Walking

[speccy1]

Interesting responses here. I`m not doing it for the sole purpose of losing weight, but if it could be a side effect of the walking that would be good. My commute every day is 23 miles so the walk is just supplementing it. It`s very peaceful around here and it wraps the day up nicely

 

[NorvernRob]

I walk between 6 and 10 miles briskly every day (I'm a postie). I've always eaten anything I want, and a lot of it. However as I got a bit older (I'm 38) I also slowly put on weight, I had been 71-72kg all my adult life but early last year I was 75/76kg.

I then started cycling and by the end of the year was 67/68kg, the lightest I've been since I was a teenager. The two things seem to compliment each other well, but I've also started running so I might even waste away some more yet!

 

[Roadhump]

I fell off my bike a couple of weeks ago and since then my shoulder causes me too much pain when I cycle. I have started walking for an hour a day to make sure I get some exercise until I can get back on the bike. I have read quite a bit over the years about walking, and it is generally considered to be very good for you and with enough of it you can lose weight. Although it is some time since I read about it and therefore my recollection is hazy I recall reading that it is not as straightforward as the more calories you burn resulting in proportionally more weight loss.

Whilst you will burn more calories per time unit when cycling than you do when walking, there is a heart rate range that causes your body to burn fat more efficiently (i think it is up to about 75% of you maximum heart rate, although I would have to go back and check). Not all calories that you burn are fat, some can be food and muscle tissue. When cycling, especially when pedalling hard, you will almost certainly exceed that rate, so you won't burn the same proportion of fat calories. You will probably burn far more calories overall when cycling including a lot of fat ones, but walking is good for weight loss if you are prepared to put the time in.

 

[nickyboy]

That's because it takes 5 times as long!
Walking at a fast pace you could probably manage 5 miles in just over an hour, the same time on a bike might equate to 15-16 miles for the average cyclist. Betcha the hour's cycling would burn more calories!

Sure an hour cycling uses more energy that an hour walking. But that wasn't the question. Transport me 5 miles, which method uses less energy, cycling or walking? Answer is cycling because riding a bike converts energy used into forward motion more efficiently than walking (and don't get me started on running which is very inefficient, all that bobbing up and down)

 

[BriF]

I love walking, probably as much as cycling. Having 2 dogs is a great incentive to get a walk in and if I'm not at work I'll regularly walk 6 or 7 miles. I'm fortunate in that a couple of hundred yards from our house is an endless number of fields and lanes with access where I can let the dogs off the lead and generally enjoy my walking. Very few people use these paths, the ones that do are invariably fellow dog walkers and most of the dogs around here are friendly and like to run and play together, so all is good.

 

[MichaelW2]

I tend to cycle everywhere, which is probably not good. I like to throw in a bit of walking for variety, and to prevent my walking muscles from atrophying completely.
I used to occasionally walk my 2x6 mile cycle commute, esp in snow but I don't think I would do that every day.
If the works lockup is secure, you can walk one leg (sic) and ride the other.

 

[ColinJ]

I had to have a blood test done today in Mytholmroyd which is about 2 miles from here. I am not going to mess about getting a bus there and back and I don't drive, so my choice is either to cycle there or to walk there. It hardly seems worthwhile using the bike for such a short distance, and I'd be paranoid leaving it outside while I waited to be seen (over 45 minutes wait today!) so I power-walk instead. I've got it down to about 25 minutes each way. Any quicker than that and I would be tempted to jog, but I would get there all sweaty and my ageing hips probably wouldn't thank me.

I'm amazed at how little walking many people do these days. It is such a good form of exercise, it saves money, and if you find somewhere nice to walk it can be fun.

 

[Mo1959]

I love walking too. Mind you, with a dog you don't have much choice but I like to think I would still walk even without her. It's quite good for easing the muscles after you have been running or cycling too.