[aniyo]

Actually I did a lot of research both Secondary and experimented with my body
1. Running is high impact exercise and walking is nearly no impact. That way walking can be done daily without fear of damage or injury.
2.The difference in calorie burnt running vs walking is not significant if both done for the same distance
3. Few of the best exercises I found are, Skipping (best, infact all boxers do this), Mountain climbers, Indian push-ups and squats (dand baithak).
4. I weighed 85KG during my MBA and looked tired all the time. As GTO mentioned you can't out exercise your diet. For eg. if we shave of 500Cal (1 chapati is 120Cal) everyday then over a week we will lose 450g of body weight.
5. Re-worked on my diet and did the above exercises and lost 10.2Kg in 3.5 months. I have tried to keep my weight as much stable as possible. Now my workout has reduced but owing to strict control on diet weight 76Kg.
Height is 175Cm

[Hells Bells]

It is interesting that almost everyone is healthier than how they were a decade ago. I too started running consistently a decade ago and invested in a treadmill as one can't head out to Cubbon Park for a run so easily on a weekday (Bangalore people would appreciate this). I have ended up oscillating between 70-77 kgs over this decade with recent build more due to weight training.

I have a huge sweet tooth (and 5 root canals to back it up). However, my wife has made sure that we now have a disciplined approach to eating. I try not to get too fussed about stuff like "dont eat butter with paratha" etc but no pizzas, no colas, no standard junk food for me for the past 5-6 years now. Even if you chose not to pursue any of the advise dished out on this thread, just take the single advise of "can't outrun a diet" to heart.

At the end of the day, I abhor walking Running gives me a greater high and it has helped improve my cardiovascular significantly (my RHR often sits between 55-58). It helps clear my mind at the end of a crappy day at office. I did a lot of running in 2018 and I got a lot leaner (touched my low of 70 at the age of 39). However, I gradually realized over 2019 that a lot of that weight loss was also muscle loss and I started picking up multiple niggling injuries in 2019. Started pursuing weight training more diligently till it got cut off due to COVID-19. Now, I am trying to balance both as pure weight training was "beefing" me up which was not received well by my better half.

At the end of the day, running comes with significant challenges and I would like to preserve my knees for older age. I would look to pick up more of cycling and potentially swimming (I know swimming and I dont like it!). However, running is addictive. I have been pursuing annual goals like 1000 kms, 1000 miles etc so as to run against a target. This year's goal is 2020.

One of my fellow society resident once mentioned that he can barely run 2-2.5 kms most of the days. I told him that it is still 2.5 kms more than many others in our society! Do something, do anything. Just beat yesterday!

[Sheel]

Since this thread deals in walking / running / jogging, shoes are an integral part of all these activities.

On Team-BHP, we have a dedicated thread for shoes too . Please have a look.

[Chetan_Rao]

Love walking, because it partners perfectly with another love: exploring on foot.

Do it for the love of it, the fitness gained is a nice side-effect.

[ant_vas]

This is my experience with Walking and Jogging.

Almost a decade and half while working in Jabalpur, i put on so much weight that from 68Kg it zoomed to 86kgs! I was visibly chubby. Then i shifted to bangalore and decided to lose all that fat. Tried jogging but i never jogged/ran my whole life so couldn't do it. But i stuck to a strict diet and exercise at home and i was able to get my weight back to around 72!

Then few years passed, got married and the work life in bangalore started to take its toll. lot of eating out, lack of any physical activity not only made me put on extra kilos but i was also diagnosed with Diabetes! Since my dad is also a diabetic, has hypertension and have had stents in his heart, i decided that i better get in shape.

Started with walking around 5.5Km every day. I always prefer early morning walks as the roads are free, air is fresh. I chose path around my home which has couple of steep inclines. This change in gradient was a challenge to begin with. But since i was very particular about my routine combined with a very strict diet i was not only able to reduce my weight to 76kg from around 84kg in few months!

My body was feeling comfortable with my brisk walks and i decided to jog. This is where i started to get knee pain! few steps and my knee wouldn't let me jog! i tried to maintain my brisk walks. But then again due to change in work and me getting lazy started to skip my walks and again started to put on weight! this time it went all the way up to 89kg!

