Walking for Daily Commute: Is it Exercise?

joytron
joytron Posts: 103 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Dumb newb question here: does walking around over the course of the day count as exercise? I don't work out (at the moment) and I have a desk job so my lifestyle setting is "sedentary", but throughout the day I'll have several 10- and 20-minute walking sessions as I go to and from train stations and to other office buildings to see clients. These tend to add up to about 90+ minutes of "exercise" a day, which the myfitnesspal app translates into an extra calorie allowance, but surely that can't be right ..? Opinions? Thanks!

Replies

  • Roxie861
    Roxie861 Posts: 85 Member
    i thought the same to be honest because mine is 20 mins adding the morning and evening together.

    I put it down as the 3mph leisurely pace though.

    Hope that helps :)
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    It is certainly burning calories, but you have two choices about how to account for this extra activity:
    1. change your activity settings to lightly active - which will give you more cals each day to account for the extra movement. This way you don't need to enter it as exercise.
    2. leave your activity level at sedentary and enter it as exercise -which will give you more cals each day to account for the extra movement.

    Your choice, the end result is the same.
  • LastTenPoundsGodDamnYou
    LastTenPoundsGodDamnYou Posts: 101 Member
    I figure if you didn't lose weight doing it before, then it cannot count as 'extra' exercise now. i.e. it is part of your general day to day living.

    If this is all you do normally I would still say you are still classed as sedentary. This was the case for me and it worked well.

    Good luck with it all x
  • Purpleflipflops
    Purpleflipflops Posts: 563 Member
    I think it depends if you treat it as exercise.... For example, If I am walking to my bus, then normally no, I don't count it. But If I am walking to my bus while foucing on good speed and keeping up my Heart rate, then yes, it's exercise.
    but that's just me...
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I would say no, as if you do it often your body becomes accustom to it and will burn less calories then you would think. Since I bike to work I changed my activity level from sedentary to light active, this game me more calories to eat, but not as much as if I logged the exercise on its own. The more you do something the more efficient your body gets at doing it so over time you burn less and less calories doing the same thing.

    I would suggest you either change your activity level to account for it or if the exercise itself adds less calories then the activity level change, then log the exercise, this way you will err on the side of caution.
  • jabba11
    jabba11 Posts: 44 Member
    simply put...yes walking is excercise... I have a body bugg that I use religiously and it is pretty accurate IMHO (+/- 10% they claim). I am continously amazed at how a walk can burn calories compared even to a run. Even standing all day insterad of sitting burns extra calories. EG a 3 mile walk at a good steady pace (were not strolling here) burns on me up to 400 calories. A 5 mile run about 900. However I see you do this on a daily basis nto something you do extra. i do agree some with the post above about changing your level instead as this is part of your daily routine already and that you become more effiecient at doing it over time. Especially in short bursts. When I worked on the farm I was not thin and it was heavy manual labor most days. the reason I think now is that I became accustomed and tuned at creating the most output doing something with the least input. its a natural thing for you to do and is why you need to change your workout routine from time to time to keep from hitting plateaus..
  • imasaf
    imasaf Posts: 8
    Probably just log it as exercise... leisurely walk each day for x minutes. That way you can adjust pace and duration each day versus relying on a standard caclulation. 3 mph is kind of a fast walk so unless you walk really fast, i wouldn't do anything more than 2mph. I think ppl typically walk slower than that. I walk/jog each day with a gps and even with what i consider really fast walking, i am usually at 3.8mph or so...
  • Cnsa143
    Cnsa143 Posts: 52 Member
    I am a commuter as well...I drive to the train station, then get off the train and walk to work and walk back to the train...I count it as exercise I burn about 70 calories (in about 10 mins of walking that is from the train through the train station and then a couple of blocks to work) going to work and a little more going to the train in the evening (bc going to the train its all uphill and Im usually almost running)
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,024 Member
    I always log it as exercise... but I do make a point to walk fast to and from the train but always count is as 3mph.
  • phoenixoncemore
    phoenixoncemore Posts: 196 Member
    I do log mine as it's uphill and a difficult walk!

    Also my settings are on sedentary and I don't do it everyday (if it's raining hard I'd be soaked and muddy before I got to work, and sometimes I need my car during the day)

    I've gotten some abuse for it but I think if you are on sedentary and when you do it you can hear you heart pumping or it gets you out of breath then it's acceptable to log it as exercise.

    I guess just listen to what your body tells you.

    Hope that helps some :flowerforyou:
  • CatAbiOli
    CatAbiOli Posts: 16 Member
    Of course it is! Any walking counts even if it is a quick pop to the shop for 5 minutes, especially if you usually jump in the car!
  • helenwilliams78
    helenwilliams78 Posts: 46 Member
    I think you should add it so long as your being honest about the pace.

