There is a long-running discussion amongst the Gym Buddies: which is better, walking or running? All the bipeds in the room will reasonably answer, “Aw, why you gotta set me up like this? Both have their place.” Of course you’d be correct. Walking is preferrable when I’m perusing the 70% clearance rack at Target (one of my favorite pastimes ever! Most recent bargain buy: Secret gel deodorant for 49 cents each! Plus I had a 1$ off coupon. So it’s like I made money. Anyhow.) but of course running is the method of choice when chasing down a toddler who ran off while I was perusing said clearance rack (don’t worry, I found him… after he’d opened 3 tubes of lipstick and drew me a picture. On the floor. And his brother.)
Now that we’ve cleared that up, all of you in the fitness realm know what I’m talking about. Some people love to run more than they love to breathe and others would sooner walk across hot coals than do a 5K, “free” t-shirt be darned. Gym Buddies Lisseth and Megan proved their membership in the former club today waxing poetic about the possibility of running soon in the great outdoors, while Gym Buddy Krista informed us today that “love” and “running” will never be in the same sentence for her – a fact she reinforces by missing boot camp days with some frequency despite being a dedicated workout junkie all six other days of the week. For me, however, the answer is a little more complicated.
Running interval sprints is the only workout I’ve ever done that has actually made me puke. From a conditioning perspective you can’t beat ’em. And yet – have you ever ran interval sprints? They hurt. Bad. And if they didn’t then you weren’t doing them right. Back during the CrossFit experiment, Gym Buddy Allison and I would routinely end our sprints by seeing “tunnels of light”, “black spots” and losing all sense of hearing – before collapsing on the ground and/or dry heaving. It’s brutal. And yet as every fitness professional without exception will tell you, interval sprints are the most effective conditioning exercise out there. Not only do you build your aerobic tolerance, lung capacity and VO2 max but you also maximize fat burning and up the production of HGH (human growth hormone). You can pretty much guarantee that if a magazine spouts the cover line “The secret to melting fat off!”, “The most effective workout ever!” or “Lose 10 pounds a week – with just 10 minutes a day!” is going to have an article about interval training.
Despite their many accolades, however, I rarely see people at the gym sprinting. One may chalk this up to the fact that our treadys only go up to level 10 (6 minute miles) which is actually not a serious sprint but our Y also has a track (that doubles as a geriatric obstacle course replete with walkers, nordic walking poles, and even sometimes small children.) But that just ups the fitness challenge right? No, people don’t sprint very often because it sucks. Even though they only last 20 minutes at most, I dread my sprint workouts. Interval sprints take all the joy out of exercise. But by golly they work.
Thankfully not all running is sprinting (or fartleks if you want a good giggle). And running or jogging is what I see most people doing. A lot of people love it. I personally hate treadmill running. I do it but only if I’m fortified with a really good playlist on my MP3 player and if I get the tready with both the fan and CNN in front of it. I simply cannot run to Lifetime, Hallmark, TBS or any other plot contrivance channel. The food network makes me nauseous. And The View and Ellen are not as entertaining when all you get is the closed-captioned version. Say what you will but CNN loses remarkably little in the translation. Outdoors, however, is a whole other story. I can put 10 miles under my feet with little consternation. Especially if it’s a beautiful trail run around a lake. Sadly, that’s only comfortable in Minnesota about three months out of the year, not to mention that the Y won’t babysit my children if I choose to run outdoors and CPS frowns on leaving the little nibblers alone for an hour or two. (Fortunately, I recently discovered National Geographic posts their “daily dozen” photographs – like this one below of a frog eating a Christmas light – of the beautiful outdoors 52 weeks a year so I can get my nature fix. Sort of. Egads, I’m a computer geek.)
And then there’s walking. Nothing beats a nice long walk outside with a good friend. You get to not just pass through the scenery but admire it, take it in. You have enough breath to talk about your deep inner angst, her child’s sleep problems and whether or not Michelle Obama is going to do her own gardening. You don’t get really sweaty so no extra showers or clothing changes are needed. Plus, you get places. Sure you can always run or jog to your family brunch but then you have to sit in a restaurant all sweaty in your split shorts and I know you have nice hams but that is not the kind of tip the waiter is looking for. But walk and the world is yours! One thing I really miss about Europe (besides the cheese – oh the cheese!) is how pedestrian friendly everything is. My neighborhood here doesn’t even have sidewalks.
