Walking and non-fat loss

Walking has it’s benefits but, fat loss is not one of them.

Now, true, if you lived a completely sedentary life where you did absolutely nothing but sit on the couch and click the remote, and then one day decided you were going to get off your rump and start walking 30 minutes on a daily basis, then sure, you’re going to lose some fat, at first. But, there are still better ways to go about losing that fat in a more efficient method.

This article is a pretty good summary of why walking is probably one of the most inefficient methods for burning fat. This paragraph specifically hits the nail on the head:

So why then do so many fitness and health experts recommend walking for weight loss? One reason is that people don’t want to hear that they have to work hard so they figure some activity is better than none. Another reason is that the body burns more fat for fuel when exercising at an easy pace, however, the total amount of energy used is so small that you end up burning off little body fat. That’s also why when you choose the “fat burning” program on your treadmill or bike it has you exercise at any easy level. Yes, you’re burning fat, but so little that you’d have to exercise at that easy pace for hours and hours each day.

Which if you think about it, has it ever really made sense when you’ve heard the “theory” that you burn more fat at an easier pace than going at a more intense pace? So using that logic, that means sitting in front of the television watching Texas Chain Saw Massacre would burn more calories than running 100 yards sprints for 20 minutes? Please don’t kid yourself.

Now, don’t take that to mean that in order to efficiently and effectively burn fat that you have to go out and run for life. Think about the intervals that some of you have done on my Lean Body Fat Loss Plan. The intervals are based subjectively on your fitness level. Meaning, some people may be doing all out short burst sprints because they can handle that but others may only be doing a fast pace walk for short bursts then followed by a rest period that is 1-2 times the length of that short burst.

So keep on doing those intervals and watch the fat fall off.

www.leanbodyfitness.com