Walk or Running for weight loss. which is better?
When it comes to the greatest exercise for weight reduction, most physicians recommend brisk walking or a moderate jog after a meal. The question is, how does walking quickly help you lose weight? since both walking and jogging are cardiovascular activities that are especially designed to elevate heart rate in order to boost blood flow in the body and promote cardiovascular health
In today’s busy lifestyle, people are living a sedentary lifestyle, tiring work hours, a lack of freshly cooked food and an overconsumption of processed refined foods, a lack of discipline and routine are the major causes that doctors prescribe walking and running as exercises to keep the weight in check. Refined carbs, in general, have a deleterious influence on metabolism and trigger brain addiction pathways. causing you to seek refined meals more and more, resulting in weight gain
When it comes to dropping pounds walking is considered the most underrated physical activity, peoples think high-intensity physical activity that kicks the body into emergency mode, breaking the sweat in instant and heavyweights are the only way, putting the body into panic mode makes more damage. walking does not kick up the heart rate, immediately blasts fat, or burns tons of calories in just one session. It is a low-impact activity, which isn’t considered ideal when the objective is to drop additional pounds.
Walking vs running
Walking can be very identical in results when compared to running, but running burns double the number of calories. You need to burn approximately 3500 calories to lose 1 pound if your goal is to lose weight very fast running is a better choice than walking.
But for many people running can be very vigorous and high-intensity exercise while walking tends to be moderate in intensity. The general idea is how fast you want to lose weight, One minute of high-intensity activity is equal to two minutes of moderate-intensity activity. The bottom line is that both walking and running are excellent ways to get fit, however, walking has many more advantages that may make it more appealing and suitable for people.
Let’s discuss how walking can be better than running in weight loss.
The biggest advantage of walking over running is fewer or no injuries.
Walking produces far fewer injuries than running, or we can say the least injuries of any aerobic exercise. It has been suspected that running injuries, as well as stress from long runs like marathons, may lead to injuries that can lead to osteoarthritis, especially in the knees. Its been noted by researchers that up to half of all regular runners are affected by some kind of running injury each year, which could lead to lasting damage.
- Good for knees
If you have joint problems and are overweight then nothing is better than walking, when you run your body impacts the ground with three times your body weight with each step, while walking produces an impact of only 1.5 times your body weight. Walking as a lower-impact exercise cause you to feel less fatigue compared with running. Walking also produces less wear and tear on your body. Yet walking is still is a weight-bearing exercise that may prevent bone loss.
- Easy and sustainable
Walking is usually sustainable for longer durations. For example, many people are not comfortable running for a longer period, may be able to maintain a brisk walking pace for more minutes than running, and burn more calories in the process. Furthermore, when walking is more comfortable, you are more likely to maintain regular discipline. To summarize that you may be able to burn more calories with a consistent, sustainable practice of walking than you do with sporadic, brief episodes of higher-intensity exercise.
- Weatherproof
For runners, hot weather is the biggest foe, as heat hinders stamina and dehydrates the body more quickly preventing you from achieving your goals. You will also be less likely to get heat sick during hot weather if you walk rather than run, although you must still take precautions to prevent overheating of the body.
- You can do it in pajamas
All you need is a pair of comfy shoes and you are ready to go. walkers can often walk in whatever they happen to be wearing, You can walk to work or do your daily errands on foot while wearing comfortable shoes or sandals. Doing so will help reduce long sitting times that can lead to other health risks.
- Never hit the limit
runners face hitting the limits & burning out all available fuel and experiencing extreme fatigue. Walkers generally do not hit the wall on a long walk because they rely on aerobic energy sources. Walkers can refuel as they go, and their bodies have the time it takes to assimilate and use the fuel.
But let’s not stop it here, if you are young fit and have to lose some kilos quickly running can be the best for your goal, because running is a high impact exercise pushing your metabolism into jumpstart mode, let’s see how running can help in your weight loss journey.
The biggest advantage of Running is that it helps you lose weight faster, and keep it off.
Because it involves continuous movement of your entire body, running burns more calories than most other activities. And you don’t have to run fast to achieve max burn. You get almost as much from running slow (but it takes twice as long). If you want to keep track, running burns roughly 100 calories per mile. (For more accuracy, multiply .75 x your body weight in pounds to get your personal calorie burn per mile.)
