Taking care of your body and health is essential. It is just like maintaining your car so that it doesn’t stop moving all of a sudden. As much as eating and giving proper nutrition to your body is important, maintaining your weight and keeping your body fit are also essential to living a healthy life. How can a person ensure fitness for his body? The answer is by exercising regularly.

There are various forms of exercise that help in keeping the body fit. From high-intensity workouts to low-intensity exercises. People usually take exercise as a chore and something which they will not be able to do.

Walking, jogging, and running are the three most common physical activities that help in keeping people fit and healthy. These exercises do not take a toll on your body, unlike hard-core Hiit exercises or even Zumba but they can benefit your mental and physical health.

In this article, you will be learning about the primary difference between walking, jogging, and running. As well as you will get to know how they impact our bodies. 

It will further help you in deciding the perfect form of exercise for your body and age. If you wish to bring a change in your lifestyle by adopting a form of exercise to keep you healthy, then this article is the one for you.

What is the Difference between Walking, Running, and Jogging?

Whilst these physical activities have the same purpose, there is some basic difference between them. Their impact on the body is different, the amount of energy they require is different, and their physical requirements are different. We will be explaining all three physical activities to give you an idea about their basic differences.  

Walking.

Walking (brisk walking) is a moderate-intensity exercise that has a low impact. It burns lesser calories as compared to jogging and running. Walking does not have any specific physical requirements, unlike jogging and running.

For example, people who have joint problems or any other ailments due to which they cannot perform high-intensity exercise can opt for walking without any worries.

Walking is not exhausting. It increases the heart rate and rate of respiration, but it keeps you comfortable and does not exhaust you completely. To make it have an impact on your body so that you can lose weight, you have to speed up gradually and maintain a quick pace.  

Jogging.

If walking is mellow, then jogging is vigorous. It is a high-impact and high-intensity exercise. If you want to burn more calories in a minute, then you should opt for jogging. Jogging puts more pressure on the joints as both feet leave the ground and hit the ground with force. When you are jogging, your heart rate and rate of respiration increase, making you breathless at one point. If you want to jog particularly for weight loss, then a jogging session of 35-40 minutes is sufficient to burn approximately 400 calories in a day.  

Running.

Running is higher in intensity as compared to jogging. Running requires more pace and more effort from the muscles, joints, heart, and lungs. Unlike walking, running requires a higher level of physical fitness.

If you wish to opt for running as an exercise, then you need to start with a brisk walk, then proceed to jog, and work your way up to running.

It is gradual progress that requires time and effort. You have to prepare your body first and then move to run. On average, one mile of running can burn 100 calories. Running is the ultimate level of exercise.

 Which type of exercise is more effective?

These three exercises are very effective and have different benefits attached to them. You can opt for any of these exercises according to your health and fitness level.

For Cardiovascular System.

The cardiovascular system is one of the essential parts of our body, which has the duty to provide blood to all body parts.

To maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and avoid various health issues, a combination of exercises can be beneficial.

Walking, jogging or running can help in maintaining blood pressure. They also lower stress levels and help you relax your mind and body.

Doctors usually recommend 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise to people who face cardiovascular issues. This not only regularizes the blood pressure but also helps in maintaining overall health.

For weight loss/calories burning.

Weight loss is the main reason people resort to exercise.

If you do brisk walking, jogging, or running you burn different amounts of calories. Keep in mind that the process of calorie burning has to be constant.

Harvard Health had estimated through its research that a 70-kg person could burn up to 298 calories after a 30-minutes session of jogging. Running for 30-minutes burns 372 calories for the same person.

Thus, the most effective physical activities for weight loss are jogging and running.

How Running, Walking, and Jogging Helps Your Body?

Walking, jogging, and running benefit our bodies in various ways. These exercises are highly necessary to keep our bodies in shape and maintain fitness. Let’s have a look at how walking, jogging, and running help our bodies in our everyday life.

