Both walking and running are two activities with many benefits.
But then which is the better of the two?
The best for what? The best for whom?
It all depends on your goals and your physical abilities.
To help you choose between these two sports, we present all their advantages and disadvantages, as well as some tips to promote weight loss.
Walking and running, two cardio activities with multiple benefits
Whether you opt for walking or running, in both cases, these activities are cardiovascularthat is to say that they act on the heart rate during progressive intensity training.
Cardio training offers many benefits:
- They improve the performance of the lungs and the heart which are better supplied with oxygen;
- They promote good physical condition and endurance;
- They strengthen the immune system;
- They reduce stress, anxiety and depression;
- They improve sleep quality, mood and self-esteem;
- They stimulate libido;
- They help burn calories and fat, thereby promoting weight loss;
- They reduce the risk of certain diseases: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart attack.
Advantages and disadvantages of running
Running requires good physical condition
One of the disadvantages of running is that it is not a sporting activity accessible to everyone.
To start running, you must already be in good physical condition, that is to say:
- Have a healthy heart and lungs, as it is a cardio sport that uses lung capacity and endurance,
- Do not have particular pain in the joints, because it is a high impact activity,
- Don’t be too overweight.
There is a higher risk of injury with running
If we compare walking to running, it must be recognized that, although the two sports activities are not to be considered extreme or dangerous sports, those who run are more prone to injuries than those who walk.
Indeed, a study (1) was carried out on a panel of 5327 participants, men and women combined, all of whom were either active walkers or active joggers.
The objective of this study was to examine and compare the risk of injury in walkers and runners.
It shows that injuries are significantly less in people who practice walking since men who jog have 4 times more likely to get injured.
In terms of injuries, the most common are:
- Tibial periostitis (shin pain),
- Achilles heel injuries
- Plantar fasciitis (pain in the tissue of the arch of the foot that can extend from the heel to the front of the foot).
Joggers live longer
As running has become an increasingly popular activity, numerous studies have been carried out to analyze the health benefits and in particular to verify whether this activity could limit the risk of mortality.
It appears, according to a study (2), that people who regularly jog live longer.
In effect :
- The death rate is higher in non-joggers than in joggers,
- The lifespan is extended by 6.2 years in men and 5.6 years in women,
- The risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced in runners.
Jogging burns many calories
Running is one of the most effective sports for burning fat and ultimately losing weight.
Running can burn around 800 calories per hour (depending on many factors like runner weight or running intensity), compared to just 100-150 calories when walking on flat ground.
It is therefore a slimming ally.
This probably explains why marathon runners have thin, lean bodies.
However, not everything is so simple, you know that it is the calorie deficit that governs weight loss, not the number of kilometers run per week.
The problem with a form of cardio like running is that you can go home starving and quickly regain the 500 kcal you’ve been struggling to lose, thinking “you’ve got it all right.” deserved these two Nutella tartoches”!
Remember several things:
- we are bad at estimating the number of calories burned (like our trackers) and often we overestimate the effort,
- we are just as bad at estimating the number of calories consumed and often, we underestimate the food,
- it is always easier to consume calories than to burn them.
In addition, after a running outing, we will generally be more likely to sit on the sofa and do nothing all day.
Moral: you can run regularly and still not lose weight, you have to know how to avoid the pitfalls.
Advantages and disadvantages of walking
Walking, a gentle activity for the body
We saw earlier that runners are more prone to injury than walkers.
But then, how can this be justified?
When running, the foot comes into contact with the ground more intensely than when walking, which accentuates the weight of the body to be supported.
Thus, with each stride, the knees, ankles and feet have to support 2.5 times the weight of the body, compared to only 1.2 times when walking.
This explains why it is much rarer to be injured when walking, the body being much less abused.
Thus, when you have pain in the joints of the lower limbs, or in the back, walking is a more recommended sport, because it does not aggravate the pain, nor does it create new dysfunctions.
Because of its softness, walking is therefore a sporting activity accessible to as many people as possible.
