RES 500 – Research Methods For Health Sciences – Walking Vs Running

Studying Design

Null Hypothesis : Walking to remain physically fit is more fruitful than running to remain physically fit

Alternative Hypothesis: Walking to remain physically fit does not show any difference achievement from running to remain physically fit.

Research Questions

Does walking to remain physically fit gives better results than running to remain physically fit?

Literature Review

With the growing rate of obesity and other fitness related condition, physicians are encouraging people to consider employing physical exercises to enhance good health. Among the possible exercises include strength training, hiking, swimming, aerobics, cycling, running, and brisk walking. Exercise is normally perceived as an activity which needs a vigorous intensity effort which includes increased heart rate, increased breathing and sweating. According to Hoeger et al. (16), individuals are encouraged to take vigorous intensive exercises thrice per week for about 20 minutes in each exercise. Although there are a number of physical activities which one can do, they cannot all be classified as vigorous intensive physical exercises which are recommended to maintain physical fitness. In this regard, an individual need to wisely decide on the best physical exercise to adopt based on the benefit each exercise gives to a particular individual.

According to Faires (1) among a number of physical exercise and activities that can assist clients use their energy and produce fitness benefits and positive health benefits, walking is one of them. Walking is a famous activity and maybe among the easiest techniques for individual to meet general guidelines if physical activity. Most clients can easily access safe walking areas that include shopping malls, sports complexes, recreational fields, and parks in times of inclement weather.  Clients can effectively and easily monitor daily walking by putting on pedometer on a waistband which usually cont the vertical fall and rise of the hip in each step. This assist in evaluating whether one goes to a rate  that can be beneficial to the body. This simply means that there is a chance of having unhealthy walk which does not initiate any level of physical exercise. According to a research conducted by Hall et al. (2029) one need to walk for a long distance to be able to acquire similar benefits obtained from running for a short distance. In addition, the walking benefits depend also on the pace of walking. Those who manage to walk at a reasonable pace enjoy more benefits as compared to others who walk at a slower pace. Although all individuals involved in walking enjoy some health benefits, there is a great variation with time required and distanced necessary to achieve all these benefits (Hoeger et al. 12).

Walking and running are both outstanding aerobic exercises that can be used to build the fitness of cardiovascular. According to Hoeger et al. the two will assist in promoting weight loss, decrease the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, decrease blood pressure, boost energy, elevate the mood, and improve sleep. Running and walking are year round activities which are easy to perform and they involve a low cost. However, running according to Faires (1), is considered to be more aerobic than walking and thus, for one to maximize on the aerobic outcome at a short period, one should consider running other than walking. This argument is supported by Golde (1) who claims that although walking can give numerous benefits as running can, a recent study demonstrated that running is be the best way to exercise for those who are considering shedding a few pounds. According to the study, individuals lose 2.5 times more energy when running as compared to walking. This is irrespective of whether one walks on the treadmill or the track.

According to Colbert et al. (14), walkers and runners had to use the same amount of energy to acquire the same benefit, then walkers have to walk longer than runners for the same impact. Running is also said to be a great means to enhance blood flow for glowing skin, boost mood, and keep healthy. However, Golde (1) also support walking as a way of acquiring a great level of fitness. In this case, walking is described as an excellent low impact technique to get to acquire fitness without risking injuries. This claim is supported by a research conducted by Colbert et al. (16), that was conducted to evaluate the relation between injuries associated with physical activities where running ad walking were investigated. Although the two were found to contain almost similar benefits, walking was found to subject the person involved into a lower musculoskeletal injury risk as compared to running and thus, walking was recommended as the best technique to enhance fitness and health. Similarly, Williams (712) believes that walking and running gives the same fitness results and those who do not wish to run can manage the same level of fitness by waking. Moreover, walking is considered to be less stressful to the body and thus, it is highly recommended for those who feel that they do not have much energy to run.

There have been a number of researches conducted to establish the actual benefit of walking and running. According to Hall et al. (2130), running has been found to contain a higher energy cost as compared to walking on both the treadmill and track. In addition, the rate of body mass index is highly determined by the form of exercise adopted with those associated with running demonstrating a high rate of losing the BMI while the walking demonstrating a lower rate of regulating the body mass index. According to the evaluated literature, walking and running are both recognized forms of physical exercises and they can both be used in achieving physical exercise fitness. However, the two are different based on the level of achievement. Running can be used to acquire the best and fast results as compared into walking (Williams 710). One has to do an extra job in walking to acquire equal benefits as acquired in running. In this regard, running can be considered to be more beneficial than walking. In addition, walking is considered to be less aerobic and to vary extensively based on the distanced walked and the walking speed. In this regard, to enjoy the physical fitness benefit of walking one must walk at a good pace which will generate sweating, quickened breathing speed and increased heartbeat. Based on this evaluation, it can therefore be concluded that the walking and running have a different physical benefits. However, the benefit level can be equated if one can walk for longer hours and at a higher pace. However, if the walking distance is the same as that of running  distance, then the achievement can never be the same.

Get Your Custom Paper From Professional Writers. 100% Plagiarism Free, No AI Generated Content and Good Grade Guarantee. We Have Experts In All Subjects.

Place Your Order Now
Scroll to Top