Long walks vs frequent short walks

External Since: Jun 12, 2005 Posts: 8

I've been trying to walk 5 miles a day and doing very well at it. My
job is rather sedentary so getting out to walk is important, especially
since I am a newly diagnosed diabetic T2. I usually walk the 5 miles
late at night. I live in a safe and well-lit neighborhood. It helps me
to sleep well at night too. Recently a friend said that it is better to
do several shorter walks each day rather than one long walk. Is this
true? Thanks for any advice/suggestions.

External Since: Dec 08, 2004 Posts: 187

tenplay wrote:
> I usually walk the 5 miles late at night. [....]
> It helps me to sleep well at night too.

"Don't fix what ain't broke".

> Recently a friend said that it is better to do
> several shorter walks each day rather than one
> long walk. Is this true?

Why don't you ask your friend why he/she thinks it is
better? Then we could comment on his/her reasoning,
which ight reveal more needed detail.

Generally, several short periods of exercise is
offered as an alternative, not a preference. It is a
compromise between the ideal and balancing one's time
and tolerance for exercise.

Admittedly, my comments are based on some assumptions.
There are details that you did not mention.

What is your goal in walking?

If it is for cardio fitness and you are walking at 2
MPH, it would be good to try to increase your speed
to 3-3.5 MPH (and higher is better). To achieve that,
you might need to take shorter walks, at least for a
while in the beginning.

(And even that recommendation has assumptions built
into it. For example, if you are morbidly obese, a
2 MPH pace might be stressful enough.)

If you are walking for weight loss, generally it is
the total amount of exercise (calorie expenditure)
that matters. So one long walk and multiple short
walks are equally beneficial, in principle. However,
there is some research to suggest that certain
beneficial hormonal changes occur after exercising
15-20 min.

On the flip-side, if you are speed-walking and you
want to train for short races, shorter walks would
be better -- with perhaps one or two long walks per
week.