All things considered, I’d have to say from a fitness perspective I’m more of a runner than a walker. It’s more efficient and I get more bang for my buck. But deep down, I do love walking. So what is it for you? At heart, are you a walker or a runner? What can you not stand to watch while you’re on the treadmill?
I am a runner.
I am a runner.
I am a runner.
I think I’m a jogger, with aspirations of being a runner….recently begun alternating interval training with a 4k run every other day (can’t quite manage the 5 yet! It’s not hardcore interval training but it’s a start…i really hope it works! I’m going to up my sprinting time too – i always wonder about this on the treadmill, generally speakingm the women at my gym have that long distance, no speed variation look in their eye whereas the guys get on, sprint like utter loons and get off…..is the sprinting better then?? And what speeds setting do you mean for interval training?
ALSO I cannot watch football (soccer) or cricket or golf or anything sporty whilst trying to run – Sky news is my channel of choice, though one is usually out voted. I also like MTV but then I run to the beat of whatever is playing and this proves counter productive, as does getting sucked into ‘The Hills which slows me down to a walk!!!
sorry for the ridiculously long comment!
Going noW!
L x
Well, what a bummer. I have not yet recovered from my last week’s knee injury from my third 20-second sprint (which was supposed to be third out of eight, but I had to stop right then and there).
I think, no I KNOW, I would have been better off just to have jogged the whole time. Now I am sitting and typing instead of enjoying myself at the gym (but I really do believe that sprints are good for you; it’s just that they weren’t good for ME that particular day).
Once I get over this injury, my sprints will be in non-impact exercises, like the elliptical, and I’ll just jog, thankyouverymuch.
i am a runner, but i enjoy both the treadmill and the outdoors. i am lucky that for some reason i can read magazines while running (even interval/tempo workouts) on the treadmill with no problem, so i get my magazine fix in while i sweat.
our gym’s treadmills have individual TVs, but i don’t use it. for me, somehow reading fluffy magazine articles makes the time go faster than watching VH1, TLC, or HGTV.
I used to think of myself as a runner back in the days of my adrenaline addiction glory… I hope to try it once I am a bit more in shape.
I have always loved to walk… But my experience with it has been a bit “special”. There was a definite “before” and “after”. My rolfing therapist teached me how to walk… And did it make a difference. My feet turned from lifetime flat to normal!! And I just had to WALK everyday, with thin soled shoes or barefoot.
It felt like I had been fighting gravity all my life and then I wasn’t.
I can’t wait to re-learn to RUN!
(Hi! Long time reader here!)
**giggles**
did you know what day it was when you wrote this?
Ala my post Im a walker.
ENTIRELY.
I am definitely a runner! I sprinted in high school and college. I am now getting into longer distance running – I recently ran a half marathon and I’m going to run a marathon next fall.
I do intervals on the elliptical. My knee does not like it when I run, so after 1.75 miles, I’m crippled in pain. I’ve never experienced anything that you have on intervals, but I’m nauseated for at least 10 of the 20 minutes.
I hate walking. Mostly because, after an incident with getting bucked off a horse, walking too much makes my back hurt. Running, however, doesn’t.
This year, I’ve made myself suck it up more than in the past and run outside in the winter (which means mostly 40’s and sometimes 30’s around here). I just can’t manage more than 2 miles on a treadmill!
I’m a runner. When I quit playing volleyball in high school (hello, I’m barely five feet tall, I wasn’t exactly Varsity material) my dad made me take up running so I wouldn’t gain weight (I think the problem he tried to fix was replaced with a more serious one due to those comments…).
But now, I LOVE running. I don’t run with music or on a treadmill, I run outside. I live in Austin which is just the Mecca of running- beautiful lakes and nature trails to run on everywhere and 5 and 10Ks every weekend.
