7 ms·

Definitively. As someone who runs, I've been amazed at how many people think a MILE is a long distance to run or that people have very little conception of how

Definitively. As someone who runs, I've been amazed at how many people think a MILE is a long distance to run or that people have very little conception of how much time it takes for an average human to simply walk a mile.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
pwthornton 5y ago
I had to walk to pick up my car at the hospital yesterday with my young daughter, and it was a 1.5 mile walk. It was pretty easy, and my daughter had a lot of fun. But a lot of people wouldn’t have attempted it because they would think a 30 minute walk is nuts. It ended up being a great walk and way better than using a cab to retrieve our car. I had hemmed and hawed for awhile about how to get the car back, looking into car seat options in a cab, the bus, asking a friend for a ride, and then I looked it up and realized it was a safe, 1.5 mile walk. There are so many advantages to being active and fit. One of them is that it makes your world seem smaller and more accessible.
- crent 5y ago
  I just moved to the suburbs and, while it is winter, I'm surprised to see that my wife and I are usually the only people walking to places. Even ones that are hundreds of feet from our door!
AutumnCurtain 5y ago
The ubiquity of car-centric designs in major population areas of the US has produced immeasurable harm both environmentally and physically. I've seen obese family members lose tens of pounds while spending a few months in Europe in part because they have to walk a few extra miles each day (and in part due to dietary changes, I'm sure).
- sasawpg 5y ago
  Walking "several miles per day" isn't sufficient enough to burn tens of pounds without a major diet change. Even at 5 miles per day, you'd be likely burning 350-450kCal, which is not enough of an expenditure to make that much of a difference. For weight loss, even moderate exercise will not yield same results as significant diet changes will.
  - jjice 5y ago
    The parent said > in part because I assume the other part is diet change from being in European countries.
    - sasawpg 5y ago
      The parent implied diet was less impactful than walking.
  - DiggyJohnson 5y ago
    It's hard to disagree with such a objective view, but I would like to validate that I've seen similar changes in my friends and peers that travel. A reduced diet and moderate exercise can really do more than you expect.
  - thebean11 5y ago
    Walking burns more calories if you are carrying around lots of weight..
  - marginalia_nu 5y ago
    The advice really should depend on where you are. There's an old adage that says "you can't outrun your fork", and that's very much true. Cardio alone will often be compensated by increases in hunger. If you aren't on top of your diet, then exercising probably won't amount to much. In general, if you are very heavy, you can usually get away with significant calorie deficits through diet alone, as your base metabolic rate is so high. You should still be active for other health benefits, but your weight loss is best accomplished from from eating better and less. But the lighter you get, the more cardio matters, because at some point you'll start to have problems getting nutrition from not eating enough. This is especially true if you are getting shredded. I think this is in part why there's so much conflicting advice on this. You have former fat people saying "nah, it's all diet", and you have very fit people saying "no way, it's totally cardio". They're both right, in their respective domain.
sebow 5y ago
10km daily is my bare minimum.Granted during winter I walk some part of it, up to 30-40% or even more because i need my body to slowly adjust to cold temps.This is especially true for sub 8-10C and almost mandatory for <0C(sometimes i don't need to, due to the godly cold showers). Any physical activity is good at the end of the day.For those who want a 'scientific' explanation: during movement (eg walking) the amygdala "turns off", and you become more relaxed, because that's responsible for emotions.For the rest,take it for granted: better pump for the entire day, you don't feel jittery after coffee, and you actually don't feel the need to eat as much.(as in frequency, you might want to eat more but fewer times during the day)
- notacoward 5y ago
  > 30-40% or even more because i need my body to slowly adjust to cold That seems weird to me. I find that as it gets colder my inclination is to go faster. I regularly go out in -5°C; after no more than 5km or so my hat and gloves are off, and not too long after that I'm wishing I could take off more without being indecent. It's in the summer that I need more breaks. It's an unending source of wonder how differently people can react to the same conditions.
  - sebow 5y ago
    Well depends on how much i want to run, that adjustment period i usually take for setting a deeper & slower breathing tempo which helps with energy during longer runs(i think some may call this trying to avoid 'negative energy' in endurance terms).I have the same reaction usually with colder temps: go faster->higher blood flow->feel less cold.I also do more breaks in summer,it's definitely worse.I guess my lower BMI & generally less time for recovery immediately after are the main reasons for these changes.
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
> As someone who runs, I've been amazed at how many people think a MILE is a long distance to run Most people, especially past a certain age, don’t run distances. A mile is a long distance to run for the average person (across all ages). We don’t need to gatekeep physical activity. But fortunately you don’t need to be a runner to be active. Walking is substantially better than sitting.
- NikolaeVarius 5y ago
  Walking barely counts as being active. It takes almost no effort and 99.999% of the time does not increase heart rate which is the important part of exercise. If walking is considered being active, we have vastly lowered the bar. I know literal 70 year old people who could out-run 20 year old kids because they made the choice to stay active and healthy in old age
  - lkbm 5y ago
    I'm pretty fit, and walking absolutely increases my heart rate. Even a casual stroll will raise it noticeable, and my normal medium-fast pace can easily bring it to 100+ bpm. (My resting heart rate is generally around 55-60 bpm.)
    - NikolaeVarius 5y ago
      You are insanely overestimating your fitness when 100 bpm is considered high when its in the range of an average resting heart rate
      - lkbm 5y ago
        I didn't say it's high. I said it's an increase over 55-60. The claim was that walking doesn't increase ones heart rate, which is, assuming we can agree that 100 > 60, is demonstrably false. As for my estimate of my fitness, I think just the fact that my resting heart rate is below 60 might suggest something to that end.
      - 5y ago
lkbm 5y ago
I don't think I would've thought a mile as a "long run", but until age 30 it was further than I'd ever run without having to stop to rest. If you don't run regularly, running for any length of time is hard, even if you're in good shape. (I was biking ~70 miles a week when I first started running, but unless you're really pushing, that doesn't work your heart of lungs anywhere near as hard.)
dundarious 5y ago
When I started running (or rather, attempted many times over a few years) I hated every moment of it and would regularly quit after literally 60 seconds. I had to learn to run very slow to start off. Very soon my pace drastically quickened and anything below 5k felt like a complete cop out. Although years of not stretching has led to regular achilles tendon pain now (at least I think that's the cause). I'm stretching and doing calf raises.
- hackeraccount 5y ago
  That's one of the weirder things about running. Generally you just say "go out for a run" like there's no skill to - that's it's just effort. Watch a kid run. You quickly realize that they have two paces - flat out sprint and walk. Pacing is something that you learn over time. The opposite extreme of that kid is someone's who's a really experienced runner - my wife for example; it's not that she's incredibly fast but she's amazingly conscious of her pace - if she wants to be consistent she'll run a mile pace that's within seconds for 10+ miles. If she's running a shorter distance she can calibrate her pace. I think that's one of the things I like about running. The other nice thing about it - really about any form of exercise is the discipline it forces on you. Not "I go running everyday" but - I go running as often as it takes to keep me where I want to be while listening to my body to avoid injury. The more you ask of "where I want to be" the more you have to know about stopping not just going. It forces a self awareness that can be atypical.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

