Walking as Exercise
inertiastrength
Posts: 2,343 Member
I was in the lunchroom being schooled on fitness and nutrition by a woman who had lost 80lbs not eating carbs (lol) Apparently walking isn't exercise and she was obnoxious about it too. I mentioned that I only walk as cardio because I would be too bored on a treadmill or stair climber and can't run to save my life lol.
My observed TDEE goes from 1850 to 2100 just by getting 10K steps a day. I've also seen it ridiculed on these boards (not lately) but was curious to know if you consider walking "exercise"?
My observed TDEE goes from 1850 to 2100 just by getting 10K steps a day. I've also seen it ridiculed on these boards (not lately) but was curious to know if you consider walking "exercise"?
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of course walking is exercise!
if your moving and you get your heart rate up its exercise4 -
I have mostly done walking as my exercise. It burns cals, so of course it counts!
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Down 140lbs: My story.
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I've lost quite a bit of weight from watching calories and walking. That's it. No, I wouldn't say I'm in shape, but I'm a lot lighter.4
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NorthCascades wrote: »
I don't see how someone who barely broke 3500 steps and went from an office job to the sofa can't increase their fitness by now walking 10K steps (which if you have an office job and sedentary lifestyle takes a bit of conscious effort). This doesn't seem logical.4 -
Yes it is, however to lose weight you have to get your heart rate up above 120. The longer the better. Or do HIIT.2
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It definitely is exercise.
80% (or higher) of weight loss is diet. Exercise is for overall health.
You can lose weight without exercising at all just by eating at a calorie deficit. A lot of people have done it, are doing it.
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Yes it is, however to lose weight you have to get your heart rate up above 120. The longer the better. Or do HIIT.
no. I can lose weight sitting on my couch as long as I maintain a deficit of calories.
@fascha - I mostly walk for exercise. I have old injuries that preclude running, so I have found lots of hilly trails around me, the hills make me work a little harder without the pounding impact of running. I'm old. About the only other things I do are gardening, swimming (rarely - I scuba dive, but it isn't exactly cardio) or kayaking.3 -
Yes it is, however to lose weight you have to get your heart rate up above 120. The longer the better. Or do HIIT.
What? No this isn't true. To lose weight you just need to eat less than you burn.
To me I consider walking an everyday activity, but for some it can be exercise depending on how active they are day to day.3 -
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It's definitely exercise. Just make sure you don't double count the calories burned by putting your lifestyle as active and then counting your steps as calories burned on here1
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NorthCascades wrote: »I don't see how someone who barely broke 3500 steps and went from an office job to the sofa can't increase their fitness by now walking 10K steps (which if you have an office job and sedentary lifestyle takes a bit of conscious effort). This doesn't seem logical.
I don't know what your fitness level or exercise history are. But I didn't say you can't increase your fitness by walking, that would be silly. You asked if other people consider walking to be exercise, and "exercise" has different meanings to different people, so I gave you my answer for me.2 -
NorthCascades wrote: »
I don't see how someone who barely broke 3500 steps and went from an office job to the sofa can't increase their fitness by now walking 10K steps (which if you have an office job and sedentary lifestyle takes a bit of conscious effort). This doesn't seem logical.
It kinda depends on where you're at. Walking for me is a good light activity...I walk on rest days and walking is how I started back into fitness...but in terms of increased fitness, it has a rather low ceiling. Where I'm at now, walking does basically nothing for my actual fitness, but it's a nice and relaxing form of light exercise.
Also, I'm not at all saying that walking isn't a valid form of exercise...it just depends on where your fitness aspirations lie. I have a two day 150 mile ride planned for August and my first full century planned for September...walking as my primary form of exercise would do nothing to prepare me for those things from a fitness standpoint. Next March I'm planning on doing the Bataan Memorial Death March and I'll do a lot of walking with a weighted pack to prepare for that.2 -
As of this morning I have lost 100 pounds by eating at 1500 calories and walking. Though I may have now maxed it out there was certainly great fitness improvements from the walking earlier on.7
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NorthCascades wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I don't see how someone who barely broke 3500 steps and went from an office job to the sofa can't increase their fitness by now walking 10K steps (which if you have an office job and sedentary lifestyle takes a bit of conscious effort). This doesn't seem logical.
I don't know what your fitness level or exercise history are. But I didn't say you can't increase your fitness by walking, that would be silly. You asked if other people consider walking to be exercise, and "exercise" has different meanings to different people, so I gave you my answer for me.
fair point lol1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I don't see how someone who barely broke 3500 steps and went from an office job to the sofa can't increase their fitness by now walking 10K steps (which if you have an office job and sedentary lifestyle takes a bit of conscious effort). This doesn't seem logical.