Walking allows you to vary the pleasures
Not everyone can or enjoys running.
Getting back on the walk is far from being a problem since there are many versions of so-called sports walks and it is therefore an opportunity to vary the pleasures and not get bored.
Fitness walking consists of walking normally, but at a more sustained pace, with long strides.
This allows you to walk at a speed of 6 to 8 km/h and eliminate between 250 and 350 kcal per hour.
It is possible to practice Nordic walking which is practiced with sticks.
This involves coordinating your arms and legs well, and has the advantage of using more muscles (arms, pecs, glutes, legs, etc.).
With Nordic walking, your speed is around 5 to 8 km/hour and you spend on average between 450 and 500 calories per hour.
Race walking is practiced both on the track and on the road and requires training, because it is not a natural walk.
The support leg must be well stretched and one of the two feet must be in contact with the ground with each step.
The arms, meanwhile, are bent at 90 degrees.
Thanks to this activity which is also an Olympic sport, you walk at a speed of 8 to 13 km/h and burn between 400 and 600 calories per hour.
The Afghan walk consists of walking over long distances and promotes good breathing and oxygenation, with a specific technique: we take 3 steps while inhaling through the nose, we keep the air for 1 step, we exhale through the nose during 3 steps, and we take 1 step with empty lungs.
The walking speed is around 3 to 4 km/h and helps to burn between 150 and 250 calories per hour.
Finally, with interval walking, you must alternate brisk walking at around 6 km/h with slower walking serving as a recovery phase and with a speed of around 3 to 4 km/h.
This activity, which is very beneficial for increasing your endurance and respiratory capacities, allows you to lose between 250 and 350 kcal/hour.
You feel less tired after walking
Running is a very physical activity, soliciting all the muscles and requiring great effort.
Result, the body needs after a session to rest, because it feels immense fatigue with a desire to stay on the sofa and sleep.
As a result, when you have an active life, when you have to go to work, take care of the children and be at your peak performance, running is not necessarily the most recommended activity.
Conversely, walking allows you to stay in great shape and feel a deep sense of well-being that will leave you active, efficient and motivated throughout the day.
Burning calories while walking requires a lot of time.
At least for the average person, race walkers are faster than most recreational runners!
It’s all about intensity.
That being said, it is generally accepted that we burn more calories with running than with walking, for equal duration.
So, if your goal is to slim your silhouette with walking, this means that you will have to practice this activity for several hours (or drastically increase the intensity), which can be relatively time-consuming.
But remember the hare and the tortoise, it’s not a sprint but a marathon! You can divide your walking hours into several sessions of tens of minutes per day.
Don’t forget muscle building
You want to lose a few pounds, and both walking and running will help you, to varying degrees. Your silhouette will become slimmer, that’s undeniable.
However, this does not mean that you will have a toned and muscular body, since walking and running will tend to dry you out, but not to tone or shape you.
So, if you want to carve a dream figure, we recommend that you add to your walking or running sessions:
- Weights (at the ankles or with a weighted vest), this will increase the resistance of your muscles and tone your glutes and legs;
- Sheathing, abs, buttocks sessions as well as push-ups if you want to increase your musculature in the shoulders and arms. This allows you to have a toned body by targeting the parts you want to work.
Conclusion: what to choose?
Is it better to walk or run to lose weight?
- a) Neither!
- b) The one you like.
- c) Both! Why choose if you like both
- d) Answer D.
The correct answer is all the answers!
Neither because to choose, you should take the calorie deficit, without it, no weight loss possible!
Answer b because obviously you should always do a physical activity that you enjoy, it is the key to regularity, long term and therefore, results.
Finally, the answer c because choosing is giving up, and we want the best of both worlds.
Is it better to do 3 7 km jogs a week or walk 10,000 steps a day?
Both !
Do 3 sessions per week, but be active every day.
To go further, I let you read: Goodbye belly: here is the only exercise you need for a flat stomach for life.
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