoyable in other respects. Just don't expect it to work wonders.

Personally, I advise people to think of walking, dancing, housework, etc as "activity" and to think of more vigorous work as "exercise." Obviously, there is a blurry line between the two. However, thinking in that manner has helped me focus on pushing myself more while maintaining an otherwise active lifestyle.

You are obviously expressing your opinion based on your health level, age, and fitness. You should not make such cast in stone declarations for others. My wife is older, has asthma, COPD, and would love to walk. For her it definitely would be "great" exercise because about one block is all she can do.

Sigh. Most peope understand that there are going to be exceptions. A very elderly person might not be able to run, for example. Nor would someone with serious joint problems or osteoporosis. I certainly wouldn't expect those people do to vigorous exercise.

For the vast majority of people though -- that is, as a general rule -- walking is exercise, but not great exercise. For people with serious health problems, it might admittedly be their best option. Even in such situations though, I wouldn't say that walking is great. Rather, it may simply be one of the better options available. I think most people can understand that distinction.

The fact is, walking is a great exercise for most people. It is very beneficial to the cardiovascular system and has a low risk of injury.

For most people? I cannot agree with that. It is good and indeed beneficial, but it's the sort of thing that produces diminishing returns very quickly. Also, unlike other activities that most people can do -- strength training, interval training, and so forth -- its results are fairly modest. It can help with calorie burning, especially for beginners, and it certainly beats sitting on the couch. Compared to most other forms of exercise though, these benefits are fairly modest.

The key is to increase challenge. You can make things harder by walking faster, or up hills, or by going for longer periods, or mixing all that up in various ways.

But it's a super safe activity for most and it's the kind of thing people can easily weave into their days.

mralexjones wrote: »

Wear weighted vest and go hiking.

I'd rather go with a backpack on a long hike.

Yes. It counts as exercise. I second using a tracking app like MapMyWalk, but don't put too much faith in what it is telling you as far as calories burned. Just try to make your walk as intense as possible, this means adding elevation/hills and/or increasing your speed.