Walking: Is It the Answer to all Your Fitness Problems? - Blog Copy
BLOG TITLE: Walking: Is It the Answer to all Your Fitness Problems?
Step counters are all the rage these days, and you’ll often hear about people who are trying to get 10,000 steps a day or more.
So does walking improve fitness?
And do very fit people still need to walk?
The answers aren’t black and white, so I’ll explain.
SUBHEAD: Does Walking Improve Fitness?
Walking is a great activity, and it can absolutely help someone improve fitness—to a certain point.
If you’ve been inactive for a long time or you’re just starting a fitness program, walking is fantastic. It’s a low-impact activity that can get your muscles moving and your heart pumping.
For some new exercisers, a 10-minute walk is a great workout.
But after you reach a point where you can walk briskly for 20-40 minutes, more walking won’t improve your fitness much. That’s because your body has adapted to the effort, and you need to challenge it in a different way to earn more fitness.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t walk. You could try walking with a weighted vest or walking very swiftly or walking uphill. The key is changing something so you’re always working just a little harder than you did in the previous week or month.
But at some point, walking will cease to measurably improve your fitness. It isn’t “bad.” It’s just not as effective as you become fitter.
We might recommend walking at the start of your training, but when walking isn’t improving your cardio anymore, we would adjust the plan so you make progress again—perhaps with biking, swimming, running, rowing, skiing or stair climbing.
We’d also recommend pairing conditioning activities with strength training right from the start so you develop strength and power. Those aspects of fitness are important, too, and walking doesn’t improve them.
Walking doesn’t show up regularly in training plans for fit people, but that isn’t to say very fit people shouldn’t walk. Read on!
SUBHEAD: Do Fit People Need to Walk?
People who work out regularly in the gym often don’t “need” to walk, but they can still benefit from walking.
These fit people are doing appropriate cardio training and strength work regularly, and walking is no substitute for that. They need intensity to make progress. But walking can help fit people make progress toward certain goals.
For example, imagine a strong person who works out four times a week using weights and cardio machines. That same person drives to and from work, sits at a desk all day, and then crashes on the couch in the evening with a bag of snacks.
In some cases, that person won’t reach weight- or fat-loss goals because their overall activity is low even though they have regular bouts of intense exercise. They’re taking in too many calories and not burning enough energy.
For that person, a 40-minute evening walk might do two things:
- Simply burn more calories through non-exercise activity (NEA).
- Get the person away from the snacks and the couch, reducing caloric intake.
Walking won’t measurably improve a regular exerciser’s strength or conditioning, but it will increase daily movement dramatically, and that’s sometimes the key to weight loss.
I know some top athletes who work out very hard but still log a lot of steps because they have very specific body-composition goals, and walking fits in the training plan as “extra activity.”
In addition, movement has psychological and mood benefits, so pounding the pavement or treading a forest trail is never a bad idea. If you like being outdoors, go for a walk any time you feel like it, no matter how fit you are.
SUBHEAD: Tailored Training
In short, walking is most effective in the very early stages of a fitness program. It’s not a go-to activity for experienced exercisers, but it can complement work done in the gym if you have specific goals—or if you just enjoy getting outside and moving.
We tailor all our training plans to the needs of each client, and some plans will include walking. Others won’t, but almost everyone will do some sort of cardio training. It all depends on where you are in your fitness journey.
To talk about what activities are right for you and your goals, book a free consultation here today [LINK]!