To think getting out for a walk is better for you than the gym?

[lostinthememory]

And this is a hill I'm willing to die on

Yes going to the gym is great, especially if you're lifting weights etc with a goal to building muscle mass. But for most of us, it's far better to get out and go for a nice brisk walk in the sunshine (or even the sleet, as I did yesterday!) and leaves you feeling much better

Yes agree especially if it's brisk and in nature. Get way less colds etc since I ditched the gym.

I have just been for a beautiful walk for two
hours in the snow up on the hills. I would far rather do that than grind away on a treadmill. Maybe it doesn't make you as fit but it makes you happier.

Much more importantly, better to do anything that you will sustain. I can and do sustain running. I can't and won't sustain the gym. But DH goes to the gym three times a week every week. If walking is sustainable for you, great.

Better than any of this is to build exercise into your life as standard. Walk to the school, shops, work, blah blah.

We call it the dreadmill.

Even better, walk to the gym!

Depends how you define 'better' I suppose.

A gym class I enjoy is far better for me - fitness/socially/weight loss/mental health wise - than a walk I don't enjoy.

I'm currently having to run outside instead of go to the gym (nothing nearby that works with the hours I have free) and long for classes again.

I think that's what I didn't articulate well - getting out and about just makes you feel better. I've been on two shorter, brisk walks today and I feel great. I'll still get to the gym, because I want to hit my 10,000 steps and we're losing light now, but I just think in general it doesn't make you as happy

I like walking to the gym and back. Does that count?!

But the gym is so much warmer!

That being said I can't understand (unless it's icy; it isn't here) why you'd go to the gym for a run. Outside is a bit more interesting and means if I've had enough I've got to get back somehow. My gym is 2 minutes away

It's also worth saying that it's a priviledge.

When I lived in South London, running in the streets wasn't an option and parks were crowded and full of 'hilarious' male commentators. Gym or classes were safer.

Now I can get to a forest, a lake, the beach in 20 minutes and run (or walk) in blissful quiet. My runs tick all the 'health' boxes.

Fraid I disagree.

in 2009/10 I spent 3 weeks on a 1200 cal a day diet and just walked each day - only 1 pound lost in 3 weeks!

then started gym, swim and exercise classes - another stone lost - actually more than that 💪

it seems that walking doesn’t raise my metabolism enough when on a 1200 cal day diet !

I honestly think it depends on a few things.

It depends on what your end goal is. If you have weight/conditioning goals you’re working towards, a proper gym routine is invaluable. If you just want to move your body a bit/shake off the cobwebs/get your steps in, a walk is great.

It also depends on what sort of person you are. Some people love and need to be outside and a walk does loads for their mental health, in
addition to any physical benefits. Personally, I get nothing from them, am not fussed about being outside and recharge better/more in solitude on my sofa.

So, you’re not wrong. But, it doesn’t apply in all cases.

Not if you live in Sheffield at the moment, no.
Hills, sheet ice,on compacted snow, on pavements.
Gym better option ... if you can get your car out to get there.

I used to go to the gym every day before work - got up at 4.30am and sustained it for several years. End of 2023 I got a dog, peri menopause hit and getting out of bed was a major effort but I had to in order to walk the dog and get to work on time. Haven't been to the gym since, or ridden my road bike. I walk just over 50 miles a week with the dog and if it wasn't for her I would be under my duvet 24/7.
But I do miss the gym and doing weights - even though my legs are very slim from walking they have little shape/muscle compared to what they used to have. And my midriff is huge and arms all wobbly. Would love to be able to face getting up early and doing gym work again.

I wouldn't be walking very far in the current weather or ground conditions. I walk the dog and go to the gym. In the gym the weather is always the same so I never miss a day.

I relied on walking and yoga only for years when I got endometriosis and couldn't do any high impact exercise and it kept me in a baseline of fitness, but am so much fitter now I go to the gym 3 x a week and do weights and cardio (as well as a yoga class).

Walking is great exercise and can also be done in a gym. People don't have necessarily nice or safe places to walk and at this time of year may have to do it in the dark and cold.

I think if it works for you it works for you, does it matter what anyone else does?

A mixture is best. The vast majority of people don't do enough strength training, and this is vital for reducing the risk of developing sarcopenia and frailty in older age. Cardio fitness (such as walking) is important too, for our cardiac health. Getting out in nature has its own important wellbeing benefits over and above gym-based training, but cannot offer the benefits of strength training.

Ultimately it depends on what you prefer as an individual, and what aspects of various types of exercise get you interested and motivated to sustain it. It's all well and good heavily promoting strength training, but if you hate it, then you won't do it. Same with gym-based cardio, same with walks in nature... 🤷‍♀️

Can I just say that for anyone having trouble walking on icy pavements at the moment, good ice grips that pull over your shoes are a gamechanger. I have the ones that look like springs held with rubber strips (can't give the name in case it counts as advertising). I am in my 70s, and wearing these and am able to walk up side roads thick with ice without even feeling at risk of slipping.

I walk to the gym, do my weights & cardio training & walk back.

I used to do early morning running in the local park, but even if it wasn’t so cold I wouldn’t want to go there in the dark.

Maybe it's just because I despise weight training, entirely 😅

a walk to the gym would be best

I think if you're a woman of 40+ then a combination of walking in nature + lifting weights, at the gym or at home, are recommended for overall health, wellbeing, and maintaining muscle mass/protecting bones as we age. But ultimately, just moving your body every day doing something you enjoy and will stick at, is key.

many times this!

@JennyChawleigh
Just give the name please
It's not advertising, it's a public service announcement!

I walked rather than went to the gym today and got 11000 steps in before lunch but I'm not sure this was at all wise with the state of the pavements and having to be so wary rather detracted from the beautiful blue sky and sun.

I'll be at the gym tomorrow

Ok:
https://www.yaktrax.co.uk/