Walking is better then running?-really?

[rabid hamster]

I just read on a website that if you want to lose weight, walking is better then running, because "when you run short of breath and have to breath deeply (anerobic exercise), your body will burn sugar and not as much fat."

 

is this true?

 

edit: another question..

 

"ABS- If you sit a lot at your job or at home, you probably have a flabby stomach. In order to tighten your abdonimal muscles / stomach, you should: stand or sit with a tall posture, and hold your stomach in as much as possible. The best exercise you can do during the day to tighten your abs is: When you exhale, pull your stomach in, pushing the air out. Pull your stomach in tightly and a little quickly, then let it out naturally while you breath air back in the lungs. Pulling the stomach in tightly acts to push the air out of your lungs as you build your ab muscles. "

 

I already do crunches, but i can't do this at school or anything... but this does work right? sorry im a little skeptical with some websites nowadays since a lot of them have false information.

[Jack]

That is true. A walk is sometimes not enough though, so make it a brisk walk or light jog for losing fat. For the fastest adaptations in cardiovascular fitness however, running and interval-sprint training are superior, and do lead to impressive fatburn also - not during the time of exercise, but afterwards through the increase in metabolism, testosterone, and GH levels.

[rabid hamster]

sorry im a little confused. so if i want to lose weight, it's better for me to walk at a brisk pace right? but if i want endurance (i think that's what you mean by cardiovascular fitness) it's best for me to run? thanks.

[KickChick]

It doesn't matter whether you walk or run ... let me explain,

 

Fat is a good source of fuel at low-intensity exercises when your breathing rate and oxygen use can keep up with the demands of the exercise. (aeobic)

 

Carbs are better suited as a fuel source during high-intensity efforts, such as running when breathing rate or oxygen needs fall short of the energy demands of the exercise. (anaerobic)

 

True, when you walk, fat is the primary fuel source, burning 60-70 per cent calories. Carbs or glucose makes up whats left to burn.

 

Going from a walking pace to a jog ...your muscles burn more calories per minute, and a shift begins towards carbs supplying more energy than fat.

 

The type of fuel you burn for energy depends on the intensity of the exercise you do..... which means you proportionally burn more carbs and less fat as you go from a jog, to a run.

 

The contribution of fat to the fuel mix drops as you increase your effort, and carb burning increases.

 

At very high intensity, such as a a marathon pace, strictly carbs are burned. This is why marathon runners load up on carbs days before the big race!

 

Your fitness level plays an important part on how much fat and carbs you burn. When you start to run the goal is for your muscles to become better fat burners. This mean that at a given running pace, you burn more fat and less carbs than you burned when you were less fit but running the same pace.

 

When you increase your fat-burning ability, you also increase your ability to run comfortably for a longer period of time therefore burning more calories. This happens because your muscles and liver can only store a limited amount of glycogen ...enough to fuel about 90 minutes to just over two hours of continuous exercise. So if you can burn more fat while running, you save some glycogen so that you can run longer.

 

So you may think that walking is better for fat loss and weight loss but really this isn't true.

 

There is a rule when it comes to losing body fat: You must burn more calories than you eat. Doing so creates an energy deficit that prompts your body to take fat out of storage, and you lose weight. Any exercise burns calories, and any exercise can contribute to fat loss as long as you have an energy deficit over time.

 

While walking (or any low intensity exercise) burns more fat and running (high-intensity exercises) burns mostly carbs, what your body burns as fuel after you work out also contributes your fat loss.

 

After a high-intensity cardio/anaerobic workout, the body burns more fat to compensate for lost glycogen stores as they are being refilled and the body recovers from the tough exercise session.

 

This revved-up fat burning may continue for more than 24 hours, depending upon the exercise effort.

 

Also, high-intensity exercise burns more calories per minute than "slow" activities. So you burn more calories while exercising ... thus you will lose more weight!

 

The bottom line is when it comes to exercise and fat loss, any exercise will do running or walking.... high or low intensity....or both as in an interval routine maintaining "walk breaks".

[rabid hamster]

thanks so much for the info KickChick. That cleared things up.