Is walking a waste of time?

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Replies

  • jlyddon
    jlyddon Posts: 1
    Seriously? Think about it...couch potato=no calories burned; walking=100 calories per mile. It's a no brainer! And I know you FEEL better!

    Walking is a fabulous form of exercise! Remember though...once those walks become easy for you...you'll either need to pick up the pace...or walk longer...or add intervals.

    Keep up the good work!
  • Cakepiebeer
    Cakepiebeer Posts: 392
    the mixed martial arts fighter comes over and says that walking is a waste of time.

    Proof that dumb people really do exist
  • Strive2BLean
    Strive2BLean Posts: 300 Member
    Walking is ABSOLUTELY NOT a waste of time especially if you are a former couch potato. It's the best exercise you can do to start which is what you need to do. I did strictly walking for years before I bumped it up only because I refuse to jog on pavement. So bad for joints. I finally bought a treadmill and elliptical and do maximum heart rate workouts on them but only after years of walking which served me well and I still walk too at high intensity. Hope this helps.
  • NineInchGirl
    NineInchGirl Posts: 169
    No not at all!
  • jodie0520
    jodie0520 Posts: 36 Member
    Of course not! Any movement you can add to your routine is a GREAT step toward your overall health. Most people I know start with walking as a way to ease into a new lifestyle. Walking is fun, free, and an excellent way to lose weight. I'm sure your friend/neighbor was just trying to help, but each person has to choose their own best path to success.

    Best of luck!!
  • rosalee87
    rosalee87 Posts: 221 Member
    *bump*

    I want to show this to my dad - he was walking and doing so well but one of his friends told him he was wasting his time and he got discouraged and quit. He needs to see these responses.
  • Tonnina
    Tonnina Posts: 979 Member
    If walking is a waste of time then how in the world did I lose 35lbs in 2008 by only eating 1300 and walking every other day? :-P Walking is fine, it's better than sitting around all day!!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    Walking helps me get to places I want to go. I think trying to transport myself using only the power of my mind would be a waste of time, because really, who's kidding who?
  • alimac92
    alimac92 Posts: 705 Member
    Walking is not a waste of time, it's a great way to exercise.
    It gives you time to yourself to think and let the stress drain away.

    It's a great way to get fit.:smile:

    What is a waste of time is your self-important next door neighbour. :explode:

    Stick a garden fork in him and let some of that hot air out. :devil: Pop! hisssssssssssssssssssss.

    Sorry, I get annoyed very easily these days, hmm perhaps I should go for a walk to cool down lol!
    Yeah I'll go down to the garden centre I can't think where I've left my garden fork :laugh:

    Wishing the very best with your journey to fitness! :flowerforyou:
  • Cathleenr
    Cathleenr Posts: 332
    I have been a total couch potato for years and recently decided to join this site and start execising by walking. This is my second week and I have been under the calorie goals and walking at least 5 days each week. Well my next door neighborhood, the mixed martial arts fighter comes over and says that walking is a waste of time. He says that my heart rate has got to get up into a burn zone for cardio to be effective. I have heard a little about this but I am not at a point where I can jog. So am I wasting my time walking? I average anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes at a 3.5 pace.

    lol@ the MMA guy. :)
    there is no "fat burning zone". if you walk an hour @3 mph and run 30 minutes @ 6 mph, the distance covered is the same (all things like stride length being equal), but you spend less time doing it at the quicker pace. the calories used to move the mass is the same. Now, your VO2 (volume of oxygen) efficiency will improve as your heart rate becomes better at circulating oxygenated air and that's where his bit o' science with the efficiency comes in.
    anyway, walking is not a waste of time, generally speaking. and you have a good beginning, but do you have a plan?
    this week was a good start, so what's on for next week? longer distance at the same rate? the point is to use more calories than you take in, not remain static.
    Add some beginning strength exercises while you walk: try 15 walking lunges (thats 15 on EACH side) and then walk at your pace for 2 minutes. Go back to the lunges. Yeah, people might look at you on the street :). But do it. and then the next week do lunges for a whole minute and then walk for 2 minutes. The next week add some hand weights.
    Make sure your nutrition is in line with your goals: 1200 random calories won't let you do what you want to do.
    good luck !
  • cloveraz
    cloveraz Posts: 332 Member
    I'm sicker than a dog, and me and my Pongo were out there walking this morning. Wasn't moving very fast and walking up hill was killing my chest, but it is always better to keep moving. I would love to go to the gym today, but I don't want others to feed off my germs!...
  • czechsmate
    czechsmate Posts: 556 Member
    Walking is NOT as waste of time, I walk 3mi in 45 mins. It's great exercise! I am losing weight and my legs and butt are looking pretty good too I might add. :bigsmile:
  • keesh1123
    keesh1123 Posts: 229 Member
    Can someone be that ignorant??? His word against every doctor, health expert, etc. in the world. Just ask Leslie Samsone's Walk at Home participants. I started off walking around my neighborhood and was losing weight within one week. Tell that unintelligent idiot to go kick rocks.
  • terrellc1
    terrellc1 Posts: 231 Member
    I love walking. It makes my booty firm and my stomach flat...and is a fantastic stress reliever. We live in a big city and our building has a basketball court, and while my son is playing, I walk in circles. It's not very fancy like going to a gym, but my son has a great time, and I get some great time to be worry free and concentrate on myself.
  • bigwill5
    bigwill5 Posts: 77 Member
    Wow ---Thanks everyone for their wonderful advice. My strength is renewed. I might do a little jig as I walk by his house tomorrow. Thanks again. Love my MFP family
  • miami_mimi
    miami_mimi Posts: 325 Member
    your neighbor is an *kitten*... 'nough said!
  • JamesBurkes
    JamesBurkes Posts: 382 Member
    Walking is not a waste of time AT ALL!

