To run, or not to run, that is the question. But in all non-Shakespearean seriousness, is running or walking actually better for your exercise routine? Keep reading to get the facts!

Benefits of Walking

For starters, walking is one of the easiest ways to move your body. It’s low-impact, mostly low-endurance, and you can go as slow as you want or need to, which is great for beginners. And for those who haven’t yet built up the full stamina and endurance for a running routine, walking is a great alternative.You can up the intensity by building up to more dynamic power walking, incorporating hilly terrain, and increasing the distances or duration of your walks.

Walking can be the ideal addition to your existing workout routine, or can be a nice way to get back into the swing of exercising if you haven’t been at it for a while. If you’re into weightlifting, yoga, pilates, or any other form of exercise, and walking is only going to be an addition to your routine, try to add walking onto the tail-end of your main workout. This keeps your energy focused on strength training efforts, leaving the aerobic aspect towards the end when your energy has been otherwise depleted from other forms of training.

Benefits of Running

From a light jog to interval sprints, running is a time-efficient form of exercise. It ramps up your heart rate, increases endurance, and puts more body weight and energy onto your legs and core. For someone who is just getting started with a running routine, it can be more challenging than a walking routine due to the extra physical exertion in keeping a higher-paced momentum. If you’re incorporating running into your existing workout routine, follow a similar method as above where running is tacked onto the end of your main workout.

The Synopsis

To recap, walking and running both are effective exercises for building endurance, strengthening your skeletal and muscular systems, burning calories, increasing aerobic endurance and stamina, and are an overall awesome way to boost your mood. While running is more time efficient, it can have a tendency to ramp up your appetite. Walking can be easier to start for beginners, but it takes a longer amount of time to burn calories. So there are pros and cons to both!

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends you try to achieve 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. So at the end of the day, it’s really up to you to decide whether walking or running works best for you.

Cheers to an epic workout! Be sure to check out our other posts on the Canopy at Citrus Park blog page for more fitness-focused tips and tricks.