1. They help you live longer.

According to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who are constantly active tend to live longer as compared to the ones who choose a sedentary lifestyle. The study was based on 1,000 adults between the age brackets of 50 years and above. They were studied for 21 years, and the conclusion was that 85% of people who walk or run were still alive, and the ones who did not were only left 65% in number. Thus, walking, jogging, or running, keep the body healthy, and reduces the risk of various health issues.

2. They help in releasing stress.

In our modern world, people often face stress. Not to mention that stress is a silent killer and is a root cause of multiple diseases. Some people are looking for special anxiety treatment and therapy, while they can just go for a good walk or run. Spending time with nature while you walk, or run is therapeutic.

Psychologists suggest people with anxiety or depression devote at least 30 minutes of their time to walking or running. As well as, a study by the University of Michigan also concluded that people who are suffering from stress benefit a lot from exercising outdoors. It helps in regulating their sleep and concentration levels. It further helps in improving a person’s mood, which results in lesser stress and issues.

3. It helps in burning calories and reducing weight.

Walking, jogging and running have various benefits, but weight loss and burning calories are the basic ones.

Many health experts claim that people who run for an hour tend to burn double the calories which they can burn through training workouts at the gym. Similarly, walking on the street, on the jogging track, or even on the treadmill can burn more calories as compared to using different exercising machines.

Keep in mind that running and jogging help in shedding those extra pounds, but the thing which accelerates weight loss is the diet. Keep in mind that healthy nutrition is the key to reducing weight.

4. It keeps you active as you age.

Walking, jogging, and running ensure the mobility of your body even when you hit old age. You are unlikely to be dependent on others to perform chores for you as you tend to stay active even in later years. The American Medical Association published a study in their journal, concluding that people who have the habit of physical activity tend to stay active and mobile during old age.

The study was based on participants within the age bracket of 70-89. They were divided into two groups and categorized as walkers and non-walkers. The study took place for 2.5 years, and at the end of the study, the researchers found out that the non-walkers ended up having physical disabilities.

5. It improves bone strength.

Walking, jogging, and running are exercises that help in strengthening the bones. As well as help in maintaining bone health.

Running and jogging specifically prepare the bones to endure any sort of stress that they have to experience due to the exercise daily. Once the bones get used to the stress, they get strong enough to prevent injuries and bone trauma.

Can These Exercises be Harmful to Your Body?

Physical activity is always beneficial and affects your health. Remember, these exercises should be performed in moderation to avoid any possible injuries.

People who tend to overdo these exercises tend to experience certain health issues. Some of the most common side effects of these exercises are:

Drop-in energy.

It is not recommended to do jogging or running daily without any break. As these are high-intensity exercises, the body needs some relaxation. 

They can result in a drop in your energy. You might feel exhausted and tired after a session of jogging or running.

Walking, on the other hand, is less likely to create any issues as it is moderate.

A brisk walk can also make you feel low if you don’t take a break during the week. A drop in energy is a sign of your body being overworked and exhausted.

Body aches.

Our muscles need time to relax and recover. If you continue to run or jog without giving a break to your body, your muscles will feel sore. As a result, you will not be able to do your everyday chores and activities due to all the body aches. It is recommended to let your muscles heal and then continue with your exercises.

Joint problems.

Another common side effect of working out is joint problems. If your weight is on the higher side, and you tend to run faster, you might end up hurting your joints. People who try weight lifting while running also face joint problems after some time.

Risk of overuse injury.

Running every day increases the risk of overuse injury in the body. People who tend to take on too much physical activity in a short time tend to experience overuse injuries. 

It also happens when people don’t give enough time for their bodies to heal or adjust to the changes.

Some people are hasty and they give themselves unrealistic targets which they wish to achieve too fast.

In such scenarios, people injure themselves and continue doing so because they are unaware of what they are doing.       

Conclusion.

We would like to conclude that running is the most effective high-intensity exercise that can help you reduce weight, and burn maximum calories subject to your physical fitness.

If you don’t have any underlying issues which can get triggered due to running, then you can get started with it gradually. 

Do consult your GP before getting started with running so that you can focus on running efficiently.

Make sure you give your body the rest it requires to avoid health issues. Excess of everything is bad, and it proves right in this case as well.