Is Power Walking Better Than Running to Lose Weight?
Contents
- Power Walking vs. Running
- Low-Impact Power Walking Tips
- Power Walking For Weight Loss
- High-impact Jogging and Joints
- The Efficiency of Running
- Running’s Impact on Appetite
Although regular cardio exercise, whether it’s power walking or running, helps you stay fit and energized, a side-by-side comparison indicates that running burns 2.5 times more calories than your typical 3.5 mph power walk. The average person will burn more calories, but a person with a medical issue that prevents him from engaging in high-impact jogging can lose weight with regular power walking without putting health at risk.
Power Walking vs. Running
According to Weight Watchers, the average 200-pound person burns about 384 calories per hour on a 3.5 mph power walk, but if he quickens his pace to a 5 mph jog, he’ll burn 768 calories in the same amount of time. From a weight-loss perspective, running trumps power walking. However, running is not suitable for everyone because of its high-impact nature. If you’re concerned about performing high-impact exercise because you’re new to exercise or you’re recovering from an injury, low-impact power walking may be an alternative. 텍사스 홀덤 족보
Low-Impact Power Walking Tips
If running doesn’t suit you, a regular low-impact power walking routine can help you stay fit. Boost your fitness gains by swinging your arms with elbows bent 90 degrees, keep your stride short and steady, and avoid swiveling your hips like you're on a fashion runway. Keep your abs engaged by pulling your navel toward your spine and maintain a neutral spine to reap the toning and slimming benefits of power walking provides.
Power Walking For Weight Loss
According to The Mirror, if you power walk for 30 to 45 minutes, three times a week, you'll start to see fitness improvements in about two weeks. To get your heart rate up for maximum calorie burn, maintain a pace of 4 mph to 5 mph. If this pace is too fast for you, start at a pace that is comfortable and gradually pick up the pace as you get more fit.
High-impact Jogging and Joints
Despite the long-held belief that running takes a significant toll on knees and other joints, a Boston University School of Medicine study shows that running does not cause much damage to knees or increase the risk of developing arthritis. In fact, in one Swedish study researchers discovered that jogging might yield benefits for people who have or are at risk of developing osteoarthritis. The impact of running when your feet hit the ground as you jog seems to boost the production of proteins that help repair minor cartilage damage and strengthen the cartilage, according to Jonathan Chang, an orthopedic surgeon based in California. Nonetheless, check with your physician before you start a jogging routine.
The Efficiency of Running
When you increase your speed to the 4.5 mph range, most people find running more comfortable than power walking, according to a 2012 North Carolina State University study. At a 4.5 mph pace, the dynamics of running make the calf muscles work more efficiently than if you were power walking at that pace. When power walking, the muscles lengthen quickly and inefficiently, providing less power than when running. When you run, the calf muscles lengthen slowly and deliver more power. Calf muscles don’t need to work as hard in a run as they do in a power walk. When you are exercising at optimal efficiency and comfort, you tend to work out longer.
Running’s Impact on Appetite
Running releases the appetite-suppressing hormone peptide YY, which may also account for why running is better than power walking to lose weight. Even walkers who burn the same amount of calories as runners by power walking across greater distances had larger waistlines than the runners, according to a 2012 University of Wyoming study published in the "The Journal of Obesity."