- When you run, you sleep better
We all know quality sleep is essential for your overall health. Your body repairs itself when you’re asleep, which is why you wake up feeling refreshed. Aerobic exercise triggers a release of endorphins, chemicals that help relieve pain or stress. and as we all know less stress means good sleep.
- Jump starts the immune system
feeling a little off, running for 30 minutes can trigger your immune system to help you feel better. When you do aerobic exercises like running at least 5 days a week, you lower your odds of upper tract respiratory infections by 43%.
- keeps bones healthy
after age 30, there is significant potential for decreases in bone density, This sounds scary, but Bones are living things, and therefore get stronger when a force—like running—stimulates growth.” That’s right; High-impact exercise (like running!) spurs repairs & bone growth and promotes healthy bone mineral density. It’s a must if you want to avoid fractures and stay mobile the whole life long.
How to walk to maximize weight loss
- Add some weights
If you intend to burn more calories in minimum time, add some weight to your walking routine. You can either carry a pair of dumbbells in your hands or tie wearable weights in your arms and ankles. These additional weights will make your workout more challenging, increasing your heart rate and toning your body. You can start with any of your weight as per your comfort, then increase the amount gradually.
- Increase the pace
If you are serious to lose kilos just by walking, then you need to work on your pace. Merely strolling for your daily errands will burn only a limited amount of calories. To gain more from your walking session, you need to walk at a fast pace. You can also try alternating your pace from fast to slow, then again fast. This will give you enough time to relax and you won’t feel tired early & easily.
- Use the surroundings
Burning calories is all about challenging your body. You need to find different ways to challenge your body, and experimenting with your terrain is another excellent way to achieve the objective. Changing the terrain will increase your intensity and will help you burn more calories. You can walk on pavement or rocky surfaces. Even stairs are an excellent option.
- Maintain form.
your walking form also determines how much weight you will lose by following this workout routine. Walking in incorrect posture will not only lead to muscle strain and sprain but will burn minimum calories. While walking a person should always look ahead at all times, lengthen their stride, tighten their abdominal muscles, and swing their arms as fast as you can to burn more calories.
- Go short
If you are overweight and maintaining form for longer is not possible then go for shorter walks This may surprise you but going for shorter walks is more beneficial for weight loss compared to longer walks. This can help you stay active all day. Also, walking after each meal is considered to be more beneficial. Going for shorter walks will also help you maintain your pace and form, which is not possible in the case of longer walking sessions.
Learn The Art of Walking
Walking for weight management is an art. There are several factors that contribute in weight loss while you walk, like, speed of walking, walking posture, walking manner, even the time of the day, and the ambiance also affects the efficacy of walk.
Speed
As we know running is the best for faster weight loss, but fast-paced walking is equally effective as running. For beginners, it is advised to start with brisk walking and gradually increase the speed. If you have a problem walking at a higher speed slow down a bit. The key is to break the sweat.
Experts believe speed walking is equally effective as running. Speed walking does help in burning visceral fats
If you are struggling with speed, then try incline walking. Walking on an inclined surface is equivalent to running on flat ground. Walking on an inclined surface requires 4 % more energy, this might not sound much but it makes difference in the long run
Posture
Don’t walk casually or leisurely, don’t believe that counting steps can help you see significant results in weight loss.
Always walk with a straight spine, your entire body muscles should be stretched, take long strides and focus on breathing and walk as fast as you can.
Manner
You are not going to lose weight by taking breaks while you walk. focus on a minimum of 15 minutes of good speed walk without any break, the key is to put your body under pressure, kickstarting your body to scramble fuel from your system. aim for the speed of 5 miles an hour.
Time and ambiance.
Walking with a head full of stress and a tired body will only make you less motivated. choose the time and place to walk wisely. You should always focus on the quality of your walk.
In summary
Both walking and running have their own advantages, you have to choose which suits best for you, losing weight by walking can be lengthy and you won’t see results fast but it is easy to sustain and follow in busier lifestyles, but if your fit and young running can help you shed kilos much faster.
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