Walking = Exercise?

I say yes. I would say buy a heart rate monitor though because you may not know how fast you are walking and it would be hard to track to get accurate calories. But YES it counts.

Walking is great, but it is not running, jogging or cycling. There is very little muscle building with walking. Walking is great and infinitly better than nothing, but it is not a long term substitute.

I run 5K, mountain bike, lift weights, P90X, Insanity, hike, I'm in the best shape of my life. I count my walks as exercise. I usually do about a half hour at 4 MPH.

I record my walks if they are in addition to my normal daily activity but I would not record walking around at a amusement park or something along those lines.

Walking is great, but it is not running, jogging or cycling. There is very little muscle building with walking. Walking is great and infinitly better than nothing, but it is not a long term substitute.

I respectfully disagree. Many serious walkers have killer legs and attribute that to walking and building, shaping, and toning the muscles of the legs, hips, and butt. According to kinesiologists, it builds the calves, tibialis anterior, ankle extensor, hamstrings, quads, hip flexors, and abominal muscles. It may or may not be a cardio exercise, depending on heart rate and pace. But I think it absolutely, without a doubt builds muscle.

I saw someone log walking at an amusement park 1,000 calories??? Not judging them, but I know that when I walked around Cedar Point, I stopped several times and ate while walking.

It depends on the person if he/she is being honest about it or no. Also if he/she considers him/herself sedentary then he/she will count all those non-exericse activity as exercise. I have one friend who logs pushing stroller for about 35 mins as an exercise. I would normally not count moderate house cleaning (unless it involves pushing heavy furnitures), walking inside our office or from our office to the bus station even if it is 2 miles because I do it everyday. Instead I just set my profile to lightly active.

In my opinion, yes. I actually (embarrasingly) weigh more now than I did right after having my baby, who is now 4. But, I had a Moby Wrap. Anywhere I went, I tied her on and walked there. I dropped weight quickly and felt great. Then came the toddler years. She was too big for the wrap. If I wanted to walk anywhere, it took forever because little short legs had to keep up. So I stopped walking. Now that I'm trying to lose weight, this is my main form of exercise. I walk or bike a lot, and when it's too hot, I do Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home. I love it!

My question is specifically for people who are in decent shape. For someone who can run several miles at a time, does 5k's, half-marathons and such, do you think it is acurate to consider a 30/60 minute walk exercise? Or, is it that peson just having a lazy day and not wanting to "really" exercise and just having a leisurely stroll?

Walking for an hour at 4-5 mph.... how is that *not* exercise?

While I wouldn't count walking round an amusement park or shopping as 'exercise' per se, it's certainly burning more calories than sitting about on a couch. I took my little girl to a local amusement park a couple of weeks ago. 10 hours on my feet, wandering about, queueing.... I was *tired* at the end of that lot. To suggest this doesn't burn calories seems a bit naive - of course it does, and I'd imagine it burns quite a few!

I don't log my cleaning, or most of my day to day living stuff. I do log my dog walking, because we do, in fact, break a sweat (our dogs are a bit on the feisty side, and we walk quickly and far with them - generally at least 4 or 5miles a day).

If you went for a 10 mile hike, would you not count that as exercise, just cause it was walking?

Improving your posture, core strength and stamina? Yes, that is exercise. Hill walkers, trekkers and trail - don't see many fatties there!

I hate running.. like absolutely positively despise running... So heck yes I count walking as exercise!

My primary form of cardio, is walking on a treadmill at the highest incline at a pretty normal pace. I also take a 2 mile walk around our local lake if I'm not feeling the gym that day.

When I do go to the gym, I normally lift twice a week if I can and do walking the other two days.

Definitely a good point. I've got up to 650 cals an hour for incline walking at a good pace - same as running on a flat on a treadmill. Only discovered this when recovering from shin splints.

I personally don't log it unless I've walked for more than an hour since I have a dog and I live in the city so I walk a lot as part of my daily life. I do have a desk job but I didn't register as sedentary but as moderately active.
Also I'm a 15 minute walk from the gym so if the weather isn't bad I walk there as a warm up so I can get into the thick of things quicker!