So WHY is walking so good again? page

[mcsnick]

So I've been walking instead of running and I really like that the whole rest of my day isn't ruined because I'm so tired (how it was with running.) It feels more like relaxation than a workout. But why is it so good again? The only thing I can remember from the book is that low intensity exercise doesn't increase your appetite.

[lssanjose]

What happens with impacted movements over time is, affected joint health. I've met people who ended up with bad knees from running. One of Bruce Lee's students says he used a trampoline after he succumbed to bad knees.

[J. Stanton]

Walking is significantly associated with better brain function as you get older. The "just so story" is is that walking "turns on" parts of your brain associated with "hey, we're going somewhere new, we'd better look around and see if there's anything important or tasty here".

Specifically, these things don't seem to happen during bicycle riding: apparently it's the walking motion that does it.

[denbro01]

Because you are moving your body without raising your heartrate, plus like you said, it's relaxing.

[BR1986FB]

Off topic but the thing I like the most about walking is that it spares most of the hard earned muscle that I've gained. Can't say the same about distance running.

[GrockinOut]

Off topic but the thing I like the most about walking is that it spares most of the hard earned muscle that I've gained. Can't say the same about distance running.

this is also why i walk and sprint, and don't run (often). I most admit that I like going on long runs and bike rides though once or twice a week. (Definitely not chronic!)

[Grumpycakes]

Because when you sit around all day, your body starts to think that there is something terribly wrong, like maybe you are trapped or incapacitated, or it's the dead of winter and you are hunkering down, and so it's more generous about storing fat and just concentrating on basic survival at the expense of developing and maintaining higher functions. But when you walk a lot, you're basically behaving as a proper human being should. It's not that walking is some wonderful miracle exercise, it's that sitting around for hours at a time is really awful. And it's better than running for all the reasons everyone else has already mentioned.

[js290]

Physical activity that relieves stress is generally good.

[gordo]

It's not the walking per se, it's that you aren't overdoing it. Most people run too fast for their fitness level and go anaerobic. If you keep your heart rate down in the moving slowly range, running won't ruin your day either. If you're not fit enough to do that, walking or walk/run is a good way to work up to it.

Gordo

[tfarny]

Walking keeps you in the oxidative aerobic "fat burning zone" which most joggers jog their way out of. A long walk in the morning before eating anything has got to be my #1 fat loss recommendation.
Also, I agree with everything already said. For all these reasons, walking is a basic, necessary human activity.