Walking: 10 benefits for people who train
Walking is a simple tool: it helps you stay in shape, recover and burn fat without wrecking your gym work. While HIIT drains the body quickly, a proper walk often does the opposite — you feel better afterwards.
Why is walking worth it for people who train?
The first benefit is simple: walking doesn’t put much training stress on the body. Unlike HIIT or some other types of aerobic training, it is a low-training-load activity. It is very hard to overtrain by walking. At first your shins may get stiff, especially if the terrain is hard or your footwear is poor, but that is usually easy to fix.
The second benefit is recovery. You have probably noticed that after a relaxed walk your body feels better, not worse. Walking speeds up metabolism and improves blood flow throughout the body. It helps you recover from hard training sessions and can ease stiffness and soreness.
The third reason is calorie expenditure. A 10-minute walk won’t work miracles, but if you accumulate 4-8 hours of walking per week, the effect is a different story — especially if part of it is done at a brisk pace. A big plus is that muscle mass doesn’t take as hard a hit as it does with high-intensity aerobic work.
Walking and muscle mass: why does it work?
For anyone doing strength training, it matters that fat burning doesn’t come at the expense of muscle. Walking is a low-intensity aerobic activity in which most of the energy comes from body fat. During a diet this is especially important, because carbohydrate stores may be low.
High-intensity work uses more carbohydrates. When glycogen stores are low, the body may start breaking down more amino acids and converting them into glucose. For someone who is building or maintaining muscle mass, that is not good news. In this sense, walking is the calmer and more sensible choice.
The fourth benefit concerns muscle fibers. Walking mainly stimulates type I muscle fibers, not the fast type II fibers. HIIT affects type II fibers in such a way that type IIb or IIx fibers may begin to take on the characteristics of type IIa fibers. Even 30-second high-intensity intervals can negatively affect strength and explosiveness.
Walking improves work capacity
The fifth benefit is aerobic capacity. Brisk walking won’t turn anyone into a marathoner, but it does improve work capacity. Energetic walking uphill on an ergometer or on rising terrain at a speed of 6-6.5 km/h is not nearly as easy as it looks from the outside.
Regular work like this can raise your maximal oxygen uptake to 50+. That is already a high enough level to cope better with strength training with long sets. A simple truth: the better your overall fitness, the longer you can train at moderate intensity.
The sixth benefit is stress relief.
Walking gives you time to be alone with yourself. Your thoughts settle, your breathing calms down, and after a walk life no longer seems so hard. It isn’t magic, just a very practical break.
Walking is a low-risk choice
The seventh benefit is functionality. Walking is something you do, or at least should do, every day. It is essential movement, not a separate trick. That is exactly why it suits almost everyone.
The eighth benefit is a low risk of injury. If your knees are sensitive or your back is acting up, walking is more likely to be supportive than damaging. Of course, it is worth starting gently and choosing a suitable surface.
On a treadmill, the biggest mistake is holding on to the handrails, especially on an incline. If you hold yourself up with your hands, you lose a large part of the added difficulty from the incline. You are then essentially walking as if on a flat surface.
The ninth benefit: for a strength-sport athlete, walking is often better than running. Running and jogging have their place, but for a heavier strength trainee they can be more taxing on the joints and on recovery. Many strength-sport athletes have noted that regular jogging reduces their speed and explosiveness.
Walking during a diet and practical timing
The tenth benefit is suitability for fasted training. When carbohydrate levels are low, the body may use more fat during aerobic work. Walking fits this situation well. Fasted high-intensity interval training is a different story and may be worse for muscle mass.
The only drawback is time. If your goal is fat burning, you should accumulate at least 3 hours of walking per week, though 6 hours would be ideal. That takes planning. At the same time, a large number of people spend 3-6 hours a day in front of the TV. Part of that time can be spent on a treadmill, listening to music, lectures or reruns.
When should you walk? Timing isn’t the most important thing. Walking at any time is good for your health. If you want to burn more fat, good times are in the morning before breakfast and right after strength training, when glycogen stores are lower. But in general, any time is a good time to walk.
FAQ: walking and training
Does walking really help burn fat?
Yes, if you accumulate enough volume. One short walk doesn’t change much, but 4-8 hours of walking per week already adds up to a noticeable energy expenditure.
Is walking a good complement to strength training?
It fits very well. It supports recovery, improves work capacity and doesn’t interfere with maintaining muscle mass as much as high-intensity aerobic work does.
Is it better to walk in the morning or in the evening?
The best time is the one when you actually go. For fat burning, the morning before a meal and the time after strength training may work well, but walking benefits your health at any time.
Article originally from: http://www.t-nation.com/training/get-ripped-get-walking
Translated by Janar Rückenberg
Come and train! ArtGym
