Walking vs Running: Benefits, Differences, and How to Choose

Walking vs running which one is the better workout? Will walking or running help you with weight loss? The best workout is going to depend on your body, your lifestyle, and your specific goals.

Walking and running are two of the most popular cardiovascular exercises that people engage in to improve their health and fitness.

While they are both excellent forms of physical activity, there are differences between walking vs running that can impact your workout routine and your overall fitness goals.

So whether you’re looking to burn calories, strengthen your muscles, or simply enjoy the great outdoors, it’s important to understand the differences between walking vs running before you start.

Both have a ton of benefits and there’s a lot of crossover between the two. In this article, we will look at the benefits of walking vs running and decide which is right for your training based on your goals.

What is the Difference Between Walking vs Running?

Let’s start by breaking down exactly what we’re talking about here. While a stroll with the pup or with friends is always wonderful, we are really focused on walking as a workout which means Power Walking.

I like to call it walking with purpose.

When it comes to the main differences between walking /power walking and running, there are three main areas to consider: speed, gait, and muscles worked. Let’s look at each of them in more detail:

Walking vs Running: Speed Differences

You may think it’s just regular walking done super fast. To some degree, this is true. Power walking is more than a brisk walk, yet not quite as much as a jog.

For our purposes we are aiming to work up to at least 4MPH which is a 15 minute mile.

This exercise routine is built upon walking at a consistent pace while maintaining:

Longer strides
Good posture
Alternating leg and arm movements
Speed

Power walking is no joke. There are marathons and events fully dedicated to the sport of long-distance race walking, where race walkers are hitting a 6 min pace, yessh! Walking is a lot of athletes’ favorite low-impact exercise and for good reasons.

👉Checkout my complete guide to power walking to get started!

Let’s move on to running.

Technically some define running as any speed over 6 mph. But as I talked about in running vs jogging, I don’t really care what your speed is.

Running is when both feet leave the ground for a split second. Speed is going to vary, so that’s actually not the defining characteristic.

walking vs running

And so, even though running is usually faster than walking, you can walk faster than you can run or jog. For example, a person could power walk briskly at 4.4 mph, while many slow runners might run at 4.0 mph (15 minutes per mile).

In the end, it comes down to which exercise you can perform more vigorously. In fact, the speed and incline of your run or walk affect how intense or vigorous your workout is.

Your workout will be more challenging the faster you move and the steeper the incline.

Let’s look at gait differences to understand where the real distinctions start.

Walking vs Running: Gait Differences

The gait pattern between both running and walking is different, even if we keep the speed consistent between the two.

When you walk, there is always one foot that stays on the ground. When one foot is in the air during the swing phase, the other foot is on the ground in stance, bearing your weight.

As a result, walking is a low-impact exercise since you never land from an airborne position on your foot. Instead, you lift and place your foot back down to move forward.

When you run, on the other hand, there is a ‘flight or ‘float’ phase, even if you are running slower than you might power walk. There is a moment when both legs are in the swing phase and neither foot is touching the ground.

And so, for this reason, running is a high-impact activity because you must land on your feet from an airborne position.

Walking and running are two separate activities, with noticeable gait changes that can be seen and felt. For this reason, as we discussed earlier, the difference between the two involves more than just average speeds.

Walking vs Running: Muscles Worked

Walking and running are mostly lower-body activities with comparable movement patterns, therefore there is considerable muscle overlap between the two.

Both are forms of lower-body exercise that work the quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves, as well as the hip flexors. Plus, the hamstrings, calves, and glutes are used more when the incline is steeper in either of the two exercises.

Running and power walking also strengthen upper-body muscles like the shoulders and arms in addition to the core muscles like the abdominals and low-back extensors. (Bonus points for Nordic walking which really fires up the upper body!)

However, running utilizes all muscles to a greater extent than walking because it is a high-impact activity. Muscles must work harder to lift the body off the ground between strides, move it forward, and absorb the impact of landing.

So, not only are the muscle forces and exertion more during running than walking, but the joint impact stresses are also greater.

Benefits of Walking and Running

These two have a wide range of shared benefits. Walking has been one of the most underrated exercise for years.

Running tends to get all the attention and listen I’ve got a whole website about running here, but I do LOVE a walk! They can coexist! Not to mention, there are tons of training programs like the run/walk method that utilize both simultaneously.

The positive effects walking and running have on our bodies range from helping lower your risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer to decreasing depression and reducing anxiety. Let’s look at this more in-depth.

