Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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This was posted a while back, but I didn't find the quality of the answers that good, and anyways PH has grown and there are new users who may like to view/answer this question.

I'm more interested in the upper limit before it becomes harmful (e.g. like chornic cardio).

flag	asked Nov 12 2011 at 23:15 anon 71●1

	I can't really see an upper limit. All walking does, after longer durations, is burn body fat which could afford one literally days of walking even at the leanest body compositions. – ben61820 Nov 13 2011 at 2:17
	I don't see an upper limit either. Walking never produces the same sort of conditions that you'll observe in prolonged steady-state cardio. – Matt Nov 13 2011 at 20:14

Travis Culp · Answer 1 · 2011-11-12 23:29:30Z UTC

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There's no upper limit unless you're walking instead of sleeping (or while sleeping). I think 5+ miles is a good target and is consistent with the amount walked by some hunter-gatherer groups like the Hadza. I usually do 6-8 per day. It sounds like a lot, but once your feet/legs get used to it, it's effortless.

To put it in perspective, my mailman walks 15 miles every day that he works.

answered Nov 12 2011 at 23:29

Travis Culp♦
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Citations for a linear relationship between time and health benefit? Travis every single one of your arguments lately has been "these guys do this so you should too". You might want to substantiate your posts with actual evidence from here on out instead of these big sweeping assumptions based on non sequiturs. Is that fair? Probably not, the Hazda don't use logic and evidence so neither should we, right? – Stabby Nov 13 2011 at 0:00

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No thanks; do your own homework. As a side note, the Hadza are said to have good manners, and so should you. – Travis Culp♦ Nov 13 2011 at 0:39

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Let's not drag the Hadza into this; haven't they been through enough? "...there has been numerous attempts by successive colonial administrations, the independent Tanzanian government, and foreign missionaries to settle the Hadza, force them to adopt farming, and convert them to Christianity." – Kamal♦ Nov 13 2011 at 1:09

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What if walking a lot (meaning around 10 miles every day) is good for health, but not optimal for longetivity? That whole "the heart only has a limited number of beats" thing is supposed to be somewhat true, right? – Kamal♦ Nov 13 2011 at 1:31

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Odds are the increase during the exercise would lead to a decrease at rest, which would presumably even out. – Travis Culp♦ Nov 13 2011 at 2:16

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chris · Answer 2 · 2011-11-13 00:32:26Z UTC

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Walk as far and as much as you can everyday simple

answered Nov 13 2011 at 0:32

chris
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Sigrid · Answer 3 · 2011-11-12 23:47:17Z UTC

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There are plenty of people who basically walk for a living, like the mail delivery people here in New York who presumably walk several hours every day. I don't think that's considered harmful.

answered Nov 12 2011 at 23:47

Sigrid
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Nance · Answer 4 · 2011-11-12 23:33:49Z UTC

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I know from previous conversations on PH that walking isn't normally considered cardio, even if you're walking a decent distance. I'm sure it's treading the boundary to cardio if you're carrying weights and walking as fast as you can resulting in elevated heart rate, etc.

In my 30s and 40s I considered 10 miles or more a great weekend hike but now in my 60s 3-5 miles is my preferred distance every other day.

answered Nov 12 2011 at 23:33

Nance
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didn't say it was "cardio"... just wanted to know if there was a point of negative returns – anon Nov 12 2011 at 23:36

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Got it .. but most would say that's the negative. Otherwise, walking is our normal activity. Now, if you meant what's the point of diminishing returns I think a minimum for health is around a mile per day. If you average less, it will depend on what types of movements make up your day to determine how much walking is needed to complete a healthy routine. If you average more than a mile there are probably diminishing returns but again it's a very natural activity for us. – Nance Nov 13 2011 at 0:00

the_real_cdodd · Answer 5 · 2011-11-13 03:34:23Z UTC

My personal strategy for seeing if I am overtraining or overstressed is to measure my resting heart rate when I wake up. If it starts to elevate, then I back off on stressors like working out, staying up late, etc.

I've met others who've seen results with this method too, but YMMV.

JayJay · Answer 6 · 2011-11-13 14:38:40Z UTC

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Walking is good for you. Do as much of it as you can comfortably. You will know if you hit the "upper limit" of becoming harmful. For the most part the likely upper limits will be influenced more by your choice of terrain and/or foot wear. So the only "upper limit" I see as a possible negative would relate to mechanical break down. But, even this should not be a concern if you can choose more natural terrain to walk on.

answered Nov 13 2011 at 14:38

JayJay
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I hit my "upper limit" around mile 6 of a 10 mile hike yesterday. The next four were a study in pulling the pin and holding the grenade. Of course, seeing as this was my first long hike in almost a year, I suppose that isn't surprising. I typically go for a walk to loosen sore muscles, but it was walking that made these muscles sore, so I'm not sure that will work. Ah, first world problems... – Sean Drew Nov 13 2011 at 16:31

How much walking is optimal?

6 Answers