walk or run? ... tough choice :)

[cloza]

hey everyone,
just a quick question for someone who knows the answer;
what is more beneficial for weight loss, running or fast paced walking?

i've heard walking is better for loosing weight and running is better for fitness. but i'm not 100% sure on the whole excercise thing just yet.
any answers are muchly appreciated

[FatFukShrinking]

Walking is good, but you know what else is good?

Doing sprints! Like fast paced sprints up and down in your yard or whatever. Do as many as you can, get yourself puffing! Increase the amount you do gradually as you get better.

[court]

my partner is a PT and he actually told me an interesting statistic that i never thought before... say you run 10km or walk 10kms you actually expend the same amount of energy you just get there faster..running is better for fitness and cardiovascular training but in the long run if you walk a million miles or run a million miles you still burn the same million amount of calories.. now weight training is a different story - cos if you incorporate weights into your training you are getting your body to work FOR you...good luck!

[Runner]

I'm abit biased but definantly running! I do both and enjoy both but running makes me feel so much stronger and sexier, like I can do anything!

[ExerciseYPotential]

I like to teach my clients/patients that we use energy in the same way a car uses petrol.

If you floor it, you'll use a lot of petrol, if you take it easy on the accelerator you'll use petrol at a slower rate.

So the idea is to floor it - but you can only floor it for so long, in fact, a max. effot can only be maintained <15secs. So what do you do then? Jog or walk while you recover. Then, when you can, floor it again. And so on, and so on. Trying to combine high intensity efforts with lower intensity efforts.

This is called High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) - what most consider to be the ultimate way to use energy/burn calories.

[tawa]

I agree with "ExerciseYPotential" (though I haven't experience it because i just starting out), i found an article stating that same concept, but after reading this page and having a second read of the article, things are much clear...
it said walking burns more fat, but running burns more calories. which got me confused.. it explains where the body drives its energy from.. diet and fat (stored energy).. and something called hitting the wall.

[link removed]

[grant lofthouse]

Neither, Hill sprints work best.

Look at sprinters and how they train. Sprint 100m then rest and keep repeating.

The dont perform cardio they lift weights, sprint and eat right.

Hill sprints are better then flat ground sprints because when you are placed on a hill you cannot reach top speed. For the average person when you hit top speed you are more at risk of injuring a hammy or quad.


hope I helped

Grant

[Phat-Beth]

Myself with weak knees, I say walking or something lower impact. That's just me, though. I do cardio on the machines, and when I hike I do sprint a good deal.

Beth

[RockStar96]

I'm biased because I just don't like running, but I find walking beneficial if you speed walk.

[applesauce1]

(currently studying Exercise Science at uni)

What we're currently being taught is that at lower-intensity exercise (walking), fat is the primary fuel used. Apparently muscles even prefer fat as a fuel, whilst the nervous system is the one that will take glucose or nothing. Anyway - as exercise intensity increases (eg running, or from a light jog to a spring) glucose takes over as the primary fuel. This being said, fat can also be converted to glucose, which helps explain why sprinters have low body fat ratios.

So, if running improves CV fitness as well by forcing the heart to work harder, why walk at all? Well, some people hate running, some people have bad knees, and some people have health conditions that screw up the conversion of non-glucose sources (eg fats and proteins) through the energy-production system, eg some thyroid disorders. Probably best to do what's safe for your body, and what you're likely to stick with for more than a day

Hope that helps!

[karl]

I also have bad knees and I started using a stationary bike at home. I try and mix it up walking and other forms of cardio.

[Lazy Runner]

I am a running coach. I believe everyone can run and should run. But there is a correct way, and like lots of new sports or skills you need to be taught. Running is better for weightloss as it burns fat and calories quicker, a one hour run is equivalent to a 2 hour walk, and because most of us haven't got the time to walk for two hours daily, running is far more beneficial

[yogibbear]

Same distance = equal amount of energy.

If you've only got 30 minutes. Then run for 30 mins. (Start out with one of those couch to 5km guides i.e. run/walk in intervals building your fitness up to a continuous 30 min run over 10-12 wks). Else walk for an hour+.

If you're really overweight you might not want to start with running until you build up some leg strength to avoid injuring yourself and not being able to walk OR run.

[bethanyherman]

If the goal is losing weight, I'd go with running. It is a more efficient way of burning calories. It also helps in sculpting the legs and bottom

[SydneyPT]

I don't see how running the same distance and walking the same distance = same energy spent. Running is much more demanding and burns more calories. To say walking is the same as running is