I’m happy to answer this question because it lets me dig in to some of the things I’ve discovered about walking, jogging, running, and sprinting in the course of the past 45 years.
When I was in the 7th grade, I struggled to jog a mile in P.E. even though I was pretty good at sprinting. It wasn’t until I learned how to do intervals in my 40’s that I was able to use walking, jogging, running, and sprinting to lose weight and to increase my speed and endurance.
There are some good studies that demonstrate the connection between muscle fiber composition and running ability, here is an article in Runner’s World that goes into this topic in depth:
It’s good to understand how your muscle fiber genetics can affect your walking and running, but my experience with walking and jogging for weight loss is that the method you enjoy the most will give you the best fat loss.
I suggest using walk/jog intervals like this: warm up with five minutes of easy walking, then jog until you become winded. Your level of conditioning will determine how long this takes. Ease back into a walk until your breathing and heart rate come back down, and you feel eager to jog or even run again. Repeat this sequence for eight rounds, and then walk until you feel completely rested. Repeat the interval session if you wish.
When I was a certified trainer, I learned that fat burning and conditioning happen during recovery from an interval as well as during exertion.
In other words, every time your body returns to baseline from the exertion of jogging or running, you are getting just as much fat burning benefit as when you are working on your endurance. To wrap up my answer, I will say both walking and jogging enhance weight loss and fat loss, especially when you perform them in intervals.
No matter what, enjoy your training, and I wish you well.
Catherine Gordon
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