Physical Benefits

Running or walking can help improve many facets of your physical health. Aside from the noticeable improvement in the physical appearance of your body, there are many other positive side effects of exercising consistently.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ most recent physical activity recommendations, adults should engage in:

75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity or
150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity per week.

Adding 30 minutes of vigorous activity to your daily habits can:

Strengthen bones and promote better joint health, combating arthritis and osteoarthritis
Burn belly fat, burn calories, and assist with weight loss
Decrease risk of heart disease, manage high cholesterol levels and blood pressure
Diminish your chances of getting some cancers
Boost your immune system
Lower your risk of diabetes
Lower risk of hip replacement in the future
Tone your legs
Stimulate growth hormones
Increase your lung capacity
Add years to your life
Reduce risk of Alzheimer’s
Improve libido

Studies have confirmed walking (in any form) can be one of the most beneficial activities for your health. Meanwhile, running also works multiple body systems at once and produces positive results in a shorter period of time.

Mental Health Benefits

Physical benefits are not the only positives of regularly walking or running.

Research has proven that effective long-distance walking improves mental health.

Studies found that regular walking and running assist with reducing the impact of stress in your life, allowing for many positive mental health benefits, such as:

Actively fighting/assisting in managing depression
Drastically reducing levels of anxiety
Improving sleep and reducing brain fatigue
Increasing energy throughout the day
Improving mood
Boosting confidence and self-esteem
Promoting the continuation of other healthy habits
Enhancing creative thinking

walking vs running for weight loss

Walking vs Running: Which One is a Better Workout?

Between walking vs running, the workout that’s better for you will depend on your different goals. Let’s look at the three most common ones:

1. New to Exercising

For those new to exercise the answer is walking.

Being lower intensity means less chance of injury and frustration, which provides time to build a habit and increase fitness.

You will get very similar cardio benefits and results from walking as you will from running.

Studies have shown walking may be a better cardio choice for women. Both exercises bring equal positive benefits for cardio health, but women tend to stick with walking/power walking more than running.

2. Want to Increase Existing Fitness

For those looking to increase existing fitness increasing run time may be the best choice.

Cardio is the first benefit associated with running, as running is one of the top-ranking ways to elevate your heart rate and get your blood pumping. Where this goal can be accomplished with power walking as well, running increases your body’s movements at a faster rate in a shorter amount of time.

3. Looking to Improve Cardiovascular Fitness

Cardiovascular workout goals are reached by running twice as fast as they are with walking.

Running strengthens the walls of the heart. This will increase its overall efficiency. Strengthening the heart allows for a lower resting rate and an increase in the amounts of oxygen taken in and pushed through the body.

Walking vs Running: Which One is Better for Weight Loss?

One of the fundamental differences between power walking vs running is the number of calories burned during the workout. That being said, I am a HUGE advocate of walking for weight loss as your starting point because it’s easier to stick to and then transition to running.

With power walking, your body is not elevating your heart rate as quickly or burning as many calories as you would, compared with the higher intensity session of running. You will need to walk much longer and more often to burn a similar number of calories as you would with jogging.

The quicker the pace and the difficulty of the terrain (i.e climbing a trail) will increase calories burned while walking.

Power walking burns a similar number of calories as running. For example, power walking at 4.5 mph for one hour would burn the same as jogging at 4.5 mph for one hour.

You will burn twice as many calories running as you will walking.

The simple science is that your body works harder with a higher impact activity when running.

nordic walking benefits — Photo by @marxanordica_cmsc

A study published by the Mayo Clinic shows that a 160-pounds (73 kg) person walking for one hour at an average speed of 3.5 mph will burn an average of 314 calories. They approximated that the same person, running for 1 hour with an average speed of 5 mph, burns 606 calories.

The key is which one can you stick with? Just because walking might take longer to burn calories, if it’s something you enjoy and will stick to then it’s the better choice!

Running and walking are both sufficient in keeping weight off if performed regularly.

Walking vs Running a Mile: Calories Burned

There are a lot of different calculators to come up with calories burned, but a few overarching themes seem to be present.

calories burned are going to increase with walking or running speed
total calories will also increase with body weight

The following chart is for a 30 minute workout to help you compare total calories burned walking vs running at different speeds.

Activity	125LB person	155LB Person	180LB Person
Walking 3.5MPH	103	133	159
Walking 4.0MPH	135	175	189
Running 5.0MPH	240	288	336
Running 6.0MPH	295	360	420

Walking vs Running: Which One is Better on a Treadmill?

