When is walking considered a workout?

[anoncord]

Hi! I’ve posted on here before about how moving more as a petite person truly made all the difference in moving the needle (literally) in terms of weight loss instead of a severely restrictive diet alone (for me, personally).

TLDR; I’m just wondering what people consider a “workout” when walking.

I usually walk about 6 miles back and forth from work (3 there, 3 back). I live in nyc and the weather’s been beautiful … but bc I’ve been doing this for so long (and it’s cool outside), my heart rate barely gets above 105 (average 98bpm), so I hesitate to call it cardio/LISS and more so consider it as part of NEAT.

However, sometimes when I feel lazy or feel tired, I know I still got those 6 miles in … but I don’t want to keep falling back on that excuse because it doesn’t feel like exercise.

I started lifting heavy again and was planning on doing a 3 day split + LISS on off days - would be walking on a treadmill w elevation for 45 min (on top of the 6mi walk)

However, I don’t want to overdo it. I started noticing a pattern that if I lifted in the evenings, it was putting a strain on my body/elevating cortisol, and I would wake up at 3am. And on days I didn’t work out in the evening, I’d sleep through the night.

I know I could/should start working out in the AM to test it out, but I also feel like my body is very sensitive to stress, and just wanted to see what other people experienced when upping their movement by a lot + incorporating intense workouts.

 

[catdawgkimberly]

@anoncord 6 miles a day is no joke. I would definitely count it. I count any walk that's longer than 10min haha (I have a desk job). Maybe try switching out your LISS for yoga if you want movement other than your daily walk on your lifting off days and to give your legs a break.

As far as late night workouts, I definitely sleep better working out in the morning. But, if that's not possible, there are lots of studies on sleep. And one of the biggest ones is a consistent routine. I would also look into that and finding ways to physically prepare yourself to sleep after working out.

 

[tanilis]

@anoncord People saying walking isn’t a workout, trust me, you would notice if you suddenly stopped walking like you are.

 

[gregltegman]

@anoncord Hm. I would (personally and arbitrarily if I'm honest) consider walking to be exercise but not a work-out per se. No I can't actually define the difference

 

[jamsie]

@anoncord If your pace is brisk enough that you have a consistent elevation in HR, it could easily be cardio.

 

[pollyjetix]

@anoncord I think people would define the daily commute differently, whether as cardio or NEAT. I have heard that we can adapt to be more efficient performing any exercise over a period of time, which is why people recommend a form of progressive overload. It sounds like you are primarily asking how to increase your exercise without disrupting your sleep.

There are other ways that you can test this. It could be the timing, but also intensity of your exercise? Other factors could be are you eating more to fuel yourself, and if there is additional stress or caffeine consumption in your life. When I increased my workouts while on a caloric deficit, I had to eat more - however, my effects were not interrupted sleep at the time, it was because I was more tired than usual.

 

[jg_lrd]

@anoncord Walking 3 miles burns about the same amount of calories as running 3 miles, but you are right, for cardiovascular fitness, walking doesn't do much. You have to do something that gets your heart rate up... way up. That can still be walking if you do it fast enough or in an incline.

Most of the experts recommend getting a few hours a week steady state cardio. This is sometimes called zone 2 or gear 2. After listening to lots of podcasts (Dr. Galpin and Dr. Attia), this kind of cardio should be something you can substaine for at least 30 minutes, and you should be able to nasal breath and engage in breathy conversations (but the other person will definitely know you are working out). For me, this is jogging or walking at 10% incline at around 2.8 mph right now. My heart rate needs to be in the 150s, but I am comfortable at around 160. It varies a lot per person.

They also say that to increase your VO2 max, you should occasionally get your heart rate all the way up with intervals, so I do interval runs at least once a week where I run all out for 1-3 minutes then walk to recover a few times.

After I took up running and started doing a lot more intense cardio, I feel so much healthier it is crazy. I feel like I can eat more as well. I also do resistance training (I need to join a gym so I can lift) and walk a lot. If I feel too stressed physically, I just take a day off or do yoga. I did start supplementing with creatine recently to help with recovery and soreness. I think it is helping.

 

[mamzer123]

@anoncord I don’t consider walking a work out. I walk 5-8+ miles every day. It’s just part of living and going about my daily life.

I would consider hiking a work out. Maybe regular walking if done with the intention of it being a work out, with an elevated heart rate, and not at a leisurely pace. But just going for regular old walk or walking some place? I wouldn’t count that. That’s regular old life. The only people I see who count walking as exercise are overweight, out of shape, inactive, elderly, or they’re walked at a pretty fast pace that elevates their heart rate.

I find changing or starting a new work out routine can be distributive to my sleep initially.

 

[forwhatitsworth]

@anoncord I walk roughly the same amount. I don’t consider this a workout as it’s not any effort for me and I do it every day as part of my life, part of my NEAT.

I battle to sleep if I workout after 3pm so I try do it earlier. Lately I’ve had early meetings so I’m back to afternoon workouts and it’s really impacting my sleep.

I don’t know what the official view of a workout or “too much” is. For me a workout intentional movement to get fitter, stronger, build muscle etc. My daily walking is maintenance as I’m used to it. Maybe do a month or so with the lifting and then add the treadmill so you’re adding additional movement more slowly.

 

[mmdia82]

@anoncord I walk/jog/ run 13-15 miles a day and have for a while now and my legs are finally getting thinner!!! I’m totally stoked lol. For heartrate I do conditioning and sometimes sprints but it’s the steady miles a day that used up my inner thighs.

 

[cherishgodmore]

@anoncord I can’t do anything but walk right now so I walk 3-5 miles and then lift. Some days I only walk. I’ve had to adjust my calorie intake to match this lower effort (used to be an avid runner). ACOG recommends 30 min x 5 days of anything that gets your blood flowing.

 

[harkpuff]

@anoncord I walk 3-4 miles daily and I count them all as workouts since my heart rate is 150-180 for all of them depending on how fast. I do agree with everyone that it’s less of an individual workout at some point and more a part of your overall fitness baseline…my goal is to stack actual workouts on top of my walks. But for now, and for you, there’s nothing wrong with getting nothing but a walk in. That’s more than a LOT of people.

 

[dawn16]

@anoncord 6 miles is alot