We know the benefits of brisk walking. However, my question is, when it comes to calorie counting I find brisk walking doesn't really burn a lot of calories. Say, for 1000 steps you roughly burn around 40 calories. How effective therefore brisk walking is as fat cutter? Which alternative exercise can offer better calorie cutting?
Brisk walking has been my habit ever since I was a teenager. I seldom walk leisurely especially when I am walking alone. My reason is not to waste time on the road. And now, we know that brisk walking is good for the heart and it can be an alternative to the daily exercise. Instead of going to the gym, you can just do brisk walking for 1 kilometer and that's it for the day.
According to a study, 150 minutes of brisk walk per week is good enough to keep a healthy and long life. However, if someone is up to cutting extra flab, he/she might need to do something rigorous. Apart from keeping an eye on diet, active games like badminton, cycling, swimming, skipping etc might help to reduce. Nevertheless, before taking part to any kind of sports, one must know the condition of his/her bone health.
I think 40 calories for 1000 steps sounds like a good deal. That's not even half a mile. There is no exercise that is easy to do and makes pounds just fall off. But if you do your 10,000 steps (the recommended minimum) it not only allows a better diet but has diverse benefits without putting strain on joints, from cardiovascular health to some vitamin D from getting out in the sunshine. Communities where people walk are safer and more enjoyable to live in. It's win/win/win. You just need to be working with some reasonable expectations. The only exercise even broadly comparable would be swimming and we don't all live next to a beach or pool.
The problem is the fact you're going to have to walk a lot to burn the same calories as some short jogging session. In that case, I think jogging is a better use of your time. However, some people might find that exercise machines also burn the same calories. Some popular ones allow you to jog while others are skiing and bicycling simulators. Anyhow, finally, there are other things to do besides using exercise machines and jogging. Bicycling, basketball that is played hard, and swimming can get one in good shape.
It is certainly rewarding for me. These days I cannot do too much of the intense workouts like I would back in the day, so the nice walks are always a good way to meet it halfway, and they are free too.
Thanks for such a motivating post. I have a sedentary life style. Not that I roam around in a car whole day but I have aboyt 8 hours of seat time per day. The rest of few remaining hours I am on my feet usually. However, I am still able to do 4000 steps per day, yes far away from my daily 10k goal. I do wish that I could walk more but that is difficult to accomodate.
I have been a regular on running, jogging and walking. Now I have stopped running long distances but walking at different pace is my passion. I walk almost 5-6 km everyday on regular basis and there are days when I walk more than 10 km. I think there is nothing safer or better exercise than walking for people suffering from diabetes, blood pressure and obesity besides arthritis. I agree walking burns lesser calories than certain exercises but it is certainly good for all age groups, problems and needs no special training.
I do the brisk walking every day from our home to the public plaza. I take a 30-minute brisk walking, enough for me to stretch my muscles in my legs and enough to aid my heart to beat as it is being called for. As to fat burning, I have again no knowledge if how much fat I lost. One thing I know is that I lost 4 kilos from my 70 kilos body weight. With such good improvement, I persist in walking early in the morning and late in the afternoon.
This is a good idea for an exercise and it doesn't seem as difficult as most work outs. I think I will start doing this to get in shape since I have been feeling quite weak these last months. I am not looking forward to losing weight but rather gain some muscle mass. I hope this works out for me as I do like walking but haven't had the time to make up a routine.
Well, brisk walking is better than normal walking, and running is better than brisk walking. I think if someone is doing regular walking then they should do brisk walking so that they can have more calorie burn than normal walking. Regular brisk walking is surely good for health for burning fat. I have personal experience of it and it is really good.
@kamai Remember, brisk walking involves exercising your whole body, therefore you won't be gaining any muscle mass but actually loosing weight. If you are planning to get some muscle mass on then you better go for that high protein diet and targeted muscle exercises.
@Decentlady Agree with you. Brisk walking will surely any muscles weight. It will decrease weight only. Personally I am planning to reduce weight not gaining muscles, so I am only preferring brisk walking these days. Dieting with particular exercising is the perfect idea to have muscle gain.
I think brisk walking is a great idea for exercise,because its easier on the joints than running-and also you could walk with a pair of these Heavyhands weights(these were big in the 80's and you can still buy them).These weights came with a handle which were very popular,and I think there are some companies that make similar ones today as well. You could go for a power walk for 20 minutes with these heavyhand kind of weights and really burn some calories I would think !
@naruto100 I agree that brisk walking is better than walking but in some cases it's not suggested. Like a heart patient is advised to walk according to his heart's condition and the same goes for running too. However, running is one of the best for fit people but brisk walking has its advantages for everyone including people suffering from obesity, blood pressure, diabetes and orthopedic problems.
It isn't very effective at all. Some studies even say that fat loss is more related to how much CO2 you exhale if I remember correctly. You can do High Intensity Interval Training instead. It only takes around 20 minutes at most to do, and it burns calories long after you've finished exercising. The only catch is that every set should be done with maximum power.
@Ray1 Yes it depend on the person too. If someone is having heart problem then better they go for slow or normal walking as per doctor's suggestion. Otherwise brisk walking is surely best for all kind of people. About running, yes it is even better for weight lose, but I am not habitual of it, so get tired after one or two round. he he
Yes, it is indeed rewarding. I am writing this from my own experience. If all you focus on is counting calories, then I think it won't work. But if you just look at walking as a pleasurable time, then it will work. I walk daily for 20-30 minutes and I take that time to look around me, see things that I won't when I am running my errands or getting a job done. Walking gives me time to think about various things, problems I may be having, looking for answers etc. and Walking is when I feel I am able to relax and that is when I have had solutions to my problems too. This all in addition to increased stamina and feeling fitter than before I started walking.
I have been walking for years as a routine. I can forget to eat my breakfast but a morning walk is must for me and my mornings are not limited to walking but I jog for sometime and then join a laughing group that helps making your lungs strong if practiced just for 5-6 minutes. A morning walk keeps you ready for the rest of the day and you will notice a significant change in your overall health.
@Ray1 That's really well. The important thing is consistency. And that's what I am lacking. Every time I start with full of excitement I end it up soon. That's really good that you able to maintain consistency for this long. I have seen people are very serious about this things. They can forget eating but not this thing. I wish I can be consistent like you guys.
