Some people are running snobs, firmly believing that walking has no place in fitness. Others have no desire to run and find they enjoy the relaxing walk. The most important fact to remember is that both are good cardio workouts. If you aren’t into running or simply can’t run due to health issues, walking is a good choice. If you prefer getting your workout finished faster, burn more calories and love challenging yourself, by all means, run. One is not better than the other is. They’re both healthy cardio workouts.
Both walking and running help you build your strength and stamina, but walking does it more gently, so it’s often a choice for seniors or people who are out of weight. Both are weight bearing exercises, which helps prevent osteoporosis. Both increase your endurance, boost your immune system and strengthen your heart. Both also boost the number of calories you burn, so both help with weight loss. No matter what cardiovascular exercise, it can help lengthen your life and improve your mood.
Running burns twice as many calories as walking. If weight loss is your goal, a half hour of running gives you twice the benefit. If someone weighs 160 pounds and runs at a pace of 5 mph, you’ll burn approximately 600 calories. If that same person walked at a pace of approximately 3.5 mph, they’d burn about half that much.
Running is a high impact exercise, while walking is low impact. High impact is harder on your lower body. It can lead to shin splints, stress fractures and ITB friction syndrome—the most common knee syndrome. It’s far higher for runners with approximately 20 to 70 percent chance, than walkers whose chance is only about 1 to 5 percent.
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