Recommendation: Walk at a fast pace for at least 30 minutes on at least 3 days per week. Walking can be broken up (three 10-minute walks) or all at once (one 30-minute walk). If you’re able to, sprint at full speed for 20-30 steps several times during your walk to increase heart rate.
When I started researching this topic, I was a jogger. I was certain the key to exercise was getting heart rate up for long periods of time; walking was only good for digestion. Even during this research I read data that seemed to support this thinking. ((Comparisons of leisure-time…)) And even now, I’m still not sure of the healthiest way to exercise, but I found lots of evidence suggesting almost any physical activity lowers disease risk and increases general well-being. I learned the most important step is the first step, and over time small amounts of light activity each day can provide seriously valuable benefits, like more time with your grandkids later on.
Don’t Make The ‘Perfect’ The Enemy Of The ‘Good’
Don’t spend time thinking about the perfect exercise routine. Just move. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week, or a mix of the two. ((Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight)) I found several studies supporting that idea. In a population of 55,137 people (average age 44 yrs) runners enjoyed a 30% decrease in all-cause mortality and 45% lower risk of dying from a heart issue. ((Leisure-Time Running Reduces…)) Significant benefits were even seen with as little as 51 minutes per week, and there was benefit to running a lot vs a little, but it wasn’t significant. Another study of 72,488 women concluded walking and vigorous exercise equally increased heart health, and that the best benefit was seen in women who combined the two. ((A prospective study of walking…)) In a comparison of walking and jogging, both 6-month exercise programs increased endurance (measured by VO2max) significantly. ((Jogging or walking…)) Another study compared the effects of exercising for one 30-minute period of time vs three 10-minute workouts at different parts of the day. Again, both types of workout increased fitness among middle-aged men. ((Training effects of long versus short…))
Possible Benefits To Walking
Brisk walking was shown to reduce heart rate, blood pressue, and stress hormones (urinary catecholamines/salivary cortisol) similarly to Tai Chi. ((Efficacy of Tai Chi, brisk walking…)) Walking was also showed to raise VO2max similarly to jogging, but also to have a bigger impact on waist-hip ratio, especially when you break up long walks into multiple short walks during the day. ((Jogging or walking…)) ((Training effects of short and long bouts…)) One study showed walking to have a slightly greater ability to lower cardiovascular disease risk in women, compared to vigorous exercise. ((Walking Compared with Vigorous Exercise…)) Light physical activity has been effective at lowering insulin resistance and increasing heart health independent of moderate/vigorous activity among different populations. ((Light intensity physical activity…)) ((A case-control study…)) In 2011 and 2014 analyses of previous studies showed that just 15 minutes per day is associated with a 10-14% decrease in all-cause mortality. ((Minimal Amount of Exercise…)) ((Minimum amount of physical activity…)) The 2011 study of 416,175 people from 1996-2008 showed a 4% decrease in mortality for each additional 15 minutes of daily exercise. Multiple studies have aslo showed that it doesn’t matter if you exercise all at once or multiple times per day. However, multiple shorter workouts may be better for weight loss but single long workouts may be better for emotional health. ((The effects of short vs long…)) ((Training effects of short and long…))
Jogging Gives Walking A Run For Its Money
As the first study I cited shows, cardiorespiratory fitness may be more important than just physical activity. Another study shows jogging benefits one measure of cholesterol (HDL-C) more than lighter exercise. ((Jogging or walking…)) Also, running is obviously more beneficial to fitness by-the-minute. You might have to walk two to four times as long to get the same benefit as jogging. ((Minimal Amount of Exercise…)) Furthermore, that study showed the benefits of walking to peak at 105 minutes–at which time it still didn’t reak the maximum benefit of running (45 minutes/day). If time is a factor, it’s a no-brainer that jogging is a more efficient way to get healthy.
Potential Dangers Of Jogging
Runners often complain of joint pain, probably because a slow jog (when you’re kind of ‘bouncing’ with each step) raises the force on your joints, maybe over 50% more than walking or sprinting. ((Relationship between vertical ground force…)) This obviously increases injury risk, mirrored by the rate of injuries among novice runners especially. ((A Prospective Study on Time…)) That’s why I now prefer a mix of walking and sprinting over jogging, and after about a week, I’ve actually noticed less foot discomfort even though I spend more time out of breath. It also might be easier than you think to over-do it with endurance exercise–over 3 hours/week of endurance sports appears to significantly impact heart function. ((Long-term endurance sport…))
Still Not The Whole Picture
There are several factors at play when comparing the health benefits of different exercise. Blood glucose, weight management, and metabolism are probably all affected differently by walking vs running. Even gut bacteria might be harmed with excessive exercise. ((Catecholamine induced growth)) But that science is beyond the scope of this article. I just wanted to know if it’s worthwhile to walk even once in awhile or if I had to be sweating heavily to get any benefits. As the data piled up, it became clear that regular physical activity of any intensity improves health, but the potential injury/wear from jogging puts it in the ‘in moderation’ camp along with stuff like alcohol, at least for me.
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