Running is optional. Why is walking better for health and…

Running is now one of the most popular sports. This is a relatively easy and affordable way to keep fit. However, walking at a fast pace, according to some experts, is much healthier: it helps prevent diseases of the cardiovascular system and has fewer contraindications. We understand how walking at a fast pace affects the body.

Prevent heart and vascular diseases. In 2016, scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California found that walking is a more effective prevention of heart disease than running. The researchers compared the performance of runners from 18 to 80 years old and those who prefer regular walks at a brisk pace. It turned out that walking reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 9%, and running by 4.5%. At the same time, the load on the joints when walking is lower, which is important for older people.

Active walks in the fresh air activate blood flow, strengthen the heart and bones, tone muscles, improve sleep and lung function. In addition, they help relieve tension and fight stress.

For best results, walk for 30-60 minutes every day. Exactly to do. A leisurely walk is not a good workout if you want to increase endurance or burn calories. The step should be active, warming, so that the skin becomes covered with light perspiration. The speed can be increased gradually. If shortness of breath occurs, it is better to slow down the pace. The optimal distance for a walk is 6-10 kilometers.

Virtually no contraindications. Running perfectly strengthens muscles and increases endurance, but also has a number of contraindications:

● overweight (due to the high load on the spine and knee joints);

● cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure and others);

● joint problems (osteochondrosis, intervertebral hernia, arthritis);

● varicose veins.

Walking has almost no limits. You can start with it to tone your muscles before running workouts. It is essential for those who lead a sedentary lifestyle. This is the optimal load even for people suffering from diabetes and asthma.

Helps burn fat and build muscle

When running and active walking, the same muscles are involved: the gluteal, calf and tibial muscles, as well as the quadriceps and muscles of the back of the thigh. However, running is more energy intensive. For an hour of walking at a fast pace, a person weighing 70 kg burns an average of 300-400 kcal. A 60-minute run allows you to get rid of 400-800 calories, depending on the intensity of the loads. Jogging, for example, is not as effective as interval running.

However, when losing weight, it is important not only how many calories you burn, but also what reserves the body uses during training. There is a term "fat burning zone" - this is a certain pulse of contractions, in which subcutaneous fat is actively burned. Calculated using the formula: (220 - your age) * 70%. If you are 40 years old, then the heart rate for burning fat will be 126: (220-40) * 0.7.

But is this kind of cardio effective for weight loss? In cardio, the body receives energy from two sources: fat and glycogen (carbohydrates that are stored in the body). At almost any heart rate, the body burns both, but the proportion of each source will vary, depending on the intensity of the training. At the lightest intensity (like slow walking) energy comes almost 100% from fat. At high levels (such as running up stairs quickly) energy is almost 100% from carbohydrates. By accelerating, we burn proportionately less fat and more carbohydrates. Slowing down - on the contrary: more fat and less carbohydrates.

There is a heart rate at which the highest percentage of calories burned from fat. But there is one point: just because more fat is being used on a percentage basis, it doesn't mean that a lot of fat is being wasted overall. For example, you walk slowly for an hour at a speed of 3 km / h and burn 300 calories, almost all of them from fat. If you run at 9 km/h for an hour, you burn 900 calories. But the proportion of fat is only half, the rest is carbohydrates. In percentage terms, you burned less fat (only 50%), but in absolute terms - more, 450 calories.

Training in the fat burning zone does not burn more fat in absolute terms. But few people can run for an hour without stopping, and those who can usually do not need to lose weight. Therefore, a more relaxed cardio is recommended, which can be done for a long time and not get tired.

The intensity of training also depends on fitness: beginners should start at a slower, low-intensity pace, and the “fat burning zone” is perfect for this.

In general, walking is not as effective for weight loss as running. The same can be said about the development of endurance. However, it is definitely safer, especially for beginners. Not only muscles are not prepared for running, but also the heart and lungs. For many, even 5 minutes of jogging - and already fainting, the heart jumps out. A gradual increase in load works here, as in strength training, and there are many options to do it safely: cycling, ellipse, walking uphill. We lose weight from lack of energy. You can eat less and move more. Both are better, but any activity is suitable, not necessarily running, where for beginners there are more risks than benefits. Instead, you can quickly work out on other simulators: cycling, ellipse, walking uphill, and just walking more.