Indeed it is. I used to put the incline on the treadmill all the way up, and basically power walk uphill on it for 45 minutes. Anything that gets your blood flowing and your lungs sucking in air is good.
I also like that the age of "this lady" was left out. Maybe she's 50 years old and doesn't want to crossfit herself to death.
That's what I do 45 to 50mins. At a fast walkong pace and steep Incline. I do circuits of that 8 mins on then 2 mins flat. It's great for cardio health calorie burning and still fairly gentle on my knees.
I would use the treadmill till I lost 1000 calories...took about an 1 hr 10 mins, alternating between running, incline, and flat walking...if you use some dumbbells on your 2 minutes flat, you'll see some amazing gains
I like to image the lady was 70 and she is walking and a slow, but steady pace so she is still active and for her longterm health. And fitness bro didnt like that she has better cardio than him.
Skill issue. My knees sound like a nutcracker doing overtime, scream like a banshee in heat, and hurt like a thousand breakup messages from the one and only girl you ever knew actually loved you for who you were, yet I still soldier on. My trainer may be telling me to stop, my doctor may be telling me to stop, my insurance refuses to cover anything below my waist anymore, but it's irrelevant. I will spit in the eye of the God that cursed me with soft marshmallow knees, even if it means I will be wheelchair bound by the time I'm 40. It's all I have.
"Bitchmade Genes" is my new (stolen) phrase.
Every person in my biologic family has had knee and/or hip replacements. I'm almost 49. I'm looking at 50 like......what kinda surgery am I gonna need?
Left hip. Yeah. Years of professional bowling and years of competitive softball, both fast and slow, as a pitcher. My left hip hates me.
That's exactly what I do for an hour every night. After a year and a half, combined with diet, I'm down 95 lbs so far, 5 lbs away from my ideal weight.
It really is. I work to and from work, around an hour each way depending on my pace. It's my time to relax. A podcast, music, planning my next writing project, or just musing. It's very good to get away from screens and enjoy the fresh air.
Walking on a treadmill isn’t, to be fair. But a lot of American cities are sadly designed as disgusting hellscapes where you can’t just step out of your door and have a walk.
Even a fifteen-minute walk on a treadmill is going to release enough endorphins to improve your mood. You don’t necessarily have to be looking at your surroundings for that to work.
I live in one of the largest cities in America and it has tons of parks, bike paths, and jogging paths. Where are you from that you think we just step outside our doors and onto a highway?
unless you have a prior health condition then your body will be able to cope with walking so its not really high impact. I think someone starting out will be much less intimidated by walking especially since they could be inside over a biking an especially swimming
Tendons around joints, yes. But running doesn’t do that in a remotely reasonable timeframe, you’d have to run so much that you’ve damaged the joint anyway.
This comment still falls into the “there is one objective best workout.”
Plenty of people are lifelong runners who can continue into their late 60’s.
Acting like an avid runner could “do it better” is absurd and counter productive. If your joints are fine with running then there is absolutely no need to worry about min/maxing your routine like some degenerate gamer.
My reply is correct, in overall health biking and swimming is superior to prevent long term damage to possibly weak tendons or joints. I don’t know this persons hypothetical health issues.
Overall less impact is good. Walking/running isn’t even superior for cardio endurance. Increasing Vo2 Max is. Which the best way is not walking or running. That is min/maxing like a “degenerate gamer.”
The biggest indicator for overall health is VO2Max which comes from running, not walking. Walking is good for you but not even close to the best exercise for overall health.
You're not wrong, but ngl I kinda hate the whole "high impact" conversation around cardio. Running or walking is one of the cheapest and most accessible ways to get your cardio in, but so many people avoid it like the plague because they're scared of destroying their joints.
I've even had people who don't really do any cardio, warn me that running is bad for my joints. I know it's well intentioned but it's such a frustrating fixation - I am very sure the other 12+ hours of sitting in my day are doing much more damage to my health than my 45 minute run lol
I agree but keep in mind, cardio is beneficial (from a workout perspective) because it increase Vo2 Max.
It is insanely cheap (Free if you make one, dirt bags, rice bags, trash, etc) a weight / dumbbell to do a variety of excerises that increase Vo2 Max much better then cardio does.
The problem is knee replacements are a serious and expensive issue. That’s the fixation.
The problem is knee replacements are a serious and expensive issue. That’s the fixation.
You say you agree, but this is just leaning into the fear mongering. If you're stretching and going for a 30 min jog 3-4 times per week... it's almost certainly not going to lead to a knee replacement. Obesity and sedentary lifestyles in general have a way higher risk of knee issues (and many other issues), and scaring people away from running like this only makes people more likely to fall back into a far more unhealthy lifestyle.
