Walking as 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 -
I love to walk. I consider it exercise that is relaxing and low impact that doesn't negatively affect the sport I compete in. It increases my energy and improves my state of mind. It's a wonderful way to get into fitness for those who are new to it; kind of thin edge of the wedge type of thing.
It really depends upon what you are hoping to achieve.2 -
YES, your moving, ITS EXERCISE!0
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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.
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.
For the person more accustomed to the motorized scooter at Wal Mart, it's exercise.
For the person who rarely makes it past the end of their driveway, it's exercise.
For the person who really pumps up the pace and incline on their treadmill or is attacking some killer hills and/or hauling a pack, it's exercise.
And the term 'Anything is better than nothing' comes to mind. It's all relative.2 -
If exercise is that which causes some improvement to the body in some way - for most walking can easily become NOT an exercise at some point.
And if you lose weight while doing only that and in exactly the same manner - it'll become less of an exercise to the point the body can lose improvements (because of moving less mass).
Does it burn more calories than sleeping, sitting, or standing - sure.
But is merely burning more calories than something else really what makes an exercise?
Compared to sleeping, being awake burns more calories - is it an exercise?
For me - if I stopped what I currently do and only walked, say in order to win some challenges, I'd lose fitness - aerobic capacity and muscle mass.
Until such time that only walking maintained that fitness level.
Then I could experience the fun of stairs feeling like a huge workout!0 -
I used to think like this - that you had to really sweat to burn fat and maintain/lose weight.
Learning about CICO was a great revelation and just made perfect sense - especially when you consider people with medical issues or even in the most extreme cases such as paralysis and comatose where they cannot exercise. The posts on here about people who have lost 100+ pounds through logging and walking prove that anyone can be successful in this.
While it may not be efficient, it is a great stepping stone in a better direction. Many people start with walking will find this as a launching point to something else.2 -
I consider walking to be light exercise. It doesn't get my heart rate up by much or seriously strengthen my muscles. But it helps with maintenance when I don't have the energy for a serious workout, and it's a nice warm up and cool down for more strenuous exercise.
Unless you're talking about moderate to strenuous hiking, or power walking, which are both different than just walking.1 -
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.
For the person more accustomed to the motorized scooter at Wal Mart, it's exercise.
For the person who rarely makes it past the end of their driveway, it's exercise.
For the person who really pumps up the pace and incline on their treadmill or is attacking some killer hills and/or hauling a pack, it's exercise.
And the term 'Anything is better than nothing' comes to mind. It's all relative.
I'm not contesting any of that. Did I not describe it as exercise? And did I not say that would certainly increase the fitness level of inactive people?
My point is that many people describe it as "fantastic exercise" or words to that effect. This is a huge exaggeration, though. It's beneficial, and for certain people, it might even be the best option available -- but its effects on physical fitness are very modest at best.
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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.
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.
For the person more accustomed to the motorized scooter at Wal Mart, it's exercise.
For the person who rarely makes it past the end of their driveway, it's exercise.
For the person who really pumps up the pace and incline on their treadmill or is attacking some killer hills and/or hauling a pack, it's exercise.
And the term 'Anything is better than nothing' comes to mind. It's all relative.
I'm not contesting any of that. Did I not describe it as exercise? And did I not say that would certainly increase the fitness level of inactive people?
My point is that many people describe it as "fantastic exercise" or words to that effect. This is a huge exaggeration, though. It's beneficial, and for certain people, it might even be the best option available -- but its effects on physical fitness are very modest at best.
I didn't think your were contesting that, apologies if my post wasn't clear. I do believe it's the best choice for many people, particularly in the beginning. They might be completely turned off or intimidated by other forms of exercise but walking is accessible to just about everyone. Honestly, my doctor was just thrilled with my 12-lb loss (I'm still 30lb away from a 'normal' BMI) and walking. It's more than she sees from most patients, she said.2
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