Does Walking at Work Count As Cardio?

darciekay
darciekay Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I work at a restaurant where I'm basically walking/standing for about 5 hours a day. My question is it okay to count walking as cardio on days I don't wear a step tracker? I would select the cardio option walking a 2.0mph, slow pace. So when I go to log it in I would log I have walked 300minutes which burns 857cal. Is this totally wrong? Am I really burning calories close to that while I'm working?

Any input helps!

Replies

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    No. It should be included in your activity level.
  • justincooper405
    justincooper405 Posts: 107 Member
    edited May 2016
    Walking is One of the best ;) if it's brisk enough to increase your heart rate. It has a great metabolic affect on your body for hours even days after.

    I'm not sure about the calories burned or how to log it properly or if its considered any more then what you already account for.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited May 2016
    Walking can count as cardio, but if you are just talking about slow steps....then no it's not cardiovascular exercise.

    Steps are great for increasing your activity level. Movement is ALWAYS good. You already get credit for some steps....even sedentary people take steps. This is what trackers (that sync to MFP) do for you....compare your stated activity level to your actual activity level & credit the "difference."

    Cardio exercise increases your heart rate. You need to push the envelope a bit, it should be difficult to carry on a conversation.

    Take a look at the difference from sedentary to lightly active to very active......it's nowhere near 857 calories.
  • Namonakunaru
    Namonakunaru Posts: 3 Member
    I am not an expert by any means, but I would suggest that you are burning calories during this kind of activity for sure, but it probably should not be considered cardiovascular exercise as such. Most cardio activity worthy of being counted would raise your heart rate to a degree. I am sure other more expert people will be more precise.

    If you were to use a tracker, it may give you a rough idea as to the calories you are burning on a daily basis at work.
  • oh_happy_day
    oh_happy_day Posts: 1,137 Member
    I would just include that in your daily activity level. While you're burning more calories than if you were sitting at a desk I would not consider this kind of walking as cardio or log it as exercise.
  • Attar_
    Attar_ Posts: 14 Member
    Calorie wise. for sure for any movement you burn calories, (Just I suggest you to check time and calories burned using many websites)

    But as mentioned you still need active cardio for your heart health.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Include it in your daily activity level. Set your activity level to, "lighty active."
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    No it does not. What constitute cardio for cardio vascular health is getting your heart rate elevated during steady state exercising.. (i.e brisk/fast walking, running, swimming, biking)..

    Walking at work (office, restaurant, home, grocery store, etc..) is to be included in your MFP activity level.
  • Attar_
    Attar_ Posts: 14 Member
    edited May 2016
    300 min walk can not be counted ?
    Then there is no point for anyone to wear Fitbit
  • teetertatertango
    teetertatertango Posts: 229 Member
    5 hours at 2mph means you would be getting credit for walking 10 miles. I am sure some days it feels like that but in reality it's probably more like 200-300 calories more than a sedentary day. How much extra do you normally get when you are wearing your step tracker at work?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    darciekay wrote: »
    I work at a restaurant where I'm basically walking/standing for about 5 hours a day. My question is it okay to count walking as cardio on days I don't wear a step tracker? I would select the cardio option walking a 2.0mph, slow pace. So when I go to log it in I would log I have walked 300minutes which burns 857cal. Is this totally wrong? Am I really burning calories close to that while I'm working?

    Any input helps!

    Why wouldn't you wear your step tracker? If you just forgot, add the same calories you earned from another day that you did remember to wear it.

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Work should be included in your activity level, not added as exercise.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Attar_ wrote: »
    300 min walk can not be counted ?
    Then there is no point for anyone to wear Fitbit

    There's a difference between wearing an activity tracker that accounts for all of your movement and give you a more accurate sense of what you burn each day, and logging something that is already accounted for in your activity level. I have a Fitbit, but if I didn't I would set my goal to active because I walk 10-12,000 steps at work every day. It's done inconsistently and at a slower pace than when I do walk for exercise, so I wouldn't count it.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Why don't you wear the step tracker every day?
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Oh and if you don't have a step tracker, there's a free app you can down load and it will count your steps with tort phone in your pocket. S Health is what the app is called
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    Change your activity level and don't log as exercise imo
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
    Attar_ wrote: »
    300 min walk can not be counted ?
    Then there is no point for anyone to wear Fitbit

    Of course there is a point to wearing a fitbit. Your fitbit records total active minutes. For example, after I use the elliptical for 65 minutes my fitbit records 65 active minutes. Normal walking (like to the bathroom or water fountain) just count as steps, not active steps. I consciously strive to get more steps every day, but they are not all active steps, and moving more is beneficial to overall health, rather than sitting watching tv or at a computer.

  • justinrye
    justinrye Posts: 61 Member
    edited May 2016
    I walk 5km a day and clean eating 80% of the time and it works dropped 58 pounds since January .
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    Just changing her activity level isn't a perfect solution either, since I doubt she works every single day - work days she might be active or very active, while days off she might be lightly active or even sedentary.

    OP, as others have asked, is there a reason you can't wear the step tracker every day? Since it seems you have one, that would probably be the best solution. If it's a uniform violation at your work or something like that you can get creative with where you keep it - though the accuracy is decreased a little, wrist trackers do work in your pocket, stuff like that.

    You can definitely get "credit" for the walking you do at work, you just need to be careful about how you do it. If you really truly can't wear your step tracker every day, I think you should set your activity level to sedentary or lightly active (or whatever you are outside of work), and then figure out a good incremental calorie burn for your shift (857 calories for a 5 hour shift is WAY too high, though - I'm sorry, I've waitressed a LOT, and I know it's hard work, but it's definitely not that many calories worth), and adding that on work days. I like the ideas of taking a look at days with similar step totals as what you'd get at work or what MFP gives you for maybe the activity level one up from what you select and adding the difference on work days.
  • Iknewyouweretrouble
    Iknewyouweretrouble Posts: 561 Member
    yes I didn't have a Fitbit at the time but walked for my job almost the whole 8hours and I put it down. I also was very skinny! lol.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    Attar_ wrote: »
    300 min walk can not be counted ?
    Then there is no point for anyone to wear Fitbit

    I think the point here is that as a waitress, this is something her body is used to doing every day. She is not hitting a treadmill for 300 minutes, she's walking between tables, bringing checks, etc. My aunt lost a lot of weight as a waitress, but I believe calorie wise it would be a mistake to count 800cals of "cardio exercise" when she likely isn't walking hard enough long enough to produce the cardiovascular activity that burns calories well.

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