    Mine add up to 50 mins a day. I could get the bus to the railway station but I chose to walk so I think of it as exercise.
  • theMightyAnt
    theMightyAnt Posts: 75
    It is certainly burning calories, but you have two choices about how to account for this extra activity:
    1. change your activity settings to lightly active - which will give you more cals each day to account for the extra movement. This way you don't need to enter it as exercise.
    2. leave your activity level at sedentary and enter it as exercise -which will give you more cals each day to account for the extra movement.

    Your choice, the end result is the same.

    This is right on the money.
    For comparison, I work from home and have set my Activity settings to sedentary but pretty much log anything longer than a 10 minute walk.
  • PughTooFew
    PughTooFew Posts: 44 Member
    I count exercise as anything I do that is not part of my normal routine. I work in an office and my setting is sedentary. If I'm given a lot of work going to and from the basement or up and down stairs visiting other floors I don't log that as exercise as it's routine for me, it just fluctuates between the days. However, if I can't park by work and instead have to walk 15 mins uphill from the town centre then yes I log that as 'exercise' because it is not part of my normal daily routine (and I'm normally late and pushing it pretty hard to get their fast!).

    It's the same principal as not logging an hour trekking round the supermarket as exercise, but instead logging an hour's walk round the park because it's not in the normal weekly routine. I logged 'shifting boxes' as exercise the other week because we were clearing the attic out and it really worked up a sweat, so perhaps you could log anything that raises your heart-rate above a certain level and/or makes you sweaty or out of breath?
  • Cnsa143
    Cnsa143 Posts: 52 Member
    I figure if you didn't lose weight doing it before, then it cannot count as 'extra' exercise now. i.e. it is part of your general day to day living.

    If this is all you do normally I would still say you are still classed as sedentary. This was the case for me and it worked well.

    Good luck with it all x

    Yes it can count as exercise, maybe before they werent watching what they eat so of course eating ALOT and walking a little is NOT exercise, but if someone is watching what they eat and how much etc then yes it can be counted as exercise, bc now the calories are lower walking will make a difference
  • ImJDLookatME
    ImJDLookatME Posts: 288 Member
    If its part of your daily routine don't count it. If its every once in awhile, then do count it. But like someone said before...if you maintained by doing this walk before, eating the calories back would hinder your weight loss. An option would be to log it but not eat back the calories.
  • joytron
    joytron Posts: 103 Member
    Wow guys, thanks for all those crazy-fast responses! Neat community here! Opinion seems to be fairly split ... I walk at a faster-than-average pace, but then I have done for years, this is not a "new" routine for me, as a few of you mentioned, so. Might finish off this week as is and then try some of the suggested changes at the start of next week. Will be sure to report back if anything fascinating happens. Thank you again!
  • StrengthIDidntKnow
    StrengthIDidntKnow Posts: 543 Member
    I count it. It comes to about 2 miles a day and I keep it at a fairly quick pace.

    I look at it htis way too - I could drive, or take a bus instead of walking but I don't.
  • MOS3
    MOS3 Posts: 134 Member
    It is certainly burning calories, but you have two choices about how to account for this extra activity:
    1. change your activity settings to lightly active - which will give you more cals each day to account for the extra movement. This way you don't need to enter it as exercise.
    2. leave your activity level at sedentary and enter it as exercise -which will give you more cals each day to account for the extra movement.

    Your choice, the end result is the same.

    Exactly this.
  • tlschlp
    tlschlp Posts: 54
    It depends on "how" you walk, I think.

    I live about 1 mile from work, so, on good days I prefer to walk to and from work. But, when I do, I put music in my ears and walk at a "brisk" pace. I have my music set up so that I am (for the most part) walking with the beat, and it alternates fast-slow, etc. That is much different than my "normal" walk, so I count it.
  • vtaylo
    vtaylo Posts: 6 Member
    I live off campus but walk about 4 miles a day in my commuting to and from my classes which for me, averages out to be about 10,000 steps. I only log my walking as exercise when it's over those 10,000 steps. I choose the 3.0 mph option in the MFP log for those extra steps.Other wise, I will just log whatever my actual exercise for the day was.
  • cmccombs78
    cmccombs78 Posts: 10 Member
    If you want to count it and have an iPhone, not sure if it is in the android store or not, download an app called Pedometer GPS+ free. It measures your speed, distance and calories burned, based of your current weight. That or buy a fit bit but those will run you around $100.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    anything can be exercise so the question is does your body consider it exercise.if it's something that you've done everyday then odds are it isn't anything that your body would consider exercise.

    personally i wouldnt count stuff like that, walking the dog, walking up and down 4 flights of steps to get to my apartment, running for the bus or train, etc as exercise as this is all stuff ive done on a daily basis for the several years

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