Hard to losing weight by ignoring sport.
Therefore, a question arises: which discipline should you choose to increase your chances of success? There marcheaccessible, but energy efficient?
The runningmore difficult, but more effective?
In this article, we invite you to look in detail at the advantages and disadvantages of each practice, with one objective: to help you fight excess pounds for good!
Successfully losing weight: calorie deficit, one of the keys to success
If you want to lose weight, your main goal is to burn more calories than you consume.
This is called the “ calorie deficit ».
To do this, several levers must be activated at the same time, mainly rebalancing your diet and increasing your daily physical activity.
The regular practice of a sport is an essential part of weight loss, because it contributes to increasing energy expenditure and therefore entering a calorie deficit.
As a result, your body draws on its fat reserves and you start to lose weight.
Both walking and running are valuable allies in the hunt for excess pounds.
However, a question arises: Between walking and running, which is more effective when it comes to losing weight?
Running: advantages and disadvantages in the weight loss process
Running: one of the best sports for burning calories
In the top slimming activities, running is one of the most effective sports for losing weight.
In fact, running allows you to burn on average 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per kilometer.
Depending on your weight and running speed, you will be able to eliminate nearly 1,400 calories per hour, although the average is more around 800 to 1,000 calories.
A result which allows it to assert itself as a true slimming ally.
Other benefits of running to lose weight
Very energy-intensive, running offers many slimming benefits.
Compared to other sports, it allows in particular to burn calories in as little time as possible.
Ideal if you only have a little time to carry out effective sessions.
Furthermore, the practice of running contributes to tone and sculpt the silhouette.
Beyond losing fat, you will quickly see your stomach and thighs become slimmer.
So, by running, you will not only lose fat, but you will also gain muscle.
In the long term, running regularly allows you to increase your basic metabolism, find daily balance and thus avoidyoyo effect.
Running: a progressive approach that causes frustration
Running is a demanding sport, often difficult to access for people who are not very athletic.
As a beginner runner, it will indeed be difficult to run long enough and often enough to begin effective weight loss..
Starting running requires a gradual approach, at the risk of causing injury.
This risk increases even more in the event of overweight.
Indeed, running is a sport with repeated impacts that puts a strain on the muscles, joints, tendons and ligaments.
In case of injury fast, no more training and weight loss goals, at least initially. A common consequence which can be discouraging and slow you down in your good resolutions.
Walking: advantages and disadvantages in a weight loss process
A daily walk, the best way to maintain a healthy brain
Walking is a great alternative to running. Particularly accessible, it also allows you to start the process of eliminating excess pounds.
Certainly, over an equivalent training time and even while walking quickly, you won’t burn as many calories as running (on average two and a half times less), but you can multiply the sessions.
Easy, accessible and non-traumatic for the joints, it allows you to accumulate hours of practice, with a lower risk of injuryaches and/or pain.
Therefore, it turns out to be much easier to walk than to run every day, especially if the sport remains a distant memory to this day.
Once you get started, you can also benefit from agreat room for improvement by working on the quality of your outputs.
Here are some levers at your disposal:
Gradually increase your pace, setting yourself an average speed of 6 km/h as your first objective. Certain forms of walking, notably power walking, can even exceed 9 km/h with appropriate technique and training. At this speed, the difference in calories burned between walking and running is considerably reduced.
Take uphill portions. Consider varying your routes by including climbs on your route, which are extremely effective in reducing excess weight and muscle toning. If you’re practicing on a mat, tilt it to get the same effect.
Practice Nordic walking. Using a stick allows you to engage your upper body to work all the muscles. The result: a toned body from top to bottom, protected joints in the lower limbs and more calories burned.
Put on a weighted vest. Getting 5% to 10% heavier is a simple technique to increase the efficiency of outings and boost your weight loss while walking.
Running remains more effective than walking for losing weight
You would have understood it, there is no clear-cut answer to choose between walking and running when you want to lose weight.
This depends on several parameters, including your physical condition, your goals, but also the time available for your training sessions.
However, let us point out some important information here: according to scientific studies carried out on the subject, running is more effective for losing weight.
In other words: for the same number of calories burned, running would result in greater weight loss than walking (1).
The explanation could be found in the more sustained intensity of the effort, associated with better regulation of appetite and an increase in metabolism after the session.
Combining walking and running: the ultimate combo for losing weight
To conclude on this subject, the answer to the initial question would be less to choose between walking and running than to combine the two.
Thus, thealternating running-walkingby combining intensity, progressiveness and regular activity, proves to be a profitable strategy for losing weight.
An appropriate solution which then allows you to increase your training volume while reducing the risk of injury.
In this case, you can alternate walking and running sessions, but also alternate the two activities during the same workout.
« Greater Weight Loss from Running than Walking during a 6.2-yr Prospective Follow-up », Williams, Paul T., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exerciseavril 2013.
Updated by Quentin on: 02/22/2024
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