fast paced walking as cardio??

hiya guys,

i have a few knee/joint problems which prevents me from doing heavy impact cardio like running. I normally do rowing or cycling, sometimes elliptical trainer but the machines at my gym for that are sheeet, so normally just row/bike. i read somewhere that doing fast-paced walking on the treadmill is very good. is this true? i tried it for a few minutes to check if I could and had no problems with any joints. i tried like 7.5km/h on about 70% gradient and it really worked well. does anyone know if it works as well as bike or row? btw when I do bike I normally do about 20 minutes building up from about resistance 5 to resistance 8 (max. of 12 on the bikes at my gym). i just dont want to kill myself for 20 minutes on fast paced walking and find out that it gets my heart rate to 100 :)

Its all hear rate, so whatever you do to protect your joints and it doesnt hurt you its good.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by beenie
Its all hear rate, so whatever you do to protect your joints and it doesnt hurt you its good.

---

:\/:

Beenie is right...just to add to what he said. If you decide to run or train with hiher intensity, you will increase the rate at which fat is burned, but also run the risk of some catabolism (muscle loss). If you walk and utilize a lower heart rate you have to drastically increase the duration of the cardio session and the results will be slower in showing themselves. But it is easier on joints and the risk of muscle loss is minimalized.

cardio work should get your heartrate up around 80% of max, regardless of what you are doing.. if you can do that by walking fast, props to you bro :)

belie dat - walk uphill like you've been doing. that's a killer cardio