Walking VS Running

This blog is republished from our good friend Danette May.

You already know that any movement you do gives your mood a big boost and makes a big difference in your weight loss efforts.

There’s no shortage of ways to move your body, but you may be wondering if your time is better spent walking or running?

Either one is good, but which one is better?

When it comes to only how many calories you burn per hour, running is the better workout. Your exact calorie burn depends on how much you weigh and how fast you run, but running expends more energy.

Want an idea of the difference in calorie burn between running and walking?

Consider these statistics for a person who weighs 155 lbs.:

  • Running 30 minutes at 5 miles per hour burns 298 calories
  • Running 30 minutes at 6 miles per hour burns 372 calories
  • Running 30 minutes at 7.5 miles per hour burns 465 calories
  • Walking 30 minutes at 3.5 miles per hour burns 149 calories
  • Walking 30 minutes at 4 miles per hour burns 167 calories
  • Walking 30 minutes at 4.5 miles per hour burns 186 calories

Though running clearly provides a greater impact on how many calories are burned, that doesn’t mean that doing it is easy.

Depending on your physical condition, running for 30 minutes (or longer) may be out of the question.

So, does that mean that you have to walk for more than an hour in order to get the same amount of impact?

The good news is there’s another option.

blank

It’s called High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT.

Studies have shown that by going back and forth between walking and running you can eliminate the need to run long distances and still get a big effect.

How does HIIT work?

A HIIT workout has you doing a hard workout for a very short period of time, then resting while still doing something active. That means that you get your heart rate way up, and then you recover and catch your breath, then do it again.

When you ask your body to push itself you create a brief oxygen shortage. When your body recovers, you take in more oxygen to make up for the loss.

The result is that you burn more fat.

Studies have shown that a HIIT workout can burn more calories in a shorter period of time as a result of the EPOC effect.

There are a lot of other advantages to doing a HIIT workout.

Besides a better fat burn, it also boosts your metabolism for as long as 48 hours after your workout. It takes less time than a regular workout and you don’t need any expensive equipment.

(The Original source article found here)

Did you know that certain exercises can help you slow aging and help you to look younger, but other specific types of exercises can actually age you FASTER.  Not good!

Make sure to AVOID the types of exercises that accelerate aging in your body.  My colleague Steve Holman explains which exercises to avoid at this article:

This exercise accelerates AGING in your body (plus 5 tips to look 10 years younger)

Steve also shows you on that page which specific format of exercise helps reverse aging!

About The Watchdog

Mike Geary has been a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer for over 15 years now. He has been studying nutrition and exercise for almost 25 years, ever since being a young teenager. Mike is originally from Pennsylvania, but has fallen in love with mountain life and now resides in the picturesque mountains of Utah. Mike is an avid adventurist and when he’s not spending his time skiing, mountain biking, hiking, or paddleboarding on the lake, he has enjoyed skydiving, whitewater rafting, piloting an Italian fighter plane (seriously), scuba diving, heli-skiing, and traveling all around the world, enjoying learning about different cultures. At the age of 40, Mike now feels healthier, stronger, and more energetic than when he was 20... All because of a healthy lifestyle and great nutrition!

Check Also

blank

3 Scary Reasons To Ditch Aluminum Foil (And What To Use Instead)

Today’s blog is republished from my friends at TheAlternativeDaily, a leading publisher of daily alternative health …

44 comments

  1. I am an avid Walker and runner. I put in between 30 to 40 miles weekly. I’M looking for as much information as possible. I am a 58 year old woman and the older I get the harder everything gets . Thank you for all your wonderful information. Sarai Bustos. (714)328-2466

    • GOOD for you! I did when I was a kid walked home from school & played outside which included playing on bars, playing badminton in the back yard, riding bikes, & climbing trees until 9PM. Now since I can’t drive, my means of transportation is walking, but the only place a ways away, yet close is the grocery. I won’t walk 5 miles because although I live in a suburb, there is a large cattle farm across the street from the residential area I live in, hence no sidewalks on the state route that our exits go onto (state Rt 412 in Arkansas), just grassy ruts. I walk my dog around the residential area daily and she REALLY pulls me!