pwthornton 5y ago

I had to walk to pick up my car at the hospital yesterday with my young daughter, and it was a 1.5 mile walk. It was pretty easy, and my daughter had a lot of fun. But a lot of people wouldn’t have attempted it because they would think a 30 minute walk is nuts. It ended up being a great walk and way better than using a cab to retrieve our car. I had hemmed and hawed for awhile about how to get the car back, looking into car seat options in a cab, the bus, asking a friend for a ride, and then I looked it up and realized it was a safe, 1.5 mile walk. There are so many advantages to being active and fit. One of them is that it makes your world seem smaller and more accessible.

crent 5y ago
I just moved to the suburbs and, while it is winter, I'm surprised to see that my wife and I are usually the only people walking to places. Even ones that are hundreds of feet from our door!

AutumnCurtain 5y ago

The ubiquity of car-centric designs in major population areas of the US has produced immeasurable harm both environmentally and physically. I've seen obese family members lose tens of pounds while spending a few months in Europe in part because they have to walk a few extra miles each day (and in part due to dietary changes, I'm sure).

sasawpg 5y ago
Walking "several miles per day" isn't sufficient enough to burn tens of pounds without a major diet change. Even at 5 miles per day, you'd be likely burning 350-450kCal, which is not enough of an expenditure to make that much of a difference. For weight loss, even moderate exercise will not yield same results as significant diet changes will.
- jjice 5y ago
  The parent said > in part because I assume the other part is diet change from being in European countries.
  - sasawpg 5y ago
    The parent implied diet was less impactful than walking.
- DiggyJohnson 5y ago
  It's hard to disagree with such a objective view, but I would like to validate that I've seen similar changes in my friends and peers that travel. A reduced diet and moderate exercise can really do more than you expect.
- thebean11 5y ago
  Walking burns more calories if you are carrying around lots of weight..
- marginalia_nu 5y ago
  The advice really should depend on where you are. There's an old adage that says "you can't outrun your fork", and that's very much true. Cardio alone will often be compensated by increases in hunger. If you aren't on top of your diet, then exercising probably won't amount to much. In general, if you are very heavy, you can usually get away with significant calorie deficits through diet alone, as your base metabolic rate is so high. You should still be active for other health benefits, but your weight loss is best accomplished from from eating better and less. But the lighter you get, the more cardio matters, because at some point you'll start to have problems getting nutrition from not eating enough. This is especially true if you are getting shredded. I think this is in part why there's so much conflicting advice on this. You have former fat people saying "nah, it's all diet", and you have very fit people saying "no way, it's totally cardio". They're both right, in their respective domain.

