Many people struggle to choose the right exercise that fits their lifestyle and delivers results. If you're wondering whether to lace up your walking shoes or book that Reformer Pilates class for weight loss, this article will help you decide. Walking offers a simple, accessible way to stay active with minimal equipment, while Reformer Pilates provides targeted strength training using specialized equipment. Both activities have distinct time requirements that can influence which activity better fits your lifestyle.
Walking: The Accessible Cardio Option
Walking is a low-impact cardio workout with a laundry list of benefits, from improving your heart health to aiding calorie burn. It is a simple, accessible way to stay active with minimal equipment.
Benefits of Walking
Walking is free, easy, and gives you good cardio exercise without special equipment. It is easier to start, better for heart health, and ideal for daily exercise.
- Cardiovascular Health: Walking boosts heart health and enhances endurance.
- Accessibility: Walking requires minimal equipment-only supportive, comfortable shoes, moisture-wicking clothes appropriate for the weather, and maybe a water bottle.
- Convenience: Walking is better than Reformer Pilates for fitting exercise into busy schedules since it requires no special equipment or dedicated facilities and can be broken into multiple short sessions throughout the day.
- Calorie Burning: Walking burns calories, increases your metabolic rate, and helps create the calorie deficit needed for fat loss. According to the American Council on Exercise, a 140-pound (65-kilogram) person burns about 7.6 calories per minute walking, while a 180-pound (81-kg) person burns about 9.7 calories per minute. If you were to add half an hour of brisk walking to your daily routine, you could burn about 150 more calories than you usually do each day. The faster and longer you walk, the more calories you burn.
- Joint-Friendly: These exercises are also gentle on the body, making them accessible for people at various fitness levels. Walking can be adjusted for pace and distance.
Optimizing Your Walking Workout
With walking, there are plenty of simple tweaks you can make to maximize those benefits. Two ways include either increasing your speed (a.k.a. walking faster) or increasing your distance (walking farther). When it comes to walking for weight loss, experts are mixed on whether walking farther or faster is better for weight loss. Walking slower, but farther, keeps you in zone 2 cardio (a level of heart rate training categorized as 60 to 70 percent of your heart rate max). During zone 2, your body uses fat as its primary source of fuel. Still, walking at a slower speed for a longer period of time (about three miles per hour for an hour) led to greater total fat loss in postmenopausal women in a 2023 study in Nutrients. Meanwhile, walking faster demands more of your metabolism and burns more calories because it’s a harder workout. Focusing on burning calories-rather than using an energy source of fat versus glucose-is probably more important for a weight loss goal. Plus, even though you’re walking faster, you’re likely still in zone 2 anyway. The truth is that walking both farther and faster is ideal.
Walking for Seniors
Both exercises are readily adaptable to seniors. Walking is merely adjustable in intensity and length.
Read also: Walking for weight loss
Pilates: Strengthening and Toning
Pilates has become a staple in the fitness community for good reason. Known for strengthening the core, improving flexibility, and enhancing posture, it’s a workout option that delivers serious results with low-impact moves.
Benefits of Pilates
Reformer Pilates is better than walking for core strength, posture improvement, and flexibility. It builds core strength, improves posture, and targets specific muscles more effectively. Reformer Pilates uses specialized Pilates machines like the Faittd Pilates Reformers to build strength and flexibility. Different types of home Pilates reformers provide flexible training options for various users. Home Pilates reformers now make professional-level training accessible to more people, offering versatile workout options for different fitness levels.
- Core Strength: Pilates improves muscle tone and flexibility. It is low-impact and strong on core strengthening.
- Accessibility: Most individuals with back issues will find Reformer Pilates very helpful since it is low-impact and strong on core strengthening. It is, however, important to report your condition specifically to your teacher prior to initiation. They are able to accommodate your needs with modified exercises as well as ensure correct posture to avoid the exacerbation of current conditions.
- Efficiency: For efficiency of results per minute invested, Reformer Pilates outperforms walking by delivering more comprehensive strength, flexibility, and posture improvements in fewer weekly sessions.
