Walking can be the ideal leisure sport. It not only stimulates fat burning but also improves people’s health and mood.
Just 100 years ago, people had to walk an average of 20 kilometers each day to fulfill their daily obligations. Today, the situation is very different and the percentage of people with a profession that requires physical effortis only 10%.
While our ancestors often expended more calories than they could ingest, the energy balance of our modern society has been reversed. And not only that, while the physical demands on work have decreased, the psychological burden has been increasing. A large percentage of the working population complains of stress and suffers from mental imbalances and lack of movement.
A good remedy against these “collateral damages” of modern life may be walking. Because not only does it help us get away from a sedentary lifestyle, but it also favors themaintenance of a good state of health, helps manage stress and why not, it can also contribute to weight loss.
In today’s article, we will explain, hand in hand with science, why walking slims, what is the best way to practice it and we will see some of its benefits.
- To know more: “12 consequences of sedentary lifestyle for your health”
Does walking help you lose weight?
Walking is considered a physical activity, which depending on the pace and distance traveled can result in an exercise of lower or greater intensity. In addition, all physical exercise involves a caloric expenditure and, therefore, walking as well.
As walking is a caloric expenditure, it is an activity that can help you lose weight. However, nutritionists indicate that thisbenefit depends on other factors, such as the nutritional intake and the type of metabolism of each person.
For example, if you are a person who has always remained physically active, whether cycling or running, and suddenly you turn walking into your only exercise, you may not notice its slimming effects as much. If, on the other hand, you are a person with sedentary habits, you may notice more its effects in what does the control of body mass.
Similarly, people with unhealthy eating habits maynot get the expected results. That is, if you want to walk to lose weight but do not take care of other aspects necessary to enjoy good cardiovascular health, such as a good diet and correct rest habits, the benefits of walking will be less visible.
- You might be interested in: “15 ways to lose weight (healthy and beyond exercise)”
Why does walking lose weight?
Walking can help generate a caloric deficit, which in a nutshell meansexpending more calories than are ingested. In most cases, for the maintenance of an adequate body composition, it is necessary that the energy expenditure is in direct proportion with the daily intake of calories.
Therefore, it is vital to relate all the activities that an individual performs during the day with their diet. In addition, it is important that the calories ingested by the person cover the demand for energy. To facilitate this task, Sports Science has developed a method that allows to determine quite accurately the individual energy expenditure in different activities.
To do this, themetabolic rate (also known as MET) is used to quantify the particular physical intensity of each activity. It is a physiological measure that expresses the energy expenditure of an individual’s body at rest, or in other words, the amount of energy that the body uses when one is sitting quietly reading a book.
From this state, METs increase according to the intensity of physical activity. For example, a very light activity that does not involve too much effort such as showering, shaving or cooking represents about 3 METs, which means that the body expends 3 times more energy than if it were at rest. Therefore, the more the body works during a physical activity, the higher the MET level at which it is working and the greater the caloric deficit that will be generated.
Broadly speaking, physical activity could be grouped into 4 large groups according to their intensity: there are very light activities (equivalent to 3 METs), moderate (3 to 6 METs), heavy (6 to 9 METs) and very heavy (greater than 9 METs). Rugby and swimming would be examples of very heavy activities, while playing football or climbing a hill would be heavy exercises.
And where is it to walk? Well, walking is halfway between the first group and the second, although if it is done at a fast pace, so that the heart rate accelerates a little, it is considered a moderate physical exercise and, therefore, is equivalent to3 to 6 METs.
To know the amount of calories expended, simply multiply the number of METs involved in physical activity by a person’s body weight. In this way, a person weighing 60 kg who walks (5 METs), will have consumed 300 calories. A person with a higher body weight consumes more calories, because he has to move a greater mass at each step.
Walking and burning fat
The production of energy in our muscle cells is carried out in the presence of oxygen (aerobic activities) or without oxygen (anaerobic activities), always depending on the effort made.
It is important to walk regularly, with a moderate intensity and within aerobic limits, since in this way, the body will primarily use the energy fromfat depositsand not only from existing carbohydrate reserves (which are quickly accessible). When mitochondria, organelles that act as powerhouses for our cells, have a sufficient supply of oxygen, fat burning can work at a very good pace.
This does not happen with anaerobic exercises (performing a sprint so as not to miss the train is an example). They are activities that the muscle can perform without oxygen, since the body uses the carbohydrates deposited in the muscle cells to be able to make the efforts at maximum speed, but does not use the stored fats.
For this reason, fitness walking experts recommend that the speed is consistent with the length of the route. If you go too quickly, aerobic performance may decrease and activity may become anaerobic. Therefore, the longer the distance, the lower the speed. Only then will the aerobic supply work. In addition to not losing your breath, you will be improving your endurance and the degradative metabolism of fats will go from strength to strength.
- We recommend you read: “Exercise: 12 benefits and other reasons to move”
The benefits of walking
Walking two to three hours per weekcan result in an additional 800 to 1,000 calories in calories, meeting recommended health criteria. According to the World Health Organization, walking can not only help us lose weight, but also reduces cholesterol and the risk of pathologies associated with hypertension, while delaying aging and increasing strength, flexibility and balance.
Studies indicate that lack of exercise is almost as bad for your heart assmoking 20 cigarettes a day, having high blood pressure or a lot of cholesterol. Certain organizations, faced with this data, recommended that people walk quickly. So now you know: move your legs to move your heart.
It’s the most accessible, easy, and cheapest way to get in shape for most people. It does not involve difficulty or much demand, and that makes it very attractive for people of all ages. It only requires good footwear and a little technique. In addition, there are many people who already practice walking as a fitness modality, being Cher or Arnold Schwarzenegger famous personalities who practice it.
Certain experts indicate that running cannot be used as an exercise for life, since the body was not designed for running. Biomechanical studies indicate that, with running, the feet hit the ground with a force 4 times greater than body weight, while with walking the impact is considerably reduced.
In addition, walking has multiple benefits when it comes totaking care of mental health. When it comes to stress, you can acquire two behaviors. One is given filling the body with coffee, cigarettes and alcohol to try to perform more or escape, but it is known that this only makes things worse. The second is based on becoming more active to release stress naturally. Also, although yoga or other meditative exercises are often recommended, walking can also be very good for maintaining emotional well-being.
Aerobic walking can be a powerful therapeutic tool. Hippocrates, father of the medical profession, 2,500 years ago already said that walking was the best medicine. Shakespeare also noted, “A lap or two, I will walk to placate my agitated mind.” The gentle rocking of the arms back and forth has a similar effect to Zen meditation and can help balance the mind and counteract the damaging effects of accumulated stress.
References
- Bös Klaus. (2008). “Walking and gentle running”. Editorial Hispano Europea.
- Snowdon L., Humphreys M. (2001). “Walking and losing weight.” Tutor Editions.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.