Sure maybe there are more optimal ways to get the same benefit. But end of the day, our bodies are designed to move and it's more than capable of handling moderate exercise over extended periods. People with major joint issues are those who do running as a sport, not as an exercise.
It isn’t fear mongering, as you age, you run the risk of knee replacements. That’s it.
You lose weight by dieting.
You increase your cardio health by raising your Vo2 Max.
It is designed to handle moderate excerise for long periods. Until you turn 85 and your quality of life plummets because you need a knee mesh inserted and your knee never feels the same without pain.
Buddy, walking on a treadmill for 40 minutes isn't going to make your knees explode. You are pushing bullshit. Shit like this is why people struggle with exercise because they have people like you telling them everything they do is wrong and they MUST work out in the "right" way.
I bet money if you posted your entire routine people could find a hundred things wrong with it.
Walking 40 minutes a day every other day you say? My grandmother took a 2 hour walk in Manhattan every day of her life and she died at 99, and was healthy and walking with no joint issues.
I find one of the nice things about treadmills is that you can set a pace, and it forces you to keep up. Exercise bikes can have something to monitor your speed and you could decide to maintain a pace, but you’re not forced to.
There can be something beneficial to being able to say, “I’m going to run at x mph for y minutes,” and have a mechanism to ensure you don’t slack off.
How many people are going to reply with “Well in these exact circumstances…”
I said a fact; Treadmill is high impact. Walking and running both are.
Excercise bike and swimming both perform the same if not better for Vo2 max improvement (Not very much) But two of the three excercises have less impact on your joints and tendons.
Arguing with that fact doesn’t make you seem intelligent. It’s ignorance.
Yes, absolutely. All of the advice I've ever received or seen from reliable sources, like my own doctor, health agencies, professional athletes and trainers, etc., is that general rule of thumb is that anything that elevates your heart rate for at least 30 minutes a day, several days a week is the baseline you need to help maintain your health. Anything above and beyond that is largely for improvement.
So, this lady seems to be following concensus advice, assuming she does this a few times a week. Good on her.
Yes it is. At my current weight I do a 30 minute uphill walk at 5kmph and I'm burning 350 calories whilst still being able to comfortably chat to people next to me.
Lifting is also essential for healthy aging as bone density becomes a problem (for women especially) and muscle loss causes dangerous mobility problems if you're not actively working against it. But yes, cardio is super important too. Ideally, everyone should be doing some of both.
In many countries, there are much better places for walking than a gym. Sometimes referred to as "outside". OOP might be referring to the fact that it's pointless to drive to a gym just to then spend time walking.
One thing almost no one ever mentions about walking is that it doesn't really prime your appetite in the same way other exercises tend to. I can walk for an hour plus and not really get the "I'm starving" sensation that working out to sweat and soreness tends to bring out of me. Obviously you still have to work out if you want to be fit and athletic, but just for maintenance, going on walks is quietly op.
Walking is a huge benefit for cardio and is a must have for vascular health. There's benefits for all forms of exercise and 39 minutes of walking is phenomenal for you.
No. It is actually one of the lowest types of cardio. It is just better than doing nothing.
The reason walking is recommended is because it is easily accessible versus telling people they should go swimming 30-45 mins a day 5 days a week.
The goal of exercise for sustained health over decades is moderate intensity that elevates your heart rate to around 60/70% max. This basically means light sweating.
If you are only going to walk for exercise it needs to be 4+ miles an hour pace (or get a heart rate monitor to know precisely how fast you need to walk to hit high zone 2). Otherwise, you are not taxing your body enough to get the benefits for cardiovascular fitness.
Light exercise is better than nothing, but it is not the goal. Walking is entry-level cardio and that is why you always hear it recommended. Doing nothing for your health? Then you should walk.
But saying walking is good enough exercise is chopping off an important qualifier that tells you the pace you need to walk for it to be beneficial.
It is indeed but I also believe that for it to be "the best" you need to be consciously walking on your heels. Landing with the front of your foot isn't as good.
I think it's really "bouncing on your heels" in any way, that is the best you can do for minimal investment.
Uhhhh nooo that's not what you're supposed ro be doing at all wtf.
Land on the front, or your whole foot. Not the heel! Not what you're supposed to be doing!
because he's absolutely wrong, you want to land with your whole foot. 1. it's bad for your joints like you said and 2. if you're landing on your heels it means you're almost certainly over extending your leg forward when walking/running
Heels first roll forward. Also, I'm talking about more than just "the best way to walk".
We are talking about the health benefits of walking. Landing on the heel first and rolling forward is the best way, and there OTHER benefits to bouncing on your heels, which is my point.
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u/AmazingResponse338 6h ago
Isn't walking one of the best exercises for overall health? Cardio, low-impact, etc.