Which is Better: Running or Walking?

 

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This is a pretty accurate depiction of how I feel that it is already Wednesday. I got more Whoopie! in my Wednesday than Sister Act.

So how are YOU doin’ my little love muffins! How’s your week going so far? Hot? Cold? Yes? No?

As I type this I am hoping that tomorrow will be a complete blizzard or that we get absolutely nothing. There’s nothing worse than getting up at 5 to realize you could have slept in for another whole hour. Then drive up a treacherous mountain crossing your fingers the car in front of you keeps up the 10 mile an hour pace and the 17 year old zipping down the road knows not to brake on a turn.

Phew, that was a wrist full. So everyone do me a favor and wear your PJs inside out for me. Fanks.

Welp, I wish I had more excitement to share with you from the past couple days, but I’m afraid my life is just packed to the gills with over the top nights of book reading, popcorn popping, and working. I did however spend my day off on Monday accomplishing a book full of work that required deep thoughts and life altering decisions.

Crayons or colored pencils? I mean, one false move and that cartoon picture of a star fish is nothing but a pile of sea garbage. I don’t mess around.

And if you’re wondering crayons won this round.

I did also get some extra exercise in cracka’ lackin’ some nuts while waiting for my popcorn to pop. Any guesses as to what kinda nut this is?

Hint: It’s an almond. D’oh!

Speaking of exercise, I’ve recently swapped my running for the Insanity workout which I’ll let you know I have completed the whole 60 days! But I’m not stopping there. Until I can feel my face while taking the 2 minutes to walk into work then I’ll consider strapping on the runners and hitting the road. For now I’ll torture myself to the countless planks, sprints, and pushups thank you very much.

I’d like to think a workout called Insanity is not wimping out for running in the cold. But trust me, you’ll be the first to know when I do.

Aside from that, one of my resolutions was to walk more throughout the day. My job is pretty sedentary which is a drastic change from the past 4 years of my life where I was able to walk everywhere and did just about every day.

I’ve made a good effort by parking further wherever I go, taking the long way to my office, and walking for at least 20 minutes first thing in the morning. So you may think with all these crazy exercises like CrossFit, Insanity, and even running, can walking really even be doing anything for my body? And my answer is…

Yes, ma’am!

 

Walking has a list of benefits associated with it and is a great start if you are just getting into the exercise routine. You know what they say…”No matter how slow you go, you’re going much faster than sitting on the couch.” I truly believe in that. The hardest step is the first and once a body is in motion, it stays in motion. Just ask Sir Issac Newton, he’ll tell ya the same thing.

 

So which is better, running or walking? Let’s explore!

What are the benefits of walking?

Not only does it get us from place to place, but walking is associated with a list full of health benefits as well. A regular walking routine (about at least 30 minutes per day) has been shown to decrease the risk of

-Diabetes

-Heart disease

and also help to

-Lower High Blood Pressure & cholesterol.

If that wasn’t enough it also helps strengthen your bones and act as a form of stress relief. I seriously always feel 100 times better about myself and my health after I get back from a walk. Another of my personal benefits is if you do it with a friend.

I spent almost an hour and a half walking with my friend over the weekend which flew by since we just got caught up in conversation. I always take that time to call someone I haven’t talked to in a while which makes the time fly by and I get to catch up at the same time.

One of the most interesting facts I found from a Harvard University Study in 2011 was how walking affects the older population. Did you know that after the age of 65 the speed of your walk determines how long you will live?

Yes, plenty of studies have shown that the faster you walk in old age the longer you will live. While it may be quite far away for a lot of you it was seriously a motivator for me even now to keep walking.

What’s better for me, running or walking?

Ah yes, the great debate. Which is better, running or walking? And I’ll give the vague answer of… it depends.

If you are looking for weight loss, running does in fact burn more calories than walking does since you are using more energy in a shorter amount of time. It has also been shown to decrease appetite more than walking does by releasing a specific hormone known as Peptide YY.

At the same time, there are some folks who simply can’t running for many different reasons. That doesn’t mean give it all up and forget about it though. Walking sure burns a heck of a lot more calories than sitting on the couch eating fro yo does.

One the other side, walking may be more beneficial than running in some aspects. First off, it is a lot lower impact which reduces the risk of injury and strain which could result in not being able to do any activity for an extended period of time. Another thing is that walking is actually better for you at preventing heart disease.

Studies have shown that running for 60 minutes per day decreases your risk for heart disease by 4.5%, but walking for the same amount of calorie burn decreases our risk by 9%. That’s double! Pretty impressive if I do say so myself.

So what’s the bottom line?

The way I like to look at it is to see where you are on the totem pole of health. If you are used to doing little to no exercise most of the time than walking is a great option to improve your health and reduce your risk for disease.

If you are relatively active, replacing your activity with walking isn’t going to result in weight loss or increased abilities. I would add walking to your daily activities regardless of where you are for the variety of benefits it is has been shown to have. I like to say, run while you can, walk if you can’t.

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Imagine how much you would miss it if you couldn’t walk anymore. No matter the reason I’d say walking is a winnah winnah walk before/after/during dinnah!

So that’s my schpeal about walking and why I love it so much. It puts me in such a good mood and right state of mind and makes me feel better about my health and that I’m able to walk. So get those steps in!

Make it a great day!

Are you a fan of walking?

Which do you prefer, walking or running?