Walking is underrated for weight maintenance and weight loss! My experience....

[Anonymous]

*for each of the first 2 miles, the last half mile was cool down. I walked for 40ish minutes total.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love walking . I try to get 15000 steps daily although that largely depends on my day and the weather. I agree it’s amazing exercise. However, I don’t think it’s enough. As we get older we need weight bearing exercises and strength training is essential

Curious how you're getting in that many steps on a daily basis? Genuinely, no snark here. Do you live in the city and walk everywhere, or do you go on productive walks every day? On those days when I don't "go for outdoor walks" I'm lucky to clear 5000 steps.

I walk a definite 10000 steps. I’ve been doing this for years and track it on my watch. But often I do more. I go for long dog walks in the mornings. And I take my dog out again before bed. I’m also the type of person to park my car far away when I’m shopping , etc…I walk when I take my kids to their evening sports practices. I listen to podcasts, make calls, etc

It take 1.5 hours to do 10000 steps so you have 2 hours a day to walk, that’s how.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no reason to not do both, walking and lifting. I walk significantly more than you, but it is just the way I live my life. I do not even consider it exercise unless I am hiking a mountain. Lifting is what I consider my actual workout. Also 45 minutes of walking would do nothing for your figure if you had a natural tendency to overeat. Your walk burns maybe 100 calories.

Not OP, but you're wrong here. Firstly, a 45 minute brisk walk burns far more than 100 calories. I wear a polar heart rate monitor occasionally to check that my apple watch workout data is accurate. When I do a 45 min brisk walk, I burn 300-400 calories, depending on how many hills I hit. Of course, this number varies, based on the individual, but, 45 minutes of brisk walking absolutely is a workout and I find that this is almost like a dirty secret that many fitness obsessed people pretend is not true. Any PPs who are overweight and unhappy with how they look and feel - ignore the people who want to neg you for walking. Get up and do it, and you will never regret it. At all. If 45 minutes feels daunting, start with 10-15. Add 5 more minutes every few days and you will be so surprised at how quickly your walking stamina will increase.

Do some reading about NEAT movement. For many people who do have a tendency toward overeating, intense workout can lead to more overeating and also more sedentary time after the workout, thus significantly lowering the overall calorie burn in a day. If you stick to less strenuous "exercise" you are likely to be able to better control calorie consumption. The caveat - this will not get you a hard, lean body. One does need to lift weights for that, but walking is a great place to start and is more beneficial to your longevity than any intense exercise program.

I agree with everything you have here, except the very last underlined part. Depending on your age, there is good science to support the need for some intensity to support longevity. Without getting into VO2Max and goofy watch calculators, just about anybody studying longevity projections suggests some sort of intense cardio exercise. If joints are a concern (which is an entirely different debate), a well fitting bike is a great solution that. Including a stationary bike.

And walking is 100% a gateway. I started my fitness journey walking during COVID. I can now run close to a 5:30/mile at 42, and I am most suited to longer distances on both a bike and running. I am in the best physical condition of my life. It all started by just walking around my neighborhood in NoVa.

OP here. To each their own but I believe high intensity exercise can be damaging. I don't think you have to do an hour of intense workout to get a fitness benefit. My resting heart rate is high 50s. Prior to becoming a consistently daily walker my resting rate was high 60s low 70s. When I walk four miles at a good fast pace my heart rate goes into the 80s and low 90s. A 3-4 mile walk is my weekend length. I only do just over 2 miles during the weekday. So many people I know say they can't get gym, don't have tome or money for a membership. I think everyone should just lace up their shoes and walk. Everyone can spare 30 min minimum. Walking also significantly reduces risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture. I like the example the person above gave as it being a gateway. In the past couple years i have gotten into mat pilates. I do these at home, not as consistently as I'd like. I do see the general attitude with some people as being an old person activity. And I agree a 2 mile walk burns more than 100 cals. But more importantly walking drops blood sugars fast, better than any drug on the market like metformin etc.

Walking as much as people in this thread suggest takes a lot of time. 15,000 steps is like two hours of walking. People without little kids and retired people are the only ones with that kind of time. So, old people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love walking . I try to get 15000 steps daily although that largely depends on my day and the weather. I agree it’s amazing exercise. However, I don’t think it’s enough. As we get older we need weight bearing exercises and strength training is essential

You do realize that walking is a weight bearing exercise? Your entire body weight it being borne by your skeleton - so the heavier you are, the more weight bearing it is. Walking is usually listed first by medical professionals as options for building bone density - it’s free, it’s a skill most humans have acquired and it is difficult to do it wrong and hurt yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love walking . I try to get 15000 steps daily although that largely depends on my day and the weather. I agree it’s amazing exercise. However, I don’t think it’s enough. As we get older we need weight bearing exercises and strength training is essential

You do realize that walking is a weight bearing exercise? Your entire body weight it being borne by your skeleton - so the heavier you are, the more weight bearing it is. Walking is usually listed first by medical professionals as options for building bone density - it’s free, it’s a skill most humans have acquired and it is difficult to do it wrong and hurt yourself.

If you want to make a real impact on your bones while walking, wear a weighted vest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love walking . I try to get 15000 steps daily although that largely depends on my day and the weather. I agree it’s amazing exercise. However, I don’t think it’s enough. As we get older we need weight bearing exercises and strength training is essential

Curious how you're getting in that many steps on a daily basis? Genuinely, no snark here. Do you live in the city and walk everywhere, or do you go on productive walks every day? On those days when I don't "go for outdoor walks" I'm lucky to clear 5000 steps.

I walk a definite 10000 steps. I’ve been doing this for years and track it on my watch. But often I do more. I go for long dog walks in the mornings. And I take my dog out again before bed. I’m also the type of person to park my car far away when I’m shopping , etc…I walk when I take my kids to their evening sports practices. I listen to podcasts, make calls, etc

It take 1.5 hours to do 10000 steps so you have 2 hours a day to walk, that’s how.

DP: We walk at the same pace! Mine includes hills and stairs as well.

[Anonymous]

Going into an office is a lost art evidently. I get up periodically and walk around the halls of my office building. If I run 5-6 miles that day in the morning I usually exceed 15,000 steps without even thinking about it.

I do agree walking is great. But it really is not a replacement for weight lifting or more intense cardio exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Walking is CRAZY good for you. Increases your NEAT and makes maintaining weight so much easier, not to mention cardiovascular health. It’s so underrated.

What is NEAT?

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis

Yeah it’s essentially the calories you burn even at rest. Walking raises that.