sebow 5y ago

10km daily is my bare minimum.Granted during winter I walk some part of it, up to 30-40% or even more because i need my body to slowly adjust to cold temps.This is especially true for sub 8-10C and almost mandatory for <0C(sometimes i don't need to, due to the godly cold showers). Any physical activity is good at the end of the day.For those who want a 'scientific' explanation: during movement (eg walking) the amygdala "turns off", and you become more relaxed, because that's responsible for emotions.For the rest,take it for granted: better pump for the entire day, you don't feel jittery after coffee, and you actually don't feel the need to eat as much.(as in frequency, you might want to eat more but fewer times during the day)

notacoward 5y ago
> 30-40% or even more because i need my body to slowly adjust to cold That seems weird to me. I find that as it gets colder my inclination is to go faster. I regularly go out in -5°C; after no more than 5km or so my hat and gloves are off, and not too long after that I'm wishing I could take off more without being indecent. It's in the summer that I need more breaks. It's an unending source of wonder how differently people can react to the same conditions.
- sebow 5y ago
  Well depends on how much i want to run, that adjustment period i usually take for setting a deeper & slower breathing tempo which helps with energy during longer runs(i think some may call this trying to avoid 'negative energy' in endurance terms).I have the same reaction usually with colder temps: go faster->higher blood flow->feel less cold.I also do more breaks in summer,it's definitely worse.I guess my lower BMI & generally less time for recovery immediately after are the main reasons for these changes.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

> As someone who runs, I've been amazed at how many people think a MILE is a long distance to run Most people, especially past a certain age, don’t run distances. A mile is a long distance to run for the average person (across all ages). We don’t need to gatekeep physical activity. But fortunately you don’t need to be a runner to be active. Walking is substantially better than sitting.

NikolaeVarius 5y ago
Walking barely counts as being active. It takes almost no effort and 99.999% of the time does not increase heart rate which is the important part of exercise. If walking is considered being active, we have vastly lowered the bar. I know literal 70 year old people who could out-run 20 year old kids because they made the choice to stay active and healthy in old age
- lkbm 5y ago
  I'm pretty fit, and walking absolutely increases my heart rate. Even a casual stroll will raise it noticeable, and my normal medium-fast pace can easily bring it to 100+ bpm. (My resting heart rate is generally around 55-60 bpm.)
  - NikolaeVarius 5y ago
    You are insanely overestimating your fitness when 100 bpm is considered high when its in the range of an average resting heart rate
    - lkbm 5y ago
      I didn't say it's high. I said it's an increase over 55-60. The claim was that walking doesn't increase ones heart rate, which is, assuming we can agree that 100 > 60, is demonstrably false. As for my estimate of my fitness, I think just the fact that my resting heart rate is below 60 might suggest something to that end.
    - 5y ago

lkbm 5y ago

I don't think I would've thought a mile as a "long run", but until age 30 it was further than I'd ever run without having to stop to rest. If you don't run regularly, running for any length of time is hard, even if you're in good shape. (I was biking ~70 miles a week when I first started running, but unless you're really pushing, that doesn't work your heart of lungs anywhere near as hard.)

dundarious 5y ago

When I started running (or rather, attempted many times over a few years) I hated every moment of it and would regularly quit after literally 60 seconds. I had to learn to run very slow to start off. Very soon my pace drastically quickened and anything below 5k felt like a complete cop out. Although years of not stretching has led to regular achilles tendon pain now (at least I think that's the cause). I'm stretching and doing calf raises.

hackeraccount 5y ago
That's one of the weirder things about running. Generally you just say "go out for a run" like there's no skill to - that's it's just effort. Watch a kid run. You quickly realize that they have two paces - flat out sprint and walk. Pacing is something that you learn over time. The opposite extreme of that kid is someone's who's a really experienced runner - my wife for example; it's not that she's incredibly fast but she's amazingly conscious of her pace - if she wants to be consistent she'll run a mile pace that's within seconds for 10+ miles. If she's running a shorter distance she can calibrate her pace. I think that's one of the things I like about running. The other nice thing about it - really about any form of exercise is the discipline it forces on you. Not "I go running everyday" but - I go running as often as it takes to keep me where I want to be while listening to my body to avoid injury. The more you ask of "where I want to be" the more you have to know about stopping not just going. It forces a self awareness that can be atypical.