Here at The Healthy Living and Fitness, we’ve decided to delve into the ongoing discussion about the benefits that running and walking provide when compared directly to one another. After all, both exercises are incredibly similar and share the same basic principles, however they aren’t as clear-cut as they may seem once you delve into the details. Read on to find out more…
Calories
Running involves speed and momentum which means that a person will burn a lot more calories undertaking this type of exercise as opposed to walking the exact same route. After all, you can cover a lot more ground when you are travelling at a faster speed. This means that running may be a suitable workout for those who are looking to lose a couple to pounds or want to squeeze into a new outfit sooner rather than later, whereas walking is a fitness approach that doesn’t show on the scales quite as quickly.
Injury Risk
On the other hand, runners are far more likely to suffer from an exercise related injury than walkers are because the repetitive motion and sheer force of hitting the pavement can put a lot of strain on your muscles and joints. Although walking involves the same basic movement as running, the impact on your body isn’t quite as intense and so the risk of falling, tripping or putting the muscles under strain is greatly reduced.
Confidence
Many people forget to factor the confidence that is often required in order to run outdoors into the equation, especially as a beginner, because it is not uncommon to feel like everybody is staring at you. Although they usually aren’t, running can be a daunting fitness activity which means that walking is much more versatile. In fact, one can even be used in order to slowly adjust to the other. The most important thing that you should take from this fitness analysis is that running and walking are two separate exercises that shouldn’t be pitted against one another in a bid to determine which is the cream of the crop. After all, it depends on the circumstance of each individual and how their fitness goals compare to the challenge of the workout at hand. To find out more information, get in contact with a member of The Healthy Living and Fitness team today