On Easter Monday, I hit the trails for a looooooong walk with my BFF.
….my furry BFF that is. How cute are those little feet of hers?
We walked a steady (with a kajillion stops with the dog) 8k in 1:22 mins. Mr. Garmin told me that I burned 465 calories during my walk.
I arrived home last night, and decided that I would run the exact same route to determine the difference in calorie burn between walking and running.
I ran the 8k in just under 60 mins (again – stops for you know who – she likes to fake pee a lot when she dosn’t want to run anymore) and I only burned 586 calories.
465 calories burned WALKING 8k.
586 sweaty disgusting calories burned RUNNING 8k (10:1 intervals mostly, with a couple extra walking breaks to conquer a couple HUGE hills)
Mr. Garmin also gives me the following stats:
Walking average heart rate = 122 bpm
Walking maximum heart rate = 150 bpm
Running average heart rate = 152 bpm
Running maximum heart rate = 171 bpm
I fully admit to not being a heart rate connaisseur, but according to my minimal knowledge these numbers are within my desired target during exercise.
I think I might have actually found walking that route harder than running it, and I have the shin splints 2 days later to prove it. I love/hate to run. I really do. But maybe walking really isn’t that bad after all? The numbers prove that, and you can’t deny there is much less impact on your little joints.
Moral of the story: Walking burns some serious calories and it saves you from getting sweaty and gross. Do it.
6 comments:
Here's the thing about the Garmin calorie burn stats - they aren't based on your HR (even though you are wearing a HRM! Pffffffffft I know), they are based on the GPS in some strange calculation that seems to be DUMB because it HAS your heart rate! Next time try it without the HRM strap and I bet you'll get a similar calorie burn result. That is my only beef with the 305! You would likely get a different reading if you were wearing a plain old HRM.
I've always thought that running was way more productive than walking - but lately, with my second injury to running I wonder if I should even try to get back into it. There are so many other wonderful fun methods of exercise that I/we can do. I will admit that one thing I love about running is races - and it was easy to say what you accomplished (I ran a 1/2 marathon), it's hard to do that with other forms of exercise - I swam for an hour just doesn't seem to hold the same effect. But maybe it needs to start. Sorry, that was a bit of a ramble.
I kinda love this post. My doctor is a big fan of walking-not that she discourages me from running-but she sees a lot of injuries from runners-and she says that exercise that is sustainable for LIFE is ideally what is ideal. Did you know that there are walking marathons? My friend's Mom travels to Disney to do the marathon-walking 21k and it's timed. She's in her 60's. I think any exercise is good exercise if you're burning and feeling good-but I see me doing a lot more walking than running in my future.
I've been thinking about this so much lately. Training for my second half, and it's just so much TIME to put into something, whereas walking you can do it anywhere, don't get nearly as sweaty so showering/changing isn't always required, etc. After this half (April 28th) I'm going to cut back to walking for much of the summer and see how I like it. I just like being outside, really.
Also, running makes you SO hungry, I'm convinced you can't do distance running and lose weight. It's not possible.
That's really interesting Amy !
Finding running trails is very hard where I live so maybe I should just try walking instead ?
I think walking is an awesome exercise..for two reasons..you can push yourself walking and get an excellent cardio workout, and it is much much better for you then running. Running is HARD on your body....says the woman running her first marathon in May and full of aches pains. LOL. Running gets a lot of hype....but walking is just as hard and challenging. Keep up a good pace, add some hills if you can and you have a great cardio workout. At the end of the day its about MOVING, BREATHING, and SWEATING and if you can find a way to do that that you enjoy...your ahead of the game :)
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