I don't know what your fitness level or exercise history are. But I didn't say you can't increase your fitness by walking, that would be silly. You asked if other people consider walking to be exercise, and "exercise" has different meanings to different people, so I gave you my answer for me.
I think you're meeting resistance because the "for me" in your original statement reads more like "in my opinion" from the way the sentence is structured.2 -
My ankles told me a long time ago running is ill-advised. 3 months off doing anything while healing an injury was all it took for me to be A-ok with walking as exercise. I like to up the incline on the treadmill when I walk inside to increase the difficulty.3
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Walking is great for your mental & physical health. For many beginners, walking is the best and only exercise they can do. It is a starting point in the Fitness & health journey, When you can barely walk 1/4 mile, walking can indeed build your fitness level. But most of us need to progress beyond that at some point.0
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OP, did she say why she doesn't consider it exercise?
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3rdof7sisters wrote: »OP, did she say why she doesn't consider it exercise?
Because she loses weight by not eating carbs, that's *all* she has to do
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3rdof7sisters wrote: »OP, did she say why she doesn't consider it exercise?
Because she loses weight by not eating carbs, that's *all* she has to do
That's like saying you can't wear high heels today because I didn't
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Does she have a plan for keeping the weight off? No carbs forever?
Good luck to her for long term keeping the weight off & overall health.1 -
3rdof7sisters wrote: »Does she have a plan for keeping the weight off? No carbs forever?
Good luck to her for long term keeping the weight off & overall health.
No. she said she needs to get back to the gym to shock her body and is convinced that she can't lose more weight because that's all her body will lose.
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NorthCascades wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I don't see how someone who barely broke 3500 steps and went from an office job to the sofa can't increase their fitness by now walking 10K steps (which if you have an office job and sedentary lifestyle takes a bit of conscious effort). This doesn't seem logical.
I don't know what your fitness level or exercise history are. But I didn't say you can't increase your fitness by walking, that would be silly. You asked if other people consider walking to be exercise, and "exercise" has different meanings to different people, so I gave you my answer for me.
fair point lol
Group hug!
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3rdof7sisters wrote: »Does she have a plan for keeping the weight off? No carbs forever?
Good luck to her for long term keeping the weight off & overall health.
No. she said she needs to get back to the gym to shock her body and is convinced that she can't lose more weight because that's all her body will lose.
I'm always fascinated by the idea of shocking one's body. As if the brain is not part of the body, allowing it to sneak up and shock it.3 -
lol on that image, NC.
I'm the bobcat taking a little licky-lick of that elk's leg, while not quite letting go of that little bear snack who is aware of its own mortality right about now.
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cmriverside wrote: »lol on that image, NC.
I'm the bobcat taking a little licky-lick of that elk's leg, while not quite letting go of that little bear snack who is aware of its own mortality right about now.
Is it just me, or does the poor girl look disturbed? Like the elk might have ulterior motives in this little group hug...0 -
My main form of exercise for a while was walking. Granted I walked for exercise at a faster pace than my normal walking but it was most definitely walking. And it can help your fitness level. I ran (or rather attempted to jog) a bit right at the beginning and it was brutal and I could barely last 2 minutes. Didn't try again for a while but kept walking at the higher pace and after a few weeks I tried again and made 5 minutes without an issue so kept going. I am now able to jog for over 20 minutes (and could probably go longer but I get bored).
For reference my normal walking pace is right around 3.2 mph and my treadmill walks were at 4 mph. My steady jogging pace is 5.5 mph. I started in mid-January and am down almost 25 lbs. A big part of that was eating at a deficit of course but the exercise gave me some additional calories to eat as well as improved fitness.2 -
NorthCascades wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »I don't see how someone who barely broke 3500 steps and went from an office job to the sofa can't increase their fitness by now walking 10K steps (which if you have an office job and sedentary lifestyle takes a bit of conscious effort). This doesn't seem logical.
I don't know what your fitness level or exercise history are. But I didn't say you can't increase your fitness by walking, that would be silly. You asked if other people consider walking to be exercise, and "exercise" has different meanings to different people, so I gave you my answer for me.
I completely agree with this. For some people, it would certainly increase their fitness levels. Not so much for someone who is at least moderately active, though.
Whenever this subject comes up, there is usually a slew of people who chime in with "Oh, walking is fantastic exercise!" or words to that effect. In reality though, while walking has certain benefits (being easy and low-impact, for example), it's also one of the least efficient forms of exercise. It does provide some benefits, but they are fairly modest, especially since most people walk at a leisurely pace.
We should remember that physicians and fitness magazines are exaggerating when they say that walking is excellent exercise. They say this sort of thing because it's just about the only thing that many Americans are willing to do. They figure that it's better for people to be underexercising than doing nothing at all.2
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