But I must say, I’ve only recently started to do sprint workouts, and while even after just a few workouts I could see a difference in my muscle tone, I haven’t done them in about three weeks because frankly, they suck. What time of sprint workouts did you do that let you so depleted? Mine were hard, but never that bad. I kind of miss that oh-hell-I’m-about-to-puke feeling I used to get from playing sports…
Charlotte, the line about the track doubling as a geriatric obstacle course made me laugh out loud – so freaking true!
I don’t consider myself a runner. A couple years ago I did train for and run a half marathon, because I was going through a big shift in my life and wanted to try something different. When I finished I said, “I’m never doing that again.” I think a runner would have been planning their next race. I do still log the occasional three or four mile run, but it mixed in with walking, hiking, kick boxing, step aerobics, and dancing around my living room.
I really do not like watching the food channel when I’m at the gym; I just don’t get the point.
I want to be both. I keep trying to run, but somehow it never lasts. Walking I can always do. Though I gotta say, I can work up a pretty good sweat walking too.
Definitely a runner. But I’ve grown to appreciate walking SO much. For so long walking (to me) was just kind of meh. But with a good friend, great convo, and some swingin’ arms, it can actually be a great workout.
*hahahaha – fartlek. 🙂
Hate intervals, love walking. (Except for race walking, which I also hate. It’s SO awkward). Running I sometimes adore (outdoors with great tunes on a dirt trail), sometimes dread (indoors, hot, treadmill) but my aging knees keep me from doing it as often as I like. I’m stuck mostly with the elliptical which is nowhere near as enjoyable as running outside is to me.
God, what a boring comment, sorry. Maybe I need to go outside for a walk!!!
Walking is my choice and I think age may be the factor. My knees don’t seem to take the pounding that running does to them.
I’m surprised that CPS won’t let you leave your kids while you take in a 2 hour walk. Many on the east coast simple leave them locked in the car while taking care of personal business.
Definitely a runner here! Not a marathon monk, but not far behind either.
I like to go for walks, but I don’t consider it exercise, it’s walking, jeeez.
As I understand, it’s better to walk really fast, than run really slow. If you always have one foot touching the ground, no matter what you look like, you are walking 🙂
I love both walking and running. If it’s pretty outside, I love walking to work (3 miles), but there is nothing like a good trail run in the woods. I don’t run nearly as much as I used to, but I think I would consider myself more of a runner than walker. I usually get bored walking after about 3 miles or so, but I’ve been knows to run for hours. I seriously don’t know how people walk a full marathon – in my mind, that would be much more of a challenge than running 26.2 miles.
I cannot watch TV on the treadmill. My gym has TV’s attached to each piece of individual equipment, and I get motion sick if I try to watch anything. I stick with my iPod.
Me, I prefer sauntering.
But then I’m usually run late for wherever I have to be next, so a lot of sprinting gets thrown in as well.
If I had to pick, I would say walker. I keep *trying* to like running, but I just plain don’t. in fact, I hate it (and feel guilty about hating it and feel like I’m not in as good shape as runners…).
My friend was talking the other day about how she took her dog with her on a very short run, and that she was out of shape and struggling for breath the whole time. I told her that I couldn’t possibly run (without stopping) for as long as she had, and she talked about how you have to push yourself even when it hurts. I am quite simply not the kind of person who goes around doing stuff that I know is going to hurt. I think that’s stupid. (Physically, at least. I’m going to law school in the fall, so I’m clearly a glutton for punishment when it doesn’t involve exercise.)
Unfortunately, I don’t like to do as long a workout as I feel I need to do walking (about 45 -60 mins)–I just don’t have the patience. I had been doing intervals because I like the shortness of the workout. However, it seems like I’m not doing them right because a) I never feel like I’m going to throw up and b) my definition of “sprint” means running at about 8.1 with walks of like 3.6 in between. Am doing this totally wrong?
While I do sprinting intervals at the gym on the treadie… thankfully our treadmills go a bit faster than 6.0 -and inclines can up that challenge too – in the real world I am a walker.
I can barely run the 1 minute I do during the intervals.
If I can walk at 4 mph, why do I want to run/jog at 5? How much healthier can it be?
I long to be a runner. I’ve started C25K many times, but have never made it past week 5. I get bored walking, but running hurts and it’s hard. But I still want to run! That’s why most of my exercise time is spent on an elliptical.
