Walking vs Running: The Better Alternative

Walking vs running is purely a matter of debate. Both are excellent forms of aerobic exercise, which you can do almost anywhere and at any time. These exercises aid in losing weight, elevating mood, decreasing blood pressure, improving sleep, controlling cholesterol levels, boosting energy levels, and alleviating the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. However, the main difference exists in general intensity.

While running is a vigorous exercise, walking is regarded as a moderate workout. Apart from this, some more factors are also considered while trying to elaborate on walking vs running.

Walking vs Running: The Better Alternative

What’s the Need/Purpose

One of the most important factors to consider is the need/purpose to exercise. Not all people have the same exercise requirements. For example, in case of an arthritic patient who wants to lose weight, walking can be the best choice. This is because running can put pressure on the already weakened joints. On the other hand, running is more suitable for the one who wants to maintain cardiovascular health. In this case, running will offer the desired benefits, as the lungs expand greatly and heart pumps more blood. The more your lungs expand and more the blood is pumped, the better your heart and lungs will be.

If you consider a significantly overweight person, she or he might feel like starting the workout with walking, as it will be not that stressful on the body. Then after some time, she or he can take up running.

How Many Calories You Want to Burn

Burning calories is another factor to consider while choosing from walking vs running for becoming slim. On a flat surface, running tends to shed more calories if the time remains the same. On the other hand, if the path is an upward slope, walking on it burns an equal amount of calories as by running. So, you can consider walking on a modern treadmill that has the option of simulating an incline of 3 to 20% if you want to burn more calories in one walking session.

It is true that walking sheds more fat than running, as fat gets utilized as fuel. In case of running, carbohydrates are utilized to fuel the exercise. However, what matters the most is the total calories burned in your single workout session. For example, if you have half an hour to exercise, walking at 4mph will burn almost 187 calories; while running at 6mph will shed 365 calories approximately. So, it can be concluded that running is more appropriate if you want to shed more calories for weight loss. However, it is also said that if you increase the speed of walking, you can reap the same benefits as those offered by running.

What’s the Risk

There is a risk factor to consider when it comes to walking vs running. As running is a highly intense exercise, it can harm your joints such as ankle, knee, and hip. On the other hand, walking is potentially less risky. So, walking overcomes running here. So, aged people must choose walking. After all, it’s better to be proactive than to be sorry.

However, if at all running is chosen, the good news is that you can alleviate your risk of injury. This is possible by choosing the best surfaces such as grassy, woodland paths, and man-made trails. It is also recommended to wear the best quality shoes as suggested by a shoe expert.

So, what you feel personally? Do share with us via comments!