At first glance this is an unfair comparison, walking versus running for which of the 2 is overall better for you. Running is the obvious winner, but are there scenarios where walking could be better, or just as good? Surprisingly, walking does have specific instances where it is actually better than running for your overall health.
As a beginner to your fitness journey, introducing cardiovascular exercise is not only necessary but imperative to your overall success. Walking is something us as humans must do in order to travel, and when you add a longer route or a more difficult task in your daily regiment (taking the stairs instead of an elevator, walking inside of your coffee shop instead of using drive thru) there are short term and long term benefits. Running utilizes much more energy and actually burns twice the amount of calories that walking does. The elevation of your heart rate assists with training your lungs/ heart to pump more blood around your body at an effective rate. Meaning the better you get at running, the better you get at almost all physical activities. However, if you are a beginner running does not win the battle! Here’s why:
Due to running being a high impact exercise, the probability of injury greatly increases. Stress fractures, ITB friction syndrome and my least favorite shin splints all come from excessive running/ jogging. Studies have actually calculated the injury risk of running compared to walking at a 20%-70% chance of injury for runners and a 1%-5% chance for walkers. Also, one of the most important factors for why walking could very well beat running is the burn out factor. If you are a beginner or have a moderate amount of fitness experience and you choose to wake up and run every morning for example, compared to walking. The chances of you sticking to this regime is greatly decreased, and you would more than likely have to dip into your will power reserves to not only change your eating for the better but now wake up in the morning and exert a lot more energy than usual.
Other than someone who is beginning their fitness journey or someone who is coming off of an injury, the battle for supremacy is firmly in running/ joggings court. One of the reasons why running is viewed as superior is because there are so many styles of running including:
Base Runs(short to moderate length at a normal pace)
Long Runs (at least 10- 12 miles at a normal pace)
Interval Runs (short intense runs with breaks between or HIIIT)
Hill Repeats (similar to Interval runs where runs are uphill and the break is coming down hill)
Progression Runs ( start off slow than progresses into competition style run in order to greatly increase endurance, speed and lessen fatigue)
With that many styles of running, there will always be a new pinnacle to reach as a seasoned runner and always new ways to test yourself. A study of 12 men and 12 women tracked how many calories were burnt in a 1 mile run, compared to a 1 mile walk (one took place on a physical track, the other on a treadmill). The results showed that running on a treadmill burnt on average of around 33 calories more than walking and running on the track burnt an average of 35 calories more than walking. That might not seem like a lot, however having alternate training styles and longer runs, those calories and other benefits gained will compile over time.
In conclusion, the real question is not whether one is better than the other, but where are you in your fitness journey? If you are a beginner than running would not be the best exercise for you to start out with. however if you are an avid gym goer than running can assist you in the getting to the next level of your fitness! If you have hit a plateau in your weight training or just beginning your journey, follow me on Instagram @spartan_alliance25 or Join the Alliance on Facebook (search Spartan Alliance Fitness) and shoot me a DM for more fitness information!
References:https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/running-for-weight-loss#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3
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