Hi, At the moment I'm of unfit and well.......... over weight. Is brisk walking a good way to lose weight and gain a basic level of fitness? I'm planning on walking about 30 minutes to 40 mintues three times a week to Muay Thai Boxing classes (Which is about 5km - 6km) I love walking and would like to get into running as well. I would like some advice and tips about walking and If its actually worth doing it. Thanks, Hapuka.
I think walking is great i love it. Long walks seem to work my legs more so than a 6k run and can leave me shagged out after! Im no fitness freak in the knowledge department, but from what i can remember a long brisk walk is great to burn fat.
Short, brisk walks like that are brilliant if you want to get into running, and will help you to lose weight. Eventually, you can substitute these walks for short jogs, but walking some days, and jogging others. Hiking is brilliant for fitness. I do it a lot, and it is tougher than people realise. If you want to lose weight, start by walking briskly, then substitue these walks for jogs, and eventually longer runs. Edit: also, by walking, it is easier to lose fat than running, as you tend to work in what is called the fat burning zone, as oppoesed to the cardio zone where you burn muscle.
Of course it's worth it It's better than catching the bus Brisk walking is good. But be careful not to fall into a leisurely stroll like I do If you're looking to start running there's lots of programs if you google that mix walking, jogging, then walking in intervals to begin with and builds up from there. They do work so it's something you could look at PS I was looking to start running myself and was VERY unfit. The walking/jogging intervals do work for building up. But if you're over weight watch your knees, possibly check with a doctor first.
Walking is great to start with especially if you're not that fit, just be careful not to get into a position where it's not tiring anymore. This is a good sign that your body has adapted to the exercise and a good time to start something more challenging. Even when you are at a decent level of fitness, there's some evidence to support a greater potential for combined forms of exercise than those exercises on their own.
Walking is a nice start and is great for rehab, passive recovery and maintaining fitness. However it doesn't have the level of intensity to really get super fit, however it is a start.
I dont drive, so I walk a lot every week. To make it more useful in my overall training, I put my fav fast beat music on my ipod and power walk whenever I can. Its good for me and fun!
That's sort of true, but it all depends on what intensity your talking about. I'm a hiker, and regularly do long routes that might be 200 miles long or more. This level of wlaking is brilliant for your overall health, especially if you hike a lot. I also run and cycle a great deal, so once or twice a week, to supplement this, I hike for about 25 miles. The muscular benefits for the legs are awesome.
I'm going to say no, walking is not a very good way to get fit and lose weight, contrary to the apparently popular consensus in this thread. Is it better than nothing? Well of course. Vigorously scratching your butt is also better than doing nothing. You mentioned that you're planning to walk to your Muay Thai classes. You may be a bit overweight and out of shape, but if you are capable of taking even light Thai Boxing drills then walking is way below your level. You need to be pushing yourself more than that. Walking just doesn't challenge the body save for the most obese and unhealthy people. Your results, if any, will be slow and meager. It's great to think that you could do something so simple and change your body, but that's just not how it works. You can't build a great body with only 10 minutes of exercise on the Ab-Doer 5000, and you aren't going to get into good shape or lose fat with simply walking. Get your diet in order, add resistance training to your schedule if you can fit it, and make sure you're giving 100% in your Muay Thai classes. That will be more than enough to elicit a positive change in your body. Adding in cute little walks would merely be superfluous.
My opinion is about halfway between socrastein and everybody who's saying yes. It's a good start, but that's about it. Personally, I'd say do the walking, purely on the principle that every little bit helps, but don't kid yourself that you'll lose much weight on it. One thing you could do is to make it a power-walk. Stick on an ipod (or whatever you prefer) and power-walk all the way there. After a week or two of power walking you could step it up a little. Fling a few bursts of jogging during the journey. As time goes by spend more of the journey jogging and less walking. Eventually you might get to the stage where you can jog all the way there. You could then start alternating jogging with running. Another idea would be to time yourself, and then try to beat your previous best every time you make the trip. If you regularly beat your previous time - hey presto, you're getting fitter. In summary: my opinion - do it, but apply the principle of making it progressivly more difficult.
Hiking I technically define as Hillwalking, not walking When I say walking I mean walking at 3-4mph on level or mostly level land with the odd hill. Basically city walking. Hiking etc is a whole different ballgame considering you are essentially halfsquatting rather than walking !!
if you are motivated enough, you will definitely succeed. take care of your way of eating as well, increase the amount of exercise....
I didn't BJ Penn did....latest BB magazine interview....Ooooo Ahhhh....yep that's right sister!!! I read