Then i decided enough is enough and restarted my morning walks from last november. Chose a little flatter path this time as i didn't want to hurt my knee. Plus being 41 didn't want to stress my body too much. My body started responding and i combined the walks with strict raw diet. this combo of walks and raw diet did wonders i was able to get my weight to 74kg!

My body was feeling good and wanted to challenge if it can take a little more strain and hence started jogging a little distance. slowly increased the distance i jog. Initially i did get knee pain but slowly i realized that it was my jogging posture and the speed. i was trying to run which was putting straing on my knee leading to pain. Got some knee caps which actually helped a lot for my knee to get adjusted to my jogs. Now i jog without the knee caps and don't feel any pain.

I still haven't been able to jog the whole path i take for walk but i can see my body adjusting to the routine. I added some exercise using resistance tubes and doing jumping jacks, squats and push ups along with crunches!

The lock down bought in its own set of challenges like being too idle during the day, eating properly which has led me to put on around 5 kg back :-(. But i have now included yoga along with my morning walk/jog, resistance tube training along with my other workout routine.

While i used to walk i have seen my body still used to feel some stiffness. But since the time i have started the new routine of walk/jog+workout i no longer feel any stiffness and feel good about my body.

So to each his own depending on how their body reacts. Happy walking / jogging!

[ampere]

The debate is about running vs walking.

In my opinion, its not even a choice. Running is a totally different league compared to walking. Running is what we speak about when we think of marathons. In other words we need to train for it. It also means, running is a not a way of life, but more a sport which one needs to work towards.


Jogging is a different form, which I guess is more fit for a debate in this context. Because jogging is something one can actually practice as a way of life and fit an entire regimen amidst one's hectic professional/family life. But running requires much more attention.

Coming to the actual debate at hand: Fitness first is about eating right. That itself is almost 80% of the problem. Get that right, and the rest 20% is a cakewalk!

Choice between the two is again at one's own choice. If you have high natural metabolism, a brisk walk at 6/7km/hr is more than enough. Or else if you need to push up the metabolism a bit, you may need to jog a bit get out of that hump.

But all said and done, please do make all such changes permanent to your lifestyle, else such stop-gap arrangements for the body wont help in the long run.

As for my self : Been walking for about 6/7km/day for more than 2 decades. But the last 3-4 years, I also tried running/jogging. Definitely helps, with that feeling of getting drenched totally after a good solid jog/run of 7/8km. Even if I run at 9/10km/hr, I dont run to train for a marathon. Its just for work out and nothing else. On the whole its been a good experience with about runs 4/5 days a week.

[myavu]

I am turning 44 this September. My daily goal is 8000 steps (6 days a week) and most days I touch 10000+ steps.

I am not following any special diet. I have my regular sugars in 2 normal teas per day and any additional ones are green teas.



Just keep walking.

[Zed]

Just circling back to summarize my 10 day X 10 km walking experience.

I started this thread on day 8 of my 10-day trial. And it's encouraging to know that there are more than a handful of 40+ folks on this forum who are more or less on the same page in terms of prioritizing fitness and well-being.

My intent behind this 10-day trial was to see if consistent walking, and a slightly modified diet can help reduce fat in the torso - the stuff that is hardest to lose. And the answer is, yes.

I lost about an inch around my waist. And probably a little less around my chest. But it's not about the numbers. At the end of the day, the difference is visible. My favorite pair of jeans don't fit me anymore. And t-shirts that were a snug fit two weeks ago aren't that snug now.

Losing weight was never my intent. Incidentally, I ended up losing 1.5 - 2 kgs in those ten days. Most likely a combination of muscle, fat, and water.

Walking ten km a day seemed relatively easy and not that strenuous (Or, as highlighted in many of your posts, it can feel less satisfying than running). My challenge was to clear up my schedule for 100 minutes each evening. Running would have saved me at least 40 minutes.

From a running Vs walking perspective, my gut feeling (even if my gut is on the ebb!) is that running the same distance would've produced similar results. But with potentially more stress on the knees had I run on consecutive days.

On two occasions I walked after dinner. Running after dinner would have been a challenge.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Zed

I'm 41...

