If your primary fitness goal is weight loss, then you probably already know the importance of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise burns calories and losing weight is simply the result of burning more calories than you take in. Diet and aerobic exercise are the keys to creating a calorie deficit and losing weight. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recommend cutting 250 calories a day from your diet and burning 250 calories a day through aerobic exercise for the fastest, safest way to lose weight. However, many exercisers wonder, which type of aerobic exercise burns the most calories?
While there are many different types of aerobic exercises to choose from, letÕs look at the two most common; running vs. walking to lose weight.
Running Slowly And Walking Briskly Are Essentially The Same
First, it's important to understand that the rate calories are burned at largely depends on the speed at which an exerciser is walking or running. For someone who weighs 160 pounds, walking or running at 5 miles per hour will result in the burning of 116 calories in that hour. This essentially means walking quickly or running slowly have the same effect, when it comes to calories burned. It's also important to understand that heavier individuals will burn more calories walking or running than those who weigh less, since the heavier individuals must exert more energy to move their greater body mass the same distance.
Running Fast Burns Calories Quicker
Since the amount of calories burned depends on the speed of running or walking, you can probably guess that most of the time, running quickly burns the most calories. That same 160-pound person, running at a constant speed of 10 miles per hour will burn 131 calories in that same hour.
The Twist: Why Walking May Help You Lose More Weight
Some studies are finding that many novice runners overexert themselves causing their body physical strain. These same people usually do not do this when walking. There is evidence that when a body is unduly stressed, it may retain extra weight as a survival mechanism. This same factor comes into play when people go for long periods without eating, then eat a good amount at once. The body thinks itÕs being starved, so when it finally does receive food it stores every calorie away as fat in order to endure another long period of time without nourishment. So walking could actually help you lose more weight than running given this scenario.
What Should You Do?
If you love running and experience the "runner's high" then by all means keep on running, your body is obviously not overly stressed from this activity. However, if you just want to lose weight but have to push yourself just to get in any aerobic exercise and hate running, then by all means stick to walking. Even if you run twice as fast as you walk you will only burn an extra 15 calories an hour (131 calories running at 10 mph vs. 116 calories walking at 5 mph). This difference is actually pretty minute and if running for you means you are hyperventilating, aching and straining, you could be shooting yourself in the foot with regard to your weight loss goals.
Gabrielle Minogue is a freelance writer and workout junkie who writes about a variety of lifestyle and financial topics such as personal fitness, student loans and cheap flights .
If your primary fitness goal is weight loss, then you probably already know the importance of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise burns calories and losing weight is simply the result of burning more calories than you take in. Diet and aerobic exercise are the keys to creating a calorie deficit and losing weight. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recommend cutting 250 calories a day from your diet and burning 250 calories a day through aerobic exercise for the fastest, safest way to lose weight. However, many exercisers wonder, which type of aerobic exercise burns the most calories?
While there are many different types of aerobic exercises to choose from, letÕs look at the two most common; running vs. walking to lose weight.
Running Slowly And Walking Briskly Are Essentially The Same
First, it's important to understand that the rate calories are burned at largely depends on the speed at which an exerciser is walking or running. For someone who weighs 160 pounds, walking or running at 5 miles per hour will result in the burning of 116 calories in that hour. This essentially means walking quickly or running slowly have the same effect, when it comes to calories burned. It's also important to understand that heavier individuals will burn more calories walking or running than those who weigh less, since the heavier individuals must exert more energy to move their greater body mass the same distance.
Running Fast Burns Calories Quicker
Since the amount of calories burned depends on the speed of running or walking, you can probably guess that most of the time, running quickly burns the most calories. That same 160-pound person, running at a constant speed of 10 miles per hour will burn 131 calories in that same hour.
The Twist: Why Walking May Help You Lose More Weight
Some studies are finding that many novice runners overexert themselves causing their body physical strain. These same people usually do not do this when walking. There is evidence that when a body is unduly stressed, it may retain extra weight as a survival mechanism. This same factor comes into play when people go for long periods without eating, then eat a good amount at once. The body thinks itÕs being starved, so when it finally does receive food it stores every calorie away as fat in order to endure another long period of time without nourishment. So walking could actually help you lose more weight than running given this scenario.
What Should You Do?
If you love running and experience the "runner's high" then by all means keep on running, your body is obviously not overly stressed from this activity. However, if you just want to lose weight but have to push yourself just to get in any aerobic exercise and hate running, then by all means stick to walking. Even if you run twice as fast as you walk you will only burn an extra 15 calories an hour (131 calories running at 10 mph vs. 116 calories walking at 5 mph). This difference is actually pretty minute and if running for you means you are hyperventilating, aching and straining, you could be shooting yourself in the foot with regard to your weight loss goals.
Gabrielle Minogue is a freelance writer and workout junkie who writes about a variety of lifestyle and financial topics such as personal fitness, student loans and cheap flights .