Walker.
Treadmills are the tool of Satan no matter what setting they’re on. I don’t care what the weather is like, if you’d prefer to run OR walk indoors you need to have your head examined.
Aren’t I opinionated today?
Maybe it’s because I took the Redline out yesterday, and the trees are all bursting into flower, and the Cascades still have their mantle of snow, and it’s all just so breathtakingly beautiful. Today I have to get the bike out earlier, and ride longer. Don’t think that’ll be a problem, somehow.
WALKER. All the way. If I’m at the gym and on the treadmill, I will crank up the incline to 10 or ever 15 and walk that rather than increase the speed to start running. Walking is as much of a passion of mine as writing is.
Definitely a walker. I’ve tried running a few times in my life, and I just hate it. My husband is a runner; he can go for days and barely feel it. Me? I have to put on 6 sports bras and plod my way down the street, praying for time to move more quickly.
I think you either love it or hate it. I don’t know many people who are indifferent.
I generally avoid the treadmill, but have taken up intervals on the bike and the rower.
I’d have to say that I am both! I really enjoy either one. When I’m really feeling pooped running I can slip into that comfortable walk again…and if I get bored walking I can speed it up! And I’ve never in my life run (or even walked) on a treadmill. GA weather enables me to run or walk all year long! 🙂
I’m a runner all the way! I was even a one-time jumper; as a kid, I was all about the hurdles. I don’t think my knees could take it now. I’ve been running for a few years but it never occured me to train for a race until this year. Now I’m aiming for my first marathon on my birthday this year, with a few shorter races in the months beforehand.
I depise the dreadmill but will run on it if weather is less than ideal (for this Chicagoian, it means the world is a skating rink and you can’t walk, much less run, anywhere without falling on your arse). I don’t dislike watching anything on TV while on the TM but I seem to gravitate towards “The Biggest Loser” if it happens to be on.
I am definitely a walker. I love doing incline walking when I have access to a treadmill, but that’s not that often. Yay for walking! I might have liked running but I can’t really do it because I have a frustrating knee.
Both. It really depends on how I’m feeling that day. If I had to pick one though, I’d pick running. I just like the feeling of it, even on a treadmill.
Actually, most of my walking and running is done on a treadmill. I load up my iPod with all the TV shows I miss (because I go to bed SUPER early) and watch them at the gym. Easiest way to log 43-47 minutes on a treadmill! Ha!
But I refuse – REFUSE – to run so hard that I think I might puke. I reserve that feeling for skill-based activities (martial arts, ballet, whatever), where at least I’m thinking so hard about my form that I don’t realize how miserable I am.
i’m definitely NOT a runner at heart, which is why i think sprints are so fantastic!! i’ve been doing them a lot lately and i’m loving it…they’re exhausting and they make me sweat. in fact i think the more sprinting i do, the more open i am to running. so i guess i’m an evolving runner 🙂
Walker. (Feel a compulsion to say “Texas Ranger,” after that, but I shall resist!) My knee doesn’t like running, and neither do I. I can do burpees until I feel the spots/vertigo/sick with pain sensation.
But really the most important thing – was the frog ok??
I’m both, I guess. I ran cross country in high school and it’s always been my way of dealing with stress. However, now that I have a dog, I take him running with me. Most days we still make it out, but sometimes they’ll be a stretch where the weather or my job schedule interferes with our ability to get out (I don’t run after dark for safety reasons). While I can exercise indoors, he can’t just hop on the treadmill, so often we end up back to walking or intervals of running as I work him back up into shape. As much as I love running, walking can be pretty awesome too, and I find that while running is awesome cardio and great for my heart and lungs, walking seems to have more of a toning effect. Sometimes it depends on my frustration level that day too. 😀
I used to be the kind of person for whom running and love would never be used together. But ever since I got inspired by my husband’s marathon running and started training for my first half, I have to say that I really do love it. Even when it’s hard and the run is going really poorly, it’s great–I just feel so connected to my body and so strong and in control in a way that is totally different from any other kind of exercise I’ve ever done. It’s fabulous and I’m really hooked now. I’m not a big fan of treadmill running, though. I can do a few miles but then I just get tired of it and switch to biking or something like that. Outside running is by far superior in my opinion.