- Calorie Burning: According to a study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, a person weighing around 140 pounds (64 kg) would burn 108 calories at a 30-minute beginner’s Pilates class or 168 calories at an advanced class of the same duration.
- Overall Fitness: Pilates may also reduce lower back pain and improve strength, balance, flexibility, endurance, and overall fitness.
Pilates for Seniors
Reformer Pilates features controlled resistance that's gentle on joints.
Combining Walking and Pilates
The combination of Pilates and walking is a powerhouse for trimming your waistline because it integrates strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness into one seamless plan. When paired with walking, a simple yet highly effective cardiovascular exercise, you’ve got a dynamic combination that targets weight loss, especially in the midsection. This combination creates a balanced workout routine that tones the body while being gentle on joints.
You can do Pilates at home or at one of the many gyms that offer Pilates classes. To further boost weight loss with Pilates, combine it with a balanced diet and other forms of exercise, such as weight training or cardio.
Read also: Weight Loss: Walking vs. Swimming Comparison
Integrating Fitness into Your Routine
Developing a sustainable fitness routine is essential for long-term success and enjoyment. Getting fit with walking and Reformer Pilates is simple-just show up regularly. Create a schedule that fits your life and stick with it. You'll get stronger, more flexible, and healthier over time. Every walk and every Pilates class makes a difference, no matter how small. Don't put it off until tomorrow-start today by taking a walk around the block or signing up for your first Pilates class.
If you miss a session, simply restart without remorse or trying to "catch up" on lost sessions. Begin with a lower intensity-a briefer walk or a more basic Reformer class-then gradually return to your previous level over the course of a week.
Factors Affecting Weight Loss
It’s important to remember that weight loss is not a linear process, and it’s common to find yourself losing weight more quickly when you first start. How much weight you can expect to lose from exercise depends on several factors:
- Starting weight: People with a higher starting weight typically have a higher BMR (basal metabolic rate). A high BMR means you will burn more calories during activity and rest.
- Age: Older people tend to carry more fat and less muscle mass, reducing their BMR.
- Sex: People assigned female at birth (AFAB) tend to have a greater fat-to-muscle ratio than those assigned male (AMAB), which can affect BMR.
- Diet: A calorie deficit is essential to losing weight.
- Sleep: A lack of sleep may slow the rate at which you lose weight and even increase your cravings for high calorie foods.
- Medical conditions: People with medical conditions like depression and hypothyroidism may lose weight at a slower rate.
- Genetics: Weight loss has a genetic component, which may affect certain people with obesity.
Experts often recommend losing no more than 1-2 pounds (0.5-1.36 kg), or approximately 1% of your body weight, per week. Losing weight too fast can have negative health consequences.
Other Exercises for Weight Loss
Many types of physical activity can support weight loss by increasing the calories you burn. Some great choices for burning calories include walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, weight training, interval training, yoga, and Pilates. Here are some additional exercises that can help you on your weight loss journey:
Read also: Weight Loss with Indoor Exercises
- Jumping Rope: Jumping rope is a fantastic way to burn calories fast and work multiple muscle groups.
- High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): HIIT switches back and forth from intense physical activity to less-intense exercise and is very effective for weight loss.
- Cycling: Cycling is a low-impact, adaptable exercise that can burn a significant number of calories.
- Swimming: Swimming is easy on your joints, uses both your upper and lower body, and provides a good cardio workout.
- Strength Training: Strength training helps you lose weight and keep it off by building muscle, which helps your body burn more fat.
- Jogging: Jogging is an aerobic exercise that can help you lose weight and raise your metabolic rate.
- Yoga: Yoga combines physical activity and meditation and can lead to weight loss and lower BMIs.
- Stair Climbing: Stair climbing is a low-cost, versatile exercise that can lead to weight loss and improve cholesterol levels.
- Hiking: Hiking involves walking in nature and can be a more adventurous way of losing weight.