Whenever we are going to relate things to one and
other, it is always best to adopt the old adage of “comparing apples with
apples”. Comparing apples with say bananas makes for good conversation; but it
doesn’t actually address the cold, hard facts.
The debate about walking vs. running and the
respective health benefits of each has swung like a pendulum for decades
between Doctors, Surgeons, Biokineticists, Physiotherapists, Athletics coaches
and Personal Trainers.
Before we can critically comment on whether walking
can be as effective as running we would need to define what exactly: “form of
exercise” means. If we loosely reference the World Health Organisation’s
definition of “exercise”, we can break the components into functional / balance,
flexibility, strength and cardiovascular.
If we use these components as indicators, we can
critically assess whether walking is as “effective” as running.
From a functional / balance perspective, the slower
the movement the greater the stimulus. Generally walking is a good choice for
people who need to improve basic function, increase activities of daily living
and enhance balance. The function / balance components can be respectively
varied in difficulty by offering assistance or creating instability. Verdict =
when it comes to training basic function and balance, walking wins.
Flexibility. Unfortunately on this front, neither
walking nor running has much to offer in terms of increasing muscle and joint
range of motion. If I had a loaded gun to my head and was asked to make a call,
I would have to say that across the walking / running echelon, sprinting would
probably elicit the greatest effect on flexibility due to the ballistic and
elastic components of the activity. Verdict = Do Yoga or full range of motion
exercises such as squats in conjunction to your walking and running program.
When we introduce strength into the walk / run debate,
we end up with a chicken and egg situation. Does one need to be strong to walk
and run or does walking and running make you strong? Lets make walking the
chicken and running the egg. Walking is the most elementary form of movement;
it is literally one step harder than sitting. From the perspective of
rudimentary movement, it is logical that one should start with the basics prior
to advancing the activity. The “basics” in this case, is walking and when advanced,
is running. Strength however, nestles itself quite firmly in between the two
activities: you need to be strong to run. Do we go with the chicken or the egg?
Since neither walking nor running really develops strength, it is advisable to
include other movements in your program, which do. Verdict = Walking should be
progressed to incline walking which should be progressed to fast incline
walking which should be progressed to running. Strength exercises should be
included across the entire stratum.
Then we have the cardiovascular component. In short,
the faster your heart beats, the more “cardiovascular” the modality of exercise
is. One could argue that it is a no brainer that running elevates your heart
rate more than walking does, but does it really? Running sloppily on a flat
surface at a slow pace versus brisk walking with a backpack up a hill is like
comparing apples with bananas. If we compare apples with apples; as a general
rule running elicits more of a cardiovascular response on the body due to the
speed of the activity. The body needs to work harder to run than to walk. If we
are going to get walking to obtain the same level of work, we need to make it
more difficult. This can be done with speed, resistance, hills and direction.
Verdict = from a cardiovascular perspective, walking with purpose has the
potential to topple lackadaisical running.
So… Shall I walk or shall I run? For the non-injured
and mostly healthy community, running has the ability to elicit more of an
exercise response than walking and should probably be the mode of choice. For
individuals with joint problems or who are simply not fit enough to run,
walking is a heck of a lot better than bum sitting in terms of exercise
response. Even when walking is too easy and running is too hard, walk-running
is also an alternative to get the heart rate up but still allow for bouts of
rest. The bottom line is your ability: exercise is meant to be both challenging
and enjoyable.
With regards to general health benefits, increased
fitness, toning and weightloss; the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity
cardiovascular exercise per week; strength train each muscle group two to three
days a week; do flexibility exercise two to three days per week; and finally,
do functional exercise two or three days per week. Whether you choose to walk
or run is your choice, just make sure your heart is beating while you are doing
it!
Tony’s Primary areas of focus include: Orthopaedic rehabilitation through strengthening (mainly backs and knees). He works with regaining function in ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstructions and total knee replacement patients.
Tony also has an interest in sport specific testing and training (primarily rowing, cycling, running and triathlon).
Tony can be contacted on 011 807 9877 or tonypaladin@kinetics.co.za.
In case of an emergency, he can be contacted on 082 921 6776.
