If you have started running with our Easy-Easy Program to Start Running (or if you are thinking of doing so), you may have noticed that part of the workout requires walking, not running.
The reason is quickly explained: those who start running cannot do it suddenly but must accustom the body, little by little. However, the question arises: what is the difference between running and walking? By walking can I achieve the same results as running, perhaps in a longer time? Most importantly: which of the two activities burns more energy?
With which activity do you burn the most?
Well, easy answer: obviously running.
If we are to reason by numbers: a 64 kg person running burns about 13.2 calories (Kcal, to be exact) per minute, compared to the 7.6 burned by the same person in one minute of walking. About 50 percent less, in short. In other words, this same person burns nearly 400 calories in half an hour of running while in the same amount of time, but walking, he burns 228 calories.
There is a very simple measurement system to compare physical activities according to their caloric demands. It is called MET (Metabolic Equivalent for Task) and is simple to understand: at rest we consume one MET, walking 3 to 6, running over 6. Running is undoubtedly more wasteful than walking, clear isn’t it?
The more intense the activity, the more important will be the body’s demand to use glycogen (while there is any) and then fat. Walking is a low-intensity activity, so it is quickly explained why it requires less energy.
Studies have also found that the metabolic window-that is, that time frame following sporting activity during which your metabolism is as active as if you were still playing sports-is 5 minutes longer for runners than for walkers.
So what is best to do to lose weight?
Uh, always back there? Yeah: as much as we might like to run or walk, one of the reasons we do it anyway is to lose weight or to contain it. Well, there is no escaping it: the more intense the activity, we said, the more calories we burn. Calories burned are in fact related to exertion, and exertion is related to how much energy is required to move your body through space: the faster you go, the more calories are required, also because as you speed up, your body “weighs more,” requiring more energy.
So the answer is one and always the same: the most effective method of losing weight is running. Don’t overlook another aspect, however: your body is programmed to maintain weight (that is, to be self-sufficient or ready for periods of famine), not to lose it. When you lose him, his memory will, in short, always try to bring you back to the starting condition. It is written in our genetic code, unfortunately or fortunately.
But
Walking may not be the most efficient way to burn energy, but it certainly has other benefits:
- you do it without breaking a sweat (or almost without)
- You can do it whenever you want, without “changing clothes”
- is antidepressant
- Is environmentally friendly because it saves you from using your car or vehicles (and it is as good as biking)
- It still makes you lose weight, but it does so more slowly.
When you can-and very often, you almost always can-choose to walk. Remember that 100 meters is always better than 0 meters and that the METs mentioned earlier also apply to walking, albeit to a lesser extent.
And then you can do it whenever you want: comfortable shoes, appropriate clothes even without being too sporty, and your body will be grateful.
(Inspired by Runner’s World)