Am I Burning Calories Walking – If So How Many?

You’ll always be burning calories walking, or running or even standing in the middle of a room swinging your arms around wildly.

WHATEVER MOVEMENT WE DO WILL ALWAYS BE BURNING CALORIES.

Calories are simply units of heat that our body releases when we move around.

The more energetically or faster we move then the more heat our body generates and therefore the more calories we’ll burn.

Walking is a low impact activity that we can do for long periods of time which means that we are burning calories far longer than something we can do for only a few minutes before needing to rest such as weight training or fast running.

If you’re burning calories walking, you be burning through them at a slow and steady rate, but you’ll be able to keep burning them for longer.

How Many Calories Are You Burning When Walking?

The amount you burn depends on a number of factors...

• How fast you’re walking, the faster you walk, then the more calories you’ll burn 

• What technique you use, simply strolling along won’t burn anywhere near as many calories as power walking does. By using your arms to generate speed as in power walking, you’ll make your walking more effective 

• The terrain you're walking on. Walking on a road is easier to do than walking on a dirt track, fields or a sandy beach. 

• If you’re walking on the flat or hills. Walking up hills is more challenging than walking on flat terrain, you’ll work harder, generate more heat in the muscles and therefore be burning more calories walking. 

I like to use the following story to explain the benefits of walking as I think it clearly explains what happens.

Have you ever heard the story about the hare and the tortoise?

The hare and tortoise have a race, but the hare sets off too fast, so very soon has to stop for a rest...

He finds himself a warm, shady spot under a tree and falls fast asleep.

The tortoise on the other hand goes far slower but keeps on going and passes the sleeping hare on his way to winning the race.

This is how it is with walking compared to other sports or activities. You won’t burn off as many calories per minute compared to something like running, but you’ll be able to keep going much longer therefore the overall total of calories burned will be much greater.

For an hour of relatively easy walking you would burn around 250 – 300 calories, but this could be far more if you use some advanced walking techniques.

In summary, you’ll always be burning calories walking, but how many depends on how challenging it is for you.

It’s a great idea to do a selection of walks, some fast and shorter and some easier but longer.

To follow a specifically designed walking program to help you lose weight fast and get you fitter, more toned and feeling great about yourself, then go take a look here right now - walking for weight loss