Is walking for an hour or more good for you?

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SunflowerCutie
SunflowerCutie Posts: 61 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
My goal is walking at least an hour everyday. Or even a half hour. I don’t wanna tire myself and it but just saying. How long do y’all go for walks?

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  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
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    If you currently are not in the habit of taking regular long walks, jumping straight to doing it for 60 minutes every day is probably going to be unpleasant. Walking may be low-impact, but you can still injure yourself if you overdo it. Shin splints are 0/10 would not recommend.

    My dad dropped 100+ lbs about 10 years ago and has kept it off, and walking is the only exercise he does. (There's a nutritional component too, but he was more or less sedentary for about 15 years and didn't really change his eating habits all that much when he got his keister up off the couch.) He started small - just a few minutes out and back. Literally walk out the front door and down the sidewalk for five minutes, then turn around and go back the way you came. He worked his way up, eventually got a dog, and now he and the dog walk for 1-2 hours a day, split between a shorter morning constitutional and a more leisurely evening stroll.
  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    edited December 2020
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    I walk 5 miles every day which takes me around an hour and a half. Took some time to build up to this mind you and when I started a mile or so was about my lot.

    I also started on the flat and now include a couple of really steep hills.

    So take it slow and build up gradually, I also recommend audiobooks as well as decent shoes and a weatherproof coat.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Oh yeah, +1 suggestion for audiobooks or podcasts to listen to while you're walking, although it can also be nice to just listen to the sounds of nature if you have a nice place to walk available to you. If you like horror fiction, science/history/technology, language, or comedy, I have podcast recommendations.
  • alevbrant
    alevbrant Posts: 26 Member
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    ANY walking is great for you. Park at the far end of the lot when you go to the store and walk. Park a block away from your destination and walk the rest of the way. If you are not in the routine of walking, starting with an hour might be a challenge, and then discouraging. Start with 20 minutes (about 1.5miles) then walk your way up. My basic routine is a two mile loop. I worked up to 3 mile loop, then 3 mile loop 2x a day. Worked up to 30 miles a week. Get yourself a tracker. I use "mapmywalk" it's great to see your accomplishments over time. Good luck!
  • freda666
    freda666 Posts: 338 Member
    edited December 2020
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    goal06082021 wrote: »
    Oh yeah, +1 suggestion for audiobooks or podcasts to listen to while you're walking, although it can also be nice to just listen to the sounds of nature if you have a nice place to walk available to you. If you like horror fiction, science/history/technology, language, or comedy, I have podcast recommendations.

    At the risk of hijacking the thread, what science fiction would you recommend? I listen to all sorts of stuff - non-fiction, mysteries, chick-lit.... I like to alternate between serious and/or difficult books and more easy going titles.

    But my particular favourite will always be science fiction. I read all Arthur C Clarkes books as a teen/20 year old except The Fountains of Paradise which I could never get on with and that was the last audiobook I finished. Strange book, didn't really enjoy it until the last third but can at least now claim to have completed the set.

    Rendezvous with Rama will always be up there with my favourite books of all time.

    Listening to JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy now. Ms Rowling! The language. Enjoying it though.

    So any science fiction suggestions will be gratefully received.
  • Indialove901
    Indialove901 Posts: 71 Member
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    Walking does wonders for your body and your mind. All you have to do is pace yourself. And make sure you have some good walking shoes.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    SunflowerCutie wrote: »
    My goal is walking at least an hour everyday. Or even a half hour. I don’t wanna tire myself and it but just saying. How long do y’all go for walks?

    If you're coming from sedentary, I think you'll want to build up to that. Walking is very good for you...but if you're not used to moving like that, it's also going to be a lot to just start out with. Building up to it shouldn't take much time though.

    I start most mornings with my coffee and a walk...I do 3 miles most mornings...mind you, I also do a lot of other exercise and have been exercising regularly for 8 years.
  • JAC581
    JAC581 Posts: 91 Member
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    Starting from no exercise whatsoever, I began walking around my neighborhood for about 25-30 minutes a few days a week. I've been working my way up a little bit to 30-40 minutes at a time. When my bf is around (he is much more active than I am), we take longer walks, usually 40-55 minutes. I find it easier to keep going when I have someone with me. When I walk alone, I play some upbeat music to keep me going. I definitely feel like I can handle more now, along with some steeper hills, but I really had to take it slow in the beginning.
  • wiigelec
    wiigelec Posts: 503 Member
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    freda78 wrote: »

    At the risk of hijacking the thread, what science fiction would you recommend? I listen to all sorts of stuff - non-fiction, mysteries, chick-lit.... I like to alternate between serious and/or difficult books and more easy going titles.

