Greek Runners on Vase (photo credit by Fotowerkstatt)
I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats and I’m damned if I’m going to use up mine running up and down a street. ~Neil Armstrong on jogging, in an interview with Walter Cronkite
Spend enough time reading PF bloggers, or really, bloggers in general, and you can’t help but notice the odd post or two about weight management.
Especially around the New Year, when those resolutions get made, talked up, enshrined in blog posts with the requisite tone of boundless optimism — and eventually dropped like the bad habits they are.
Resolutions on shaving off a pound or thirty off the midsection are legion:
Go to the gym.
Eat like a 13th-century monk on penance.
Go vegetarian.
Take up running.
Sure….
Here we are, more than six weeks into the new year, and still reading about losing weight. Yep, gotta do a better job of hitting the gym.
Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. ~Steven Wright
Leaving the gym aside and change of diet aside, here’s an argument for leaving the running to the young folks — as in anyone under 25 — and just opt instead for going on a good walk.
Burn, Baby Burn!
Yes, but running is so much better just walking. All that cardio and aerobic benefit.
A 250-pound person engaging in a wholesome run at a brisk 9-minute per mile pace for one hour (!!) will burn about 1,500 calories.
Olympic Marathon, Athens, 1896
That is, he would have burned that many calories had he not collapsed less than 10 minutes in, ending up drooling and comatose by the side of the road. Maybe some kind soul might pull over and stop and apply mouth-t0-mouth resuscitation. Maybe.
If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken Him completely by surprise. ~P.Z. Pearce
Walking doesn’t burn as many calories as running. No doubt about that. The same 250-pound person out for a one-hour walk at an average 4/mile/hour pace will burn about 550 calories.
Less than an hour’s worth of running, but chances are pretty good that he’ll have actually walked the whole hour, and avoided the whole ambulance/ER hassle and subsequent mammoth expense (See? Healthy *and* frugal!)
What’s more, this person will be able to walk the next day, and the next and the next. Pretty much every day.
A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world. ~Paul Dudley White
Take It Easy On Yourself
Really, relax, folks.
For one thing, forget about running. Just fuggeddaboutit. Your knees will thank you, your ankles will thank you, your wallet will thank you. A whole chorus of thanks.
Just walk.
Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow. ~Henry David Thoreau
Is there any doubt that walking is easier on the joints than running? Here is some random internet knowledge:
Despite being good for your overall health, running is harder on the feet than any other physical activity. Foot pain is common in both recreational and competitive runners.
It’s easy to understand why. “The foot of the average jogger hits the ground with two to three times the normal body weight,” says Elizabeth Kurtz, DPM, a podiatrist in Chicago and a spokesperson for the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA).
According to the APMA, over the course of three miles, a 150-pound jogger will expose his feet to a total impact of 150 tons (Jiminy Christmas!)
You can read the whole article here at the Everyday Health Network. Get the lowdown on overpronation, toe pain, blisters, and tendinitis (oh, my!). It concludes with this snippet:
If you have persistent foot pain while running, see a podiatrist. “Foot pain while running is not normal,” says Kurtz. A podiatrist may prescribe special (expensive) orthotic inserts for your running shoes or recommend other (expensive) remedies to help you run again without pain.
Here some free advice from Dr. 101C: if you have consistent pain while running, then running is not your bag.
Try walking instead. There, I fixed it!
Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint ~ Mark Twain
Health and Personal Investing
(gratuitous tie-in to personal finance)
So with the whole walking vs. running debate, and so with personal finance. Take it easy. Worry overmuch about supercharging the portfolio with the next high-growth stock hottie, and you’ll end up with portfolio shin splints and bunions. Not pretty.
Stick with boring dividend stocks, cash and long-term Treasury index funds.
Be boring, go for a walk, saunter or stroll. Get your favorite cigar, and take the dog out for a lap around the neighborhood.
All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. ~Soren Kierkegaard
For me the takeaway is not running or jogging, it is the fact you get to go out! We spend so much of our time indoors (the curse of a developed society), we don’t get enough sun!
MoneyCone recently posted..Why I Chose A 30-Year Mortgage Even Though I Could Afford To Pay It Off In 15 Years
Yep, too many would rather take a vitamin D supplement than spend an hour out in the sun.
“Walking is man’s best medicine” ~Hippocrates
Excellent post Andrew. A simple walk does so much for me. My Dad always used to say ‘couples that walk together stay together’. I can see a lot of trusth to this. It gives us a time to talk, without the noise of TV and enjoy fresh oxygen.
Hunter – Financially Consumed recently posted..Balancing Home Improvement Spending
Hi Hunter – your Dad certainly knew what was important. Walking is windshield time, just at a slower pace.
Health and fitness affects everything you do. For the last 5 weeks, I have had a pinched nerve and it has affected everything. I am finally having some relief and look forward to exercising again.
krantcents recently posted..Given a Choice, What Will You Do?
I know how you feel, KC. I strained an interior ligament in my knee a couple weeks ago, and the inactivity is driving me a little batty.
Take it easy – that’s my motto. My new eating plan cuts almost everything fun out, so my eating is pretty simple.
John @ Married (with Debt) recently posted..SpringCoin Review (+3 Free Months!)
Hey John, What’s your new eating plan, that gives you no fun?
Not to hate on the long distance guys, but the inflammatory response to distance running has its dangers too. Sign me up for HIIT (and I can get out of there quickly!).
I do like to point out that 6 pack abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym…
PK recently posted..The Government is Stealing Your Savings. Seriously. (Read This to See How!)
Not hating on runners,PK, just a poking a little fun. Really, the post was directed at seriously overweight persons. High-impact activities are a rash choice for weight control. Swimming would be even better for fatties, but I can’t in good conscience recommend it. It bores me to tears.
