If you’re about to embark on a fitness plan intended to boost your overall level of health and take you one step further towards your fitness goals, you might be trying to decide whether you should use running or walking as a cardio method.

Which variation of exercise will offer the best results? Is one really better than the other?

Well, in order to fully determine which one is going to be best for you, you need to take into account all the pros and cons that each variation has to offer, and then make a choice.

Let’s take a closer look into all that you need to know.

Walking

Walking

• The great thing about walking is that it’s ideal for any beginner to start. Almost anyone can walk and you can easily vary the speed in which you walk to match your fitness requirements.

• In addition, walking is still weight reducing, though not as high in impact as running, so it can be perfect for those who experience joint pains.

• Walking is also not going to be as stressful on your entire body, so if you are doing intense weight lifting workouts multiple days per week, walking can be a great way to help get some cardio, but still recover properly between those sessions.

• Walking can also be done on an incline very easily (if you’re using a treadmill) so this can help to assist you with strengthening the lower body muscles incredibly well.

• Walking is also something that you can easily make social – going for a brisk walk with a friend is a great way to get a workout and still be able to catch up about everything going on in each other’s lives. Running doesn’t typically offer this benefit as most people can’t talk while they run.

• The drawback to walking is that it won’t burn the calorie levels that running will. This means that you will need to do, more walking to burn the same amount of body weight/fat in comparison to running.

• In addition, walking will always take your fitness level high. At some point you will need to increase the intensity higher to boost your heart rate further and see enhanced cardiovascular benefits. That’s where running will come into play.

Running

Running

So now what are the main benefits to running? As previously suggested:

• Running helps you earn top marks in terms of getting into great cardiovascular shape. It’ll get your heart rate up more significantly than walking will, which then helps to improve your ability to deal with fatigue as you perform other activities.

• Running also burns more calories, minute for minute, in comparison to walking, so can be more helpful as far as fat loss is concerned.

• The only exception to this however would be inclined walking as if you get on a steep enough incline, this can help to boost your calorie burn quite extensively.

• Running is also going to be better for strengthening the bones as it is more bodyweight baring, but at the same time, make sure your bones are in good health for all the running you want to do, lest the impact is more harmful than any good.

• Finally, running can help provide great stress relief as well. Most runners reach the intensity levels high enough that their body releases positive endorphins, which causes a relaxing sensation to occur in the body. This can be great for stress management.

So there you have the primary benefits of both running and walking. One exercise is not necessarily the “better” choice, but rather it’s a question of which is best for you, based on your individual fitness goals.

You can always alternate between your walking and running days of cardio.

Choose sensibly and make the best of every walking or running lap you make.

The post What Works Best For You? Running Or Walking? appeared first on Youngisthan.in.

What is your fitness goal?

You seek a fit body, right?

But what is that you want in your body?

Are you seeking a Beach Body? Or Washboard Abs?

Do they ascertain that you are absolutely physically fit?

Well, in the fitness industry there is a common misconception that physical fitness equals the well shaped attractive looking body. This is unfortunately such a widespread belief touted by many who don’t know the science behind fitness training and to the surprise, even some fitness professionals who appear on TV, very stupidly add to the myth that “If you don’t look like a certain male or female model, then you are not fit” 

Fitness Training

First and foremost, not everybody’s fitness goals is to look beautiful or attractive at the beach, be it a bodybuilder, or a fitness magazine model.

For some people, their goal is pure strength which in this case, gaining extra fat actually helps. For other people, it could be sports performance where body fatness depends on what sport is the athlete is playing.

Total Strength

In the sports performance goal, looking pretty is not the goal.

Another one very unrealistic fitness myth is that “If you have washboard abs, then you are extremely fit”. Well many models who appear on magazine covers for money have washboard abs, are they physically fit as per the correct parameters of fitness?

On the contrary, many power lifters are fatter than the average, some with big bellies too,  but that didn’t stop them from performing just right.

Fitness

Are they not fit enough to perform?

So to say, the fitness goals should not be to have washboard abs or attractive body, but it should be to gain strength and power first and then endurance agility and speed too. 

While having way too much body fat can affect health and performance (obesity), but having a little fat on the body does not always mean that you are not fit or that you can’t function normal as well. The core requisites to a fit body is well functioning, healthy body without having any major ailments.

Having a beach body does not mean you are in good health. There is a difference between a goal for a better health and a goal for LOOKING like a model. Many female health freaks don’t look like bikini models and there does exist bodybuilders with chiselled biceps who nearly died of a heart attack using a McDonald’s diet. (This actually happened btw.) There is also a big difference between a goal for weight loss for a obese person and a goal for six pack abs or looking like a model.

To sum it all, there are or should be five basic health and fitness related goals:

1  Strength

2  Flexibility

3  Cardiovascular Endurance

4 Muscular Endurance

5 Body Mass Composition

For those into performance oriented sports, few more fitness benchmarks are added:

1  Agility

2  Balance

3  Coordination

4  Speed

5  Power

6  Reaction-Time

So folks,  you can see, “Physical Fitness” per se, is far more involved than just the looks of a person.

You can be unfit in your looks, but completely physically fit when it comes to health and strength. It all depends on the specific person and his or her fitness goals. Find out what is yours and work accordingly.

Not everybody desires to look like a super model and to be honest, not everybody has the body structure or metabolic function to have six pack abs so this is not a realistic goal for everybody out there.

Happy and fit life

The post What Is Physical Fitness? Washboard Abs? A Beach Body? Or Something Else? appeared first on Youngisthan.in.