I love walking too though and it definitely has it’s place (like the day after a long run! Ooh boy do I like a nice long walk to stretch out my tired legs). 🙂
For sport, I am a runner. I just don’t feel like I have the time to dedicate to walking as a true form of exercise to make it worth it. And, I actually have grown to love running. I used to prefer treadmills and hate running outside, but now that I’m stronger and can handle pavement, I dread the days I schedule myself on the treaddie. I love intervals but I don’t do them quite as hardcore as you. I’d say somewhere between race pace and wishing for death, sure, but I’ve never wanted to throw up. Except for when lunch was a bad choice that day (burritos with death sauce and roasted garlic, I’m looking at you…).
I love walking as transportation. Getting out with the fiance and hiking to lunch, or just to some cool park is great. That’s just usually an off day for me, I don’t “count” it as a workout. Cycling too is the same way.
Yeah I could go on and on as well. But I won’t! Great post.
I totally agree with you on the intervals. It’s a key part of a solid training program for anyone interested in getting faster, stronger, and leaner. For some of us, though, 6 minute miles are only possible in our dreams! 😀
You wouldn’t see me doing intervals at the gym but that’s because I much prefer to do them on a local high school track — outside, which is where I prefer to do all my running.
I’m a walker. I think walking though less calories is better for our knees and joints, you don’t get as many shin splints and bum pains either. i do see the benefits of running though and try to do it a couple times a week (not fast, or fast but not long). I like sprinting a lot too.
Right now in my life, I’m a walker.
I am in great shape and do kickboxing, the elliptical (and I don’t coast along, I work my butt off!), weights and yoga, as well. I have ran in the past, both on a treadmill and outside, but I just can’t get into it as much as “runners” seem to.
Running outside at a steady pace isn’t bad, but I still have to take walking breaks. I just can’t run the whole time!
When I’m on a treadmill too, I have to change it up. I can run the whole time, but I HAVE to change speeds and inclines to keep it interesting.
Another reason I’m a walker right now, is because, really, I have a tendency to overdo it working out. My poor body has been through enough without proper rest, and I have trouble toning it down.
I figure running a lot of miles each week is not going to help my situation. Running can be be a very injury-provoking sport and my body is just not up for the challenge right now! Maybe in the future, though…?
Well, I am a gym person & only jog outside 1 day per week so I know all about treadmills. I cross train but use the treadmill more than others. I mix it up with a longer steady state, and also jogs with intervals in them. Nothing like intervals for burning body fat & losing weight like you said! I do them at the least 2 times per week but mix it up more than the normal way people do them. I also hill jog, hill walk & backwards and side step on the treadmill. I throw in the StepMill & the elliptical as well. Lots of variety to keep the bod guessing & my older body from injury.
I hate watching sports on the TV but do prefer things I can just look at vs. having to read the closed caption so that takes me to the Food Network, Travel Channel & things like that but I "read" the news when I am not on the treadmill.
I love the weights so my goal is to get thru the cardio & head to the weights!!!!
Walking is a more relax thing for me vs. exercise.
As for which is best… I think what is best is what a person will do & stick with for life or long term. For me, the jogging, intervals & StepMill have worked best for lowering my body fat & loss of weight.
As always, your posts are a pleasure to read!
I’m definitely a runner who loves walking. I do. But once I’m able to run again I rarely walk. That’s why I’m enjoying this postpartum time–the walk are legit, not lazy. But it’s not true, that lazy part, I do think walking is a great workout. Running, just more efficient. Ah, both good… so long as you do it!
I am a runner. Nothing feels as good as that first block and nothing feels like same as the exhaustion and the high of a 10K run. I can’t call myself a true “runner” yet though as I haven’t had an ice bath, but its on the to-do list.
I don´t hate running, but I only like to do it every nce in a while. Call me a masicist but I LOVE the brutality of an HIIT workout. I love the pain in my lungs and the spots before my eyes. But when I´m not sprinting I lovlong strolls or easy bike rides. Besides the fact that I will never have to look at a treadmill tmer ever again (unless I enter a bodybulding contest nd get down to 5% bodyfat which is most likely never).