Hey BBM crew,
Is walking for a 2-3 hours per week sufficient for general health if currently lifting weights 3 times per week squatting/deadlifting etc. Or is the intensity too low?
IL,
Thanks for the message and great question!
So, it depends how fast you’re walking and your current state of conditioning. It also depends if you’re getting 2 or 3 hours in, as those numbers are sufficiently different.
For many, walking briskly (~4 miles per hour) costs about 4 METs in energy. The current guidelines recommend 150-300 minutes per week of moderate intensity aerobic conditioning, which is deemed anything between 3-6 METs. So, walking for 3 hours per week at a brisk pace might get you up to that minimal level, sure.
That said, there appears to be a dose response relationship between exercise volume and health improvement potential of exercise, e.g. the more exercise you do the better health results you get such as blood pressure-lowering potential of exercise, blood sugar control, etc.
If it were me, I’d be doing the walking, some dedicated conditioning work, AND crushing the weights.
-Jordan
Ok thanks Jordan. Is there any added benefit splitting the conditioning up into 2 or 3 sessions per week? Or would the health benefits be equal if the same amount of conditioning was done in one session?
This is actually a surprisingly hard question to answer, as one needs to tease out all the potential effects of frequency on training outcomes.
That said, I would recommend individuals engage in aerobic activity for ~30 minutes per day, which can be split up into 5 minute intervals if needed.
What about adding weight to the equation? I do Goruck events a few times a year, so I usually ruck with a 30 pound rucking plate for prescribed LISS conditioning instead of jogging. (And usually double the prescribed duration.)
I know my knees tolerate rucking better, but do you think the added weight and increased duration is enough to consider it conditioning work?
I know there is no hard and fast answer, but I appreciate your thoughts on the subject.
I think that walking with an external load increases the energy requirements of the activity, sure. That said, I’m not sure it changes anything I’ve said or recommended in this thread.