Wondering if the value of your workout changes on the treadmill? It depends entirely on the treadmill incline that you utilize.

If you’re running and walking at a 0% or even 1% incline then running will always burn more calories. However, if you’re open to utilize the incline then you can substantially increase your overall calorie burn and utilize more muscles with a power walk than a flat run.

Checkout these beginner treadmill tips to get you started >>

Walking vs Running: Which One is Better for Joint Health?

Both running and walking are excellent for our joints. In fact, studies show regular running strengthens the joints and protects against the development of osteoarthritis later in life.

However, running is a high impact exercise and therefore requires more from your entire body. While it does help to improve bone density, the risk of injury also increases without proper training and a focus on both form and strength training.

Anyone can power walk, which is why we so often recommend it. Walking is also a great way to get your body used to the movement of running before adding it in. This is going to help reduce common injuries.

This exercise is suitable for nearly every individual wanting to try as a low-impact exercise, that can be adjusted to accommodate the participants’ specific levels and needs. Walking allows movement and strength building in the joints with a lower risk of damage.

If you have goals of becoming a runner, power walking is a great start to work your body up to the greater demands running has on your joints. This reduces the chance of stress fractures and cartilage damage on joints in the knees, ankles, and hips that you see in long-time runners.

Walking vs Running: Which One is Better for Heart Health?

Great news, it’s a tie! The American Heart Association showed walking was just as good as running to lower risk of heart disease. A good strong walk is going to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and even diabetes risk factors.

Many Doctors are going to prescribe walking because people simply seem to be able to stick to it better than running. And as we’ve said that’s the goal! Consistency is where you’re going to see benefits of either workout.

The studies are looking at doing at least a 20 minute walk at a brisk pace, which we’ve defined as power walking.

In fact one study from Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, followed 33,060 runners and 15,945 walkers for over six years. The results showed both experienced reductions in heart disease risk factors, but the walkers saw greater impacts on blood pressure and cholesterol.

Walking vs Running: Assessing Risk of Injuries

The final key distinction between walking and running that many people are curious about is the relative risk of injury.

Walking, as previously mentioned, is a low-impact activity, but running is a high-impact activity. As a result, anyone suffering from joint discomfort or arthritis will likely find walking more comfortable and approachable.

Running, on the other hand, is a more effective way of building bone density due to the increased impact stresses. This also makes the risk of stress fractures and joint pain a little bit higher.

In general, there is a lower risk for potential injuries with walking than with running. Injury risk rises as intensity and duration increase. But there are ways you can greatly reduce your risk of running-related injuries!

The most important is to increase the intensity and duration of your runs gradually. You shouldn’t increase it by more than 10% week by week. And the second is to make sure you’re wearing the right type of running shoes. In fact, this is even important with walking and I highly recommend you consider getting some walking shoes.

For running, make sure you get shoes that are the right type for your feet. I highly recommend shoes with sufficient stability and cushioning, and that fit properly. You should rotate your shoes regularly, and avoid running on slick, soft surfaces to prevent the risk of injuries.

Read more about the common running injuries to know how to best avoid them; not all runners get injured, especially when taking all the necessary precautions and working on having a good form.

Walking vs Running: 3 Steps to Pick What Will Work For You

Having a healthy heart, stronger bones, and maintaining a healthy body weight are all possible with regular power walking or running.

You will know what is right for you by listening well to your body. But, here are a few questions to consider to ensure a positive start.

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Are you looking to burn calories fast and see results even faster, or is your goal to simply get yourself out and moving again?

Know your reason why.

Are you looking to lose weight?
Is your goal to combat depression or ease anxiety?
Are you trying to meet new people and boost your social life and confidence?

Having a clear understanding of your exercise goals will guide you to which type of movement and workout will suit you best.

Step 2: Figure Out Your Starting Point

What shape is your body in right now, and what limitations may it have? Do you have running experience?

You don’t ever want to get hurt while exercising.

People with underlying health conditions or mobility limitations are at higher risk of injuries when running than they may be at power walking.

Be honest and aware of your body’s current abilities. A healthy understanding of your needs and a realistic plan for moving forward will help you keep the risk of injuries to a minimum and improve your results with every workout.

Step 3: Consider What You Enjoy More

Do you even enjoy running? You might think I want everyone to run.

Wrong!

I have discovered that many people like the idea of being a runner, but once they get started, they quickly recognize they find no enjoyment in it. However, power walking may be far more enjoyable and natural to them. And that’s what I want for you!

Don’t do an activity you don’t enjoy.