With walking or running, will you burn the same amount of calories either way? Not quite! Speed is a factor in calories burned, and running is a slightly more intense exercise. Speed walking can technically burn the same amount of calories as jogging, but the walking pace would be very uncomfortable and difficult to maintain at nearly 5 mph. Jogging or running can burn nearly 50% more calories compared to a typical moderate walking pace.
High Intensity Interval Training (or HIIT) can help with burning visceral fat, or the fat deep inside your abdomen. This will have major health benefits such as reducing the potential for liver and pancreatic issues. Losing visceral fat might also make your belly appear smaller.
HIIT is when you alternate between walking, jogging, running, or sprinting, and you can use any combination of these. The important part is that you get your heart rate up in the most intense form of your workout, usually by sprinting, and then let it fall back down as you rest, usually by jogging or walking. HIIT is great for making your workout a bit easier, too, since you can take “breaks” between the hard parts.
That being said, it might be beneficial for you to walk rather than run. Walking is much less stressful on your joints, especially if you weigh more. It can also be easier to convince yourself to take leisurely walks instead of the pressure of going for a run.
You can also multitask while walking. You can talk with a friend while you walk together, listen to a podcast without distractions due to running, or even just be mindful and focused on the world around you. All of these strategies can help improve the mood and can even alleviate symptoms of depression.
Usually, we just want to do cardio to either drop weight or give ourselves more calories we can eat each day. There are so many other benefits to running or walking. Burning calories to lose weight has aesthetic benefits as well as obvious health benefits associated with returning to a regular BMI, but there are so many benefits that are beyond calories. Running or walking can:
Whether you want to make sure your heart stays healthy, improve your health to live a longer and healthier life, improve your mood, or burn calories, either running or walking are great exercises that have a myriad of benefits.
While running does burn significantly more calories than walking, it’s not your only option. You can run, jog, do HIIT cardio, or walk. There are also other cardio options such as biking, water aerobics, dancing, and so many more options to get moving! The important thing is that you pick something that works for you and your lifestyle.