Jogging Vs. Walking for Losing Calories
When weighing the benefits of a walking program versus a jogging routine, statistics show that calories burned comparisons yield a fairly small difference on a mile to mile basis. Using statistics in "Exercise Physiology -- Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance," a 120-pound exerciser will burn roughly 72 calories per mile at a 3-mph pace. Jogging at 5 mph, the same person should burn approximately 86 calories per mile.
Cause Pain, Cease to Train
The high-impact nature of jogging means greater risk for injury, and injury means halting or scaling back your fitness routine. In "Walking: Your Steps to Health," Harvard Medical School notes that with just 1 mile of jogging, the typical runner subjects his body to the equivalent of 100 tons of impact force. This creates a far greater risk of injury to joints or muscles than walking and could hinder consistency if an injury occurs.
Pump It Up
Jogging's higher intensity provides greater cardiovascular benefits. Harvard Medical School notes that, ideally, training the cardiovascular system means boosting your heart rate to at least 70 percent to 85 percent of its maximum capacity and sustaining that level for at least 20 minutes for a minimum of three days a week. Except for beginning exercisers or those who have been sedentary for an extended period, casual or even brisk walking alone likely won't push the heart to those training levels.
Slow and Steady Can Win the Race
Walking provides many health benefits to beginning and more advanced exercisers and produces approximately one-third of the impact on your body as jogging, according to "Exercise Physiology -- Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance." To get similar cardiovascular benefits to jogging requires longer workouts -- the American Heart Association and American College of Sports Medicine standards recommend brisk walking at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week.
Lead a More Pedestrian Lifestyle
To increase walking distance on a daily basis, integrate simple things like taking the stairs instead of elevators, parking farther away from stores and doing more errands on foot rather than taking the car short distances. To keep track of your daily walking, use a pedometer that you clip on your belt to measure your daily steps. Harvard Medical School recommends aiming for 2 to 4 miles daily.
- Exercise Physiology -- Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance; William D. McArdle, Frank I. Katch and Victor L. Katch
- Harvard Health Publications: Walking: Your Steps to Health
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