    Gentle walking is better than nothing and if you start power walking (I always think of that as being anything over 3.5mph) you can burn a lot of calories and fat. Throw in some hills and you actually have a great workout.

    I lost 30lbs in 10 weeks a few years back doing nothing but heavy weights twice a week and 2 hours of walking on the other days. It just fell off! In fact, I lost more fat doing that (and quicker!) than I do now doing Insanity once a week, spinning twice a week etc (see my sig). If I had a choice, long, fast walks in a slightly hilly area would be my number one fat burner. The only reason I don't do it now is that I have two full-time jobs (so no time) and I live in the UK (so the weather is dismal most of the time, especially at this time of year).

    Walking has a lot of advantages over other types of cardio, one of the main ones being it's low intensity (so you can do it for hours and just rack up those numbers!) and it's low impact, so you can do it almost every day and REALLY get those weekly numbers up. Don't underestimate it - the last time I wore my HRM when doing my two hour, 4mph walk, I was at 72% of my max heart rate for the workout and I got up to 85% of my max HR getting up the hills. And the good thing was, while these figures are pretty good for any kind of cardio, I didn't actually feel as if I was working hard while I was doing it.

    Ignore that guy - he's an idiot. Walk on! Throw in some weight workouts, watch your diet and everything will fall into place, in my opinion!
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
    I have been a total couch potato for years and recently decided to join this site and start execising by walking. This is my second week and I have been under the calorie goals and walking at least 5 days each week. Well my next door neighborhood, the mixed martial arts fighter comes over and says that walking is a waste of time. He says that my heart rate has got to get up into a burn zone for cardio to be effective. I have heard a little about this but I am not at a point where I can jog. So am I wasting my time walking? I average anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes at a 3.5 pace.

    lol no. it's all I did for 6 months.
  • walkinmydoxies
    walkinmydoxies Posts: 123
    Absolutely not a waste of time. You will find the more you walk the easier it gets. I've always heard once you're into it for a few weeks, try to go same distance in shorter time.

    There is a lady in my neighborhood who walks. She was really heavy when she started. She has walked diligently for over a year. Every morning, hot, cold, rain and yes even sleet and snow, she is out there. She's lost more than 100 lbs!

    Stay with Will. Continue walking and as you feel like it add more cardio, your choice. Don't focus on the negative people, You choose your destiny. Walking and watching your food, you will see changes.

    Hugs my friend
  • julianne50
    julianne50 Posts: 7
    Hi, my name is julianne sullivan.. walking isn´t a waste of time, but you may not burn the fat that you want and see the results that your hoping for.. in my experience weight training is better than cardio because muscle continues to burn fat after your done working out for a longer period of time and it´s muscle it naturally takes longer. using an eliptical machine, or swimming are also excellent ways to keep your heart and lungs strong, and burn some fat ... be careful not to overdo the cardio, you could risk burning off your muscle instead of your fat.. also if you want to start running,, start running 30 seconds, at say 4.2mph, then walk for 3 minutes, on the treadmill,, if you continute to repeat this 4 to 5 days a week, slowly increasing your time running, before you know it you´ll have lost the weight you desire, and also have built up endurance, something that is very important in the long term... i know all this because i have been working out for the past 12 years and have completed two body building shows.. nothing big, just local,, but it taught me alot.... hang in there, ,your headed in the right direction... julianne50
  • woou
    woou Posts: 668 Member
    I actually agree with the MMA fighter. I walked miles for almost 2 years, and I didn't really see or feel as much results as I did when I ramped up my cardio & strength training for just 45 mins./day for 2 weeks as compared to that 2 years of walking. That snail-paced results can really be disheartening. Everyone is different though. Try it out. Just don't go as long as 2 years without seeing some major results like I did. I was also eating healthy. So it definitely wasn't my diet.
  • amandal00
    amandal00 Posts: 59 Member
    Not a waste of time at all! Walking has you up off the couch and moving, burning those calories. Keep up the good work.
  • bigwill5
    bigwill5 Posts: 77 Member
    Thank you so much!!
  • gashinshotan
    gashinshotan Posts: 749 Member
    I'm going to say it Isa waste of time in that it takes damn too long compared to running!
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