I was a runner. Once. In my early 20′s. Felt great the summer I did it. But then I realized I hate running. Never looked back. I just can’t comprehend how people put the words recreational and running in the same sentence. To me, running is either for getting to a point quicker or getting away from something quickly. No recreation about it! Like how you tied this into personal finance too.
Matt @ RamblingFever Money recently posted..Bodyguards, Boobs and a Pocket Full of Cash
I like running around, but only for indoor soccer. Just running as a sport I liken to swimming… boring. I got up to running and competing once in a 5K in my early twenties, and that’s about as far as I took it.
I have made habit of walking around 12K – 16K steps every day. That includes early jogging. I feel more energy and I have lost weight from 168 lb to 155 lb.
Hi Shilpan – 12K to 16K steps a day is pretty darn good.
It’s so easy to do and it’s free. I try to take my dog for a walk every other evening after work. It’s good to exercise my legs and breathe some fresh air.
Dannielle @ Odd Cents recently posted..Comment on How To Talk About Money At Home by Brent Pittman
Free… such a beautiful word. Our dog starts spinning around in circles when the leash comes out. Because she’s dumb, she invariably hits her head on the hallway shoe hutch as she comes around mid-spin.
I have never enjoyed running. I do enjoy walking, and currently walk about a mile up to our bayou, run to the next stop light (probably one lap around the track) to get the heart beating, then walk home. Seems like a good exercise routine to me.
Amanda L Grossman recently posted..True Acceptance of Your Circumstances and Your Finances
Hi Amanda – walking up to a bayou must be great on a sunset.
And you were so cool before this post….
Runners rock. We’re very sexy, and we’ve got great legs. Plus, they think I’m half dead every time I go in for a physical and my heart rate is 42. Some think it’s unnatural, I find it funny.
BUT, to encourage people to get out (as MoneyCone discusses above), is a great thing. I like running because it’s Joe time. No kids. No work. No blog stuff. Just me and the road. Love it.
AverageJoe recently posted..Forget 5 Steps to Budget Success–How about One.
I’m preparing myself for old-farthood. Walking slow with a dog, yelling at kids on skateboards.
Funny enough, I also have a very low heart rate and great blood pressure. Must be genetic.
I gave up running years ago. I walk, do tae bo, play tennis, and generally try to keep moving. So far so good
Barb Friedberg recently posted..IS MONEY THE ONLY MEASURE OF SUCCESS?
Hi Barb – tennis is loads of fun, but hell on my ankles. Too much side to side.
Nice post Andrew.
I run, a bit, but love walking.
My wife and I try to get out and stroll at least twice a week, for 5 km.
My Own Advisor recently posted..Weekend Reading – Dividends, debt, unconventional investments and much more
5 kms is a good hour’s walk, right?
I’m a walker, too. It’s one of the reasons we are selling the house and moving to the city. More walkable places like restaurants, plus I can have more wine at dinner without worrying about the drive home.
Try to get out there every day and if I get busy and the time starts to slip past, the dog comes and reminds me.
jlcollinsnh recently posted..Rent v. Owning Your Home, opportunity cost and running some numbers
Hi JL – exact same thing that the wife and I have been planning. Sell this suburban home and move to Midtown. More sidewalk and walking-to places.
Loved this post, especially the bit about collapsing on the side of the road 10 minutes in.
While you used the example of investing, it can also be used for debt repayment. Go too extreme when trying to pay off debt quickly, and you can burn out. Go as fast as you can and still maintain intensity.
Melissa@PersonalFinanceJourney recently posted..Where Lower Income Tax Filers Can Get Free Tax Help
Good point, Melissa. In it for the long haul, with milestone goals along the way.
When most people talk about running and walking I chime in with swimming. Bad knees and all. But my husband and I are starting P90x March 1st. The interesting thing was that when we started to get disciplined about our bodies, we also started looking harder at our personal finance. I don’t think the link between fitness and finance is gratuitous. I think people either want to be more disciplined in life or not.
I know, swimming is probably the best and easiest on the body, but he boringest. I may have to revisit and see how I can swim and listen to music and podcasts at the same time. There’s a bunch of products out there for swimmers.
[...] Take It Easy, Just Go For a Walk from 101 Centavos [...]
Hey Centavos!
Your blog is looking great. You know that I like to run…it’s a vice, perhaps, but I love to stand on a starting line with a whack of other primal nuts and race to the finish.
You know, I go to a gym for my running (well, I haven’t been in a few weeks, but I USED to go to a gym) and I’d never walk on the treadmill because it just seemed so pointless. But when it comes to going outside and exercising, walking is the way to go! It’s better because you can soak up some VD, enjoy the outdoors, get out of your head for a bit
Daisy recently posted..On Love, Life, and Loss
I love a good walk! I try to walk everyday and I’ve been doing it for about 10 years. It’s a great way to get your thoughts straight or have a good talk with a friend.
Running is not for me because of the unevenness of my legs, but I love skiing, walking, hiking, swimming, etc… and they are all (well, except for skiing when you wipe out) much easier on the joints.
Invest It Wisely recently posted..Weekend Reading: Snow Storm Edition
hahaha! I used to be that person, drooling and comatose on the side of the road. Not because I was 250 pounds, but because I could not run. My love for running came at age of 38. Yeah, a little late in life. But I am addicted to runner’s high. It is difficult to start, but when you get going you actually can feel how your body reacts to it. I always feel purified after a good run.
Aloysa @ My Broken Coin recently posted..A Feminist or a Bitch?
[...] Outdoor activities – Running, walking or bike riding also help to burn calories. [...]