    • I just turned 70 and I have problems with my legs and feet that prevent me from running any longer. I used to run 3.5 miles every week day and 7 miles on weekends. I bought a treadmill and on it is an interval exercise. I walk at 1.8 MPH for 90 seconds, then 3 MPH for 90 seconds and it repeats this 10 times for a total of 30 minutes of exercise. It finishes with 5 minutes of cool down which I do at 1.5 MPH. I never lost weight just walking, and I was walking 3 miles a day keeping a pace of 13 minute miles. Well, doing the interval training on my treadmill, I lost 30 Lbs. last year. I hope to lose another 30 this year. It isn’t taxing and works great. Also, before doing the interval training, my resting heart rate was 69 BPM. Now it’s steady at 56 BPM. I have more energy and find things like climbing stairs much easier.

      • So nice is a Morning or Evening Arise for a ‘Healthy, Fitting, Proximal, Distance Walk or a Jog and Back.’ So for its a ‘Naturally Fitting’ Way of Human Living, with some Set-Achievement Marks; within an Identified Period of Time. Understandably, the Purpose or Objective Behind this ‘Diligent, Courteous Way of Living’ is Identified and Attained. Especially so, it Helps to Evacuate one from Body Misgivings like Increased Weight, Instability due to Weakened Legs as well as Daily Headaches and Other Ailments. Yes, with a ‘Walk, Jog Practise’, from ‘daily Exercise Sweating’, Body Uprising is Attained, So to Mark a Healthy, Energetic and Active Rise of a Future’s Tomorrow.

  2. AM EXTREMELY PHYSICALLY DISABLED,

    • So it should be easy for you to get your heart rate up by doing things most people take for granted! Push yourself and sustain it for as long as you can then let your body rest and take in oxygen. Repeat!

  3. I was diagnosed type 2, ove six months have lost approx 1 stone, am 82 , pacemaker, hypertension, gout, peripheral neuropathy, arthritis, etc. and I drink alcohol!

  4. hi my name is Dan ,I’m 62 and can run 6 miles in 58 min. can you help me get faster?

    • I’m 71, a marital artist of 50 years, a runner and Walker.
      I am a full time caregiver. 5K 22:33. Blood in urine, pushing it too hard. Hmm, now walk more run less. Father Time doesn’t like endorphins near as much when you age!

      • I was an avid runner and have seen blood in urine in the youngest of atheletes. One of the best athletes I have ever seen was a Judo master in his mid 70s….destroyed the young competition….DOnt look at your age. I know 25 yo that seem ancient

  5. Do you have any information on in- line rollerblading. I am 64 and rollerblading from 16-24 miles a week. I know my breathing is better and my resting heart rate is 51. 183

    • Iam a 61 female, with bad legs, I don’t go out. But I am going to buy a tread mill, any Ideas on how to (1) get motivated (2) use it to lose visceral fat. Oh and not fall off it lol

      • Lift weights. Is a better way to increase your fat burning abilities. Walking only burns during walking. When you build muscle, muscle burns more fat even at rest. Hope this helps.

  6. Walk, walk, and walk again! From about age 7 I always walk at least 2 miles daily. I am 88 now.

  7. I was hoping for more information like impact of joints of running vs walking.

    • Don’t smoke joints till after running or walking

    • Running on hard surfaces, particularly for long distances can be detrimental to joints, especially over a long period. Biologists suggest that the human body was not designed for long distances, especially marathons. It seems that short bursts of running are most beneficial, interspersed with walking or resting. Take examples from other creatures e.g gorillas do not go for long runs. Lions, cheetahs etc hunt with short bursts of speed and LONG periods of rest. OK, I’m not saying that humans are like these but animals that travel long distances go at a walking, rather than running pace. Bottom lne is take your advice from nature.