Originally Posted by GTO

43 here, fitter than I was at 33

Originally Posted by roy_libran

42 here, and definitely fitter than I was at 32!

Originally Posted by akshatmangal

Myself 38 fitter than 28 for sure.

Originally Posted by Hayek

I started walking regularly in 2013 - when I had almost turned 40. Was 86 kg then, and had almost never exercised regularly in my adult life.

Originally Posted by Phukan

I am 40 and I have started playing from last 2 years.

Originally Posted by powershift

I am 35 and healthier and health conscious than I was at 25.

Originally Posted by no1lives4ever

I am definitely fitter than what i was at age 25, but not at my fittest self today.

Originally Posted by vijayols

My weight loss journey at 47 a year ago

Originally Posted by Hells Bells

It is interesting that almost everyone is healthier than how they were a decade ago.

Don't have anything useful to add to the walking vs running debate but this is a certainly a very interesting trend!

I thought I was in a minority, having taken to exercise more seriously in my 30s than I did in my 20s. Most of my weekends during my 20s were spent in pubs and hangover-recovery sleeping-in the next day. But most of my weekends in my 30s, and now as I enter my 40s, are spent exercising outdoors (till this lockdown started).

Perhaps it's because fitness has just become more discussed and there are more people around us who are into some sport or the other? More leisure time and disposable income for our generation? Increased awareness to 'look younger'?

Or perhaps fitness is just the new mid-life crisis! Anyway, considering the two stereotypical mid-life crisis pursuits men are supposed to usually have- keeping fit is A. Cheaper than buying a flashy car and B. Less embarrassing than chasing younger women and being told off, "Uncle what do you think you are doing?!"

[vijayols]

Ha Ha couldn't agree more with your observation.

I guess as the body clock ticks over each of us has to put in that more effort to
keep fitter than we used to earlier when in the 30's merely playing football was enough to keep flab at bay but now a serious rethink on diet plus lots of exercise is needed for the same.Also the drop in weight and improvement in fitness coupled with the self assessment in front of the mirror helps to keep the moti (e) vation high.

Vijay

[daredevil]

I personally find both running and walking very boring. Any day, I would prefer playing any of the sports like cricket, football, badminton, squash or even table tennis. However, its very difficult to do it once you have the kids. So I end up walking instead. I am blessed with nearby hills in my area in Pune. So I go there in the mornings instead of walking on the open roads.

If someone needs a tip on weight reduction - Diet play a very important role in this. I would say 80-85% diet control and rest is exercise. I have been maintaining in the range of 67kg since last 2 years or so. When I started this, I was 75kg and I lost 7-8 kgs in first 2-3 months (Started with 2 meal policy then). I eat everything but limit myself to only 3 meals per day. I don't eat anything outside of these 3 meals except water.

[roby_dk]

Originally Posted by myavu

Just keep walking.

I have disabled most of the app notifications in my Huawei phone but one fine day I got a notification for crossing 3 million steps. I never knew I was being tracked by phone. It was few weeks back and post that I started keeping my phone with me whole day and to my surprise without much efforts I am easily doing 10,000 steps a day.

I have downloaded another app Pedometer which has a better interface than the Huawei health. I am targeting 10k steps daily for at least 6 days a week with 1 day rest. In addition to running and walking I have coupled cycling also with my routine but that is not consistent maybe 3-4 days a week with no specific goals for the same. Moreover it is difficult to cycle in Delhi traffic specially in evening time, trying to wake up early to avoid traffic but again painful for me as I sleep late.

[TorqMaster]

Bump-any shoes one can recommend for walking? I am a size 11 and broad foot at the toes.

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by TorqMaster

Bump-any shoes one can recommend for walking? I am a size 11 and broad foot at the toes.

Even though I use shoes (Saucony, Asics) for running but for walking, I use sandals.

I use Red Tape sports sandals for walking, very lightweight, comfortable, flexible, durable and well aerated.

The only other thing that I can call out (may sound redundant), if you want walking shoes no matter what, just stay clear of running shoes for the purpose of walking.

If I were to look for walking shoes though, I would research more and likely choose from the sketchers go walk range.