Today’s productivity hack: walking instead of running to burn calories
Some background:
Before you tell me I’m full of 💩, hear me out. You burn more calories by walking on a treadmill on an incline while watching Netflix (or whatever streaming service you prefer) than you burn running on a flat treadmill.
Why? I don’t know. But last year I lost 19lbs in the 7.5 weeks leading up to my wedding by tracking my food on a strict diet, lifting, and consistent cardio. And that cardio… was walking uphill on a treadmill for 30-45 minutes each day, while watching Netflix or HBO.
While everyone on the other treadmills was getting in a solid 10 or 15-minute run but having to slow down every few minutes to catch their breath, resulting in burning a measly 100 calories, I was walking on a treadmill set to a 15 incline and a speed of 3.8, burning 600+ calories in 40-45 minutes.
Here’s how it works:
In preparation for this post, I ran a quick experiment at my local gym to show the run vs. walk math IRL.
Test 1: 6.5mph pace, no incline
Calories Burned = 858/hr
Test 2: 3.9mph pace, 15 incline
Calories burned = 944/hr
I find this cardio hack particularly useful because I am a terrible runner but I am a fine walker, and since I’m all about productivity, I love being able to both burn calories and binge my favorite shows at the same time. I can’t do that while I’m running - either on a treadmill or outside.
The thing that I tend to notice at the gym is that most people don’t have the stamina to run for 30-40 minutes straight. So they jog for 10 minutes, slow down, jog for another 5, slow down, then call it quits. By the end of their 20-minute cardio session, they are completely out of breath and have only burned a couple of hundred calories. Walking uphill works because many of us do have the stamina to walk for 45 minutes or an hour.
One tip:
Walking a 3.8mph pace uphill is hard, but you can hold on to the treadmill for added laziness. As long as you keep your heart rate above 135bpm, you’ll still burn calories and contribute to weight loss.
That’s about all there is to it! If you still don’t believe me, go and try it out for yourself.
PS: It’s probably best for everyone’s health to avoid packed places, like the gym, in the near future.
Have a favorite productivity/life hack you’d like me to write about? Shoot me an email to alex.jacob.cohen+productivity@gmail.com.