  8. I use a homemade exercise bike I made out of a bicycle and generator. I light up about 123 watts of old tungsten filament light bulbs by peddling for 16 minutes. I also press down on my thighs to get some upper body workout. It is about the same amount of work I used to do in a two-mile jog but I don’t get impact injury. I do the exercise every day and it really makes me feel good the whole day afterward. I’m 62 years old and my blood pressure is close to normal and my resting heart rate averages about 52 beats per minute.

  9. How many calories can you lose by dancing?

  10. Is walking 45 minutes (usually about a mile+) helpful for a 78 year old woman?

  11. I don’t need to weigh less (though I’ve been there). In 4 days I’ll be 83.
    In lock down, I can use property here to walk. Poor Discipline
    stops me: please say about how far I should walk daily. A mile was easy enough until lock downs, no meals with others, no bridge, no exercise class, I’m weaker or lazier, not sure.

  12. I am physically disabled 60 year old. 4 left total left hip surgeries, all kinds of health issues…mainly, HBP, fibromyalgia, neuropathies, pre diabetic, severe asthma, heart angina, aging issues with all my bones. I weigh 221. I am so desperate to lose weight. All I have to do is move and I get extremely hot and profusely sweat and feel very faint.

    Any suggestions for me? I’m home alone all day and I’m very unmotivated unfortunately.

  13. I am eighty three and six months. I like to walk and enjoy nature, trees, birds singing. I automatically start dancing when I hear music from the seventies. Three days a week I do swimnastics and water aerobics in our clubhouse pool. Pushing water in the deep end is much better than just pushing air. Air gives you no resistance. I love music and sing constantly, play my baby grand piano and swing and tap my feet my feet to music!

  14. I was told by a physical therapist at my large health plan at my age range, in my 70’s, 5-6000 steps a day is great. My phone app measures steps, all day; out to my chickens, to my rabbit barn, in & out of my home office. If my phone is in my pocket, the steps are logged. Had a fall last year, and the pocket phone fell with me. Was able to get help, before I got off the floor. That is an incentive to always have my phone.

  15. I walk and Carry weight in a backpack. It’s called weight load walking and I first read of it in the 1980’s from a book written by officials of the Israeli Defense Forces. They had soldiers always carrying backpack with rocks even when doing other tasks all day long. It gives a training effect without having to run. It had other good information too but this is the one thing I’ve managed to do at least off and on over the years.

    Book is called The Israeli Fitness Strategy. Probably out of print.

  16. 155 lbs is 70 kg

  17. SOME GOOD ADVICE IN HERE:):)

  18. I’m a 77-year-old male. before I retired, my weight was 150-155lbs throughout my adult life. Since retiring in 2017, my weight has ballooned to 180 pounds. In March, I start walking 3 1/2 miles every morning and its starting to work out. I’ve lost 15 ponds and my goal is to get to 150 pounds. If you or anyone wants to lose weight, find a program that will work for you.

  19. i am 89 years old will be 90 in January,but i dont have the oomph to walk as there is a blobkage in my legs and in 5minutes of walking i cant go further as i am breathless,what can i do.thanks please advise

  20. Due to problems with my feet the impact of running is out of the question for me, so how many calories do I burn walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes?

  21. It should be mentioned the detrimental effect running will have on your joints. I hate to see overweight people out jogging when they really should be in the gym lifting weights. They will destroy their joints and build very little muscle by running. Muscle burns fat, even when you’re creating, so forget running if you’re trying to lose weight. Walking is better, but resistance training is king!

    • I’m 70 years old. I play badminton 3 times( 1 to 2 hours) per week,, and the rest of the week I brisk walk in a nearby garden with a dedicated track for walking and jogging. I take 3 moderator meals per day. Sleep 7 hours per day. Watch TV till about 11.30 pm . Still work 6 days per week as a paediatrician. My weight is about 65 Kg. 1 have 4 adult children and 6 grandchildren. I have Hypertension which is controlled with medication..

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.