    But my particular favourite will always be science fiction. I read all Arthur C Clarkes books as a teen/20 year old except The Fountains of Paradise which I could never get on with and that was the last audiobook I finished. Strange book, didn't really enjoy it until the last third but can at least now claim to have completed the set.

    Rendezvous with Rama will always be up there with my favourite books of all time.

    Listening to JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy now. Ms Rowling! The language. Enjoying it though.

    So any science fiction suggestions will be gratefully received.

    Rendezvous with Rama is a great book!

    I’m working my way through this list, might be something on there you will enjoy:

    https://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books

  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
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    Usually 1.5 - 2 hours aday. Sometimes 4 hours in the summertime.
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  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 630 Member
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    Is walking for an hour or more good for you? —- Yes!!!
    I target walking at least an hour everyday.
    Gives me fresh air, change of scenery, mental break, physical break.
  • gymoclock1
    gymoclock1 Posts: 7 Member
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    For a beginner, i guess walking for half an hour with a good pace would burn around 300 calories. Gradually you can increase to 1 hour either at a stretch or 2 intervals (morning and evening) of 30 mins each.

    I walk for 30 mins in mornings and for another 30 mins at night. It is mostly jogging followed by walking. I have been following this ritual for almost a year using RunTrackr App to count my calories, distance travelled and map my walk every day.
  • rwood566
    rwood566 Posts: 987 Member
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    it's a great goal to work up to. take it slow and remember to stretch before you start. i started by walking 300 feet in 4 minutes and today i did 3.6 miles in 1:12:42. i'm still not able to walk every day due to sore feet but i'm up to 4x a week. it'll take time, but enjoy the scenery along your routes. i just use google maps to measure how far i walk and then write it in a log.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,989 Member
    edited December 2020
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    My walks and day hikes vary from 1 to 4 hrs (or about 2.5 to 10 miles) over varied terrain from flat to +1k feet in elevation in neighborhoods and parks near my home.

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    SunflowerCutie wrote: »
    My goal is walking at least an hour everyday. Or even a half hour. I don’t wanna tire myself and it but just saying. How long do y’all go for walks?

    The good news is that we evolved to walk long distances 365 days per year and in terms of energy expenditure are quite efficient (a 200lb person burns an addition 60 calories or so walking 1 mile). Having said that, if you've been sedentary for some time treat it like any new activity; start off with shorter walks and gradually increase until you're walking the amount of time or distance that you want to. All you need is comfortable shoes and weather appropriate clothing.

    I probably spend an average of 1.5 hours a day walking my dogs (I don't log it as exercise) but I've also been quite active for the last 10 or 12 years.

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Longest walk I did was 26 hours.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,532 Member
    edited December 2020
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    gymoclock1 wrote: »
    For a beginner, i guess walking for half an hour with a good pace would burn around 300 calories. Gradually you can increase to 1 hour either at a stretch or 2 intervals (morning and evening) of 30 mins each.

    I walk for 30 mins in mornings and for another 30 mins at night. It is mostly jogging followed by walking. I have been following this ritual for almost a year using RunTrackr App to count my calories, distance travelled and map my walk every day.

    Assuming that person walks 4 miles per hour, that person would need to be 500lbs to get such high calorie burns. For walking it's simply distance times weight and an efficiency multiplier of 0.3. However, I doubt this equation has been tested on people of 500lbs, and it might not be valid for them. It should be valid for pretty much everyone else though.
  • myfitnesspaleh5ostrh
    myfitnesspaleh5ostrh Posts: 2 Member
    edited December 2020
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    I walk 2 to 2.5km in about half an hour a couple times a week and burn around 150kcal doing so. 300kcal is quite alot of exercise in half an hour, you'd expect to be breathing heavily with a decent (130+) heartrate at that point.

    150kcal daily doesn't sound like much, but it's 1000kcal per week (0.15kg if 1kg body fat = 7200kcal) if you do it consistently. But do pace yourself. My right knee can very easily develop pes anserinus bursitis, which is a nasty inflammation (I need to use crutches for a few days at that point) and develops easily if you're overdoing it plus very overweight, diabetes, female, etc. So take care not to ramp up too quickly.

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