Cardio: Is walking sufficient?

[JohnJRambo]

Hey guys,

Quick question..I lift weights 5 days a week and eat clean. My question is in re: to cardio. If I walk 30 minutes in the AM (walk to work), and 30 minutes in the PM (after work back home) 5 x per week, will this be enough in the cardio department?

I've always heard it's best to do cardio either on an empty stomach or after the workout w/ weights...but what about my scenerio? I would imagine 60 min , 5 days a week would suffice?

Some are probably asking what my goals are? Well, I bust my a s s in the gym w/ weights big time...eat clean...so I'm just looking for modest fat loss and perhaps .5 lb a week or so.

thoughts?

[Shreddedgeek]

Seems like a simple question but it is tough to answer without more background data.

What I can say is that if your goal is 1/2 lb week and you are eating perfectly at maintenance then you would need to burn 350 calories a day for 5 days. (3500/5/2)
So a male at 170lbs walking at a good pace say 3.5 MPH (without any stoplights or major delays which would lower your heartrate) could burn up to 160 calories for a 30minute walk. So if you did the same for the commute home you burn 320 Calories.

Its a good plan, save money on gas and parking...

[stachedwalker]

Generally speaking, you use up about 100 calories a mile ... maybe a tad bit more. I'm 190 lbs right now and at about 5mph on the treadmill I'm using up nearly 600 calories/hour (if one can believe the treadmills). I believe a lb of fat is about 3700 calories, so you'd need to lose about 1900/week. That's some 400/day for 5 days. Which probably equates to about 3.5 miles or more each day. So, you'll have to gauge if you walk that far to work and back.

[britonarius]

Are there any hills that you have to deal with in this walk?
I think it would be surfice if done at a brisk pace , not a mellow stroll.It would be better if it had elevations and such.
Have you ever thought of supplementing it with a 12minute cardio session after the weights in the gym? Use the walk but use something like a bike or stairmaster at the gym; at the end of the workout!
That would work as the bike would get you in line with the burn deficet.

[Inthegrass]

Well it won't hurt you. Do it and see. It won't take long to figure out if it's working for you.
The nice thing about walking is that it's easy on your "wheels" from a physical stress point of view.

[NuclearArms]

Have to watch the question.

For fat loss, it may not be enough for what you eat and your metabolism.

For heart health, it is plenty.

[GreenWave1]

Have to watch the question.

For fat loss, it may not be enough for what you eat and your metabolism.

For heart health, it is plenty.

X2. If you want rapid fat loss, you may want to look elsewhere.

[ironford]

how about just general fat loss, cause you can't really do any more?

[m1k3g0rd]

Why not walk on a treadmill at an incline. Doesn't have to be that steep, I generally do 15 minutes at 3.8 with the incline set to 4.0 each day after my workout. Definitely helps me maintain my weight. When I wanted to actually lose weight I simply changed one day per week to 45 minutes of the same thing.

[PROT]

has nothing to do with cardio. Dorian Yates did only 45 minute wlks for his cardio and he got pretty ripped. Some physiologists believe cardio makes your body more efficient and so it becomes harder to lose bodyfat. I do no cardio and I am ripped. I see hundreds of people on treadmills, wetc and they almost all look like ****. To get lean you must cut sugar and complex carbs and eat meat, eggs, fish, fruit and vegetables.


Go to Tnation and read articles "The New Low-Carb Guru" and "Step Away From the Treadmill"

In addition check out Gary Taubes book "GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES...

[PeteB]

Walking is great exercise, and it will burn a few extra calories, but outside most people do not walk fast enough to raise their heart rate to the point it would be considered "cardio", or to lose significant amounts of fat. Especially with the typical diet, even a "clean" diet.

[rhollan]

My cardio regime is either 45 minutes walking at 4 mph on a treadmill, or biking at 20mph on a stationary bike to keep my HR at 60% max; OR a HIIT version of the same for 30 minutes at modest incline (3.0 on the mill). I do this three days a week.

I burn more kcal in less time doing HIIT: 5 minutes at 4.0 mph (warmup) , one at 5.0, one at 4.0, one at 5.1, one at 4.0, one at 5.2, all the way up to 6.0 mph, two at 4.0, one at 6.2.

I do this after a 45 minute workout with weights.

After three months of this, my resting heart rate is between 50 and 54 bpm (down from 78 to 80).

A leasurely walk won't do much -- 4.0 mph is a fast walk, and doesn't burn many kcal for me (about 200 in 45 minutes). But, I can burn 250 kcal in about 25 minutes with HIIT. And, supposedly, the metabolic effects last longer.

One thing I have noticed with this, is that it gets harder and harder to get my HR into the desired target zone of 140 bpm steady state. HIIT will bring it up to 160 for a while, but it quickly drops. When I started running/biking, it was easy to get to 140 bpm at a leasurely 12-15 mph rate on the bike. I now average 21.6 mph, and 15 mph does not have me reach 140 bpm at all.

So, that's the flip side of intense cardio: it does make you more efficient.

But, it's like lifting: you need to lift progressively heavier weights to continue to benefit, and you need to stress your heart harder as it gets more efficient.

I think those that do "excessive" cardio are obsessed with weight loss, don't lift enough, and have too much of a caloric deficit, and therefore, lose muscle as much as they lose fat.

[JOHN GARGANI]

this is all about goals: if you want to be a physical fitness type of guy, no, it is probably not enough...

if bodybuilding is your main goal, it is not only enough, but verging on more than enough......


two walks per day, 1/2 hour each, 5 days a week???? you are fine brother.....

[biggaz]

Walking is great exercise, and it will burn a few extra calories, but outside most people do not walk fast enough to raise their heart rate to the point it would be considered "cardio", or to lose significant amounts of fat. Especially with the typical diet, even a "clean" diet.

I'd tend to agree with this, in that the heart rate probably isn't raised high enough.

[domineaux]

Hey guys,

Quick question..I lift weights 5 days a week and eat clean. My question is in re: to cardio. If I walk 30 minutes in the AM (walk to work), and 30 minutes in the PM (after work back home) 5 x per week, will this be enough in the cardio department?

I've always heard it's best to do cardio either on an empty stomach or after the workout w/ weights...but what about my scenerio? I would imagine 60 min , 5 days a week would suffice?

Some are probably asking what my goals are? Well, I bust my a s s in the gym w/ weights big time...eat clean...so I'm just looking for modest fat loss and perhaps .5 lb a week or so.

thoughts?

Why? 31 years of age? Your body is producing growth hormone in massive quantities. You've got the dream situation.

Pump up your workouts...(anerobic training) i.e, take no more than 30 seconds of rest between your rep sets, no more than 1-1/2 minutes between exercise changes. Wrap up your workouts with about 10-12 exercises and quit before 1-1/4 hour.

This will pump up your metabolism like you cannot believe and put your heart rate into the ranges you need for the cardio as well.

You'll also put up great gains, if you continue to eat right.

If you're training for a running contest or something, you should do aerobic training. Sounds to me like you're training BB, so get the aerobic stuff in it's place behind the anerobic training.

Good luck

[warenjames]

Walking is a great way to improve or maintain our overall health. Just 30 minutes every day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones and offer much more natural benefits to our body. It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and some cancers. Seriously by knowing this fact about walking, I will definitely from now onwards don't take anything lightly. I am inspired by you, sir.