Is Walking Actual Cardio Exercise?

Yes, walking is definitely cardio exercise, but only if you do it a certain way. I'm a certified personal trainer. Cardio exercise is that which gets your heart rate elevated - and, that which you maintain for at least 20 minutes, though some schools of thought say that 10 minutes can create a cardiovascular training effect.

To say that walking doesn't count as cardio exercise is to say that it's impossible to sustain an elevated heart rate with walking. A poorly conditioned person will have an elevated heart rate, and be breathing harder, upon walking on level ground at just 3.5 mph.

To such a person, this is a bona fide cardiorespiratory workout; it will certainly feel like cardio exercise. According to my mother's heart surgeon, walking is cardio exercise. According to the American Council on Exercise's training material for personal trainer certification, walking is cardio exercise.

To a fit individual, moving at 3.5 mph on level ground is a stroll, and does not stimulate the cardiorespiratory system of that person. Thus, for a physically fit person, a 3.5 mph walk won't qualify as cardio exercise - unless it's sustained up a steep-enough hill.

A fit person will still get winded and have an elevated heart rate upon walking fast enough up a steep incline on a hiking trail, or on a treadmill (swinging the arms, that is, which is the right way to use a treadmill).

Very fit people who choose to walk for their cardio workout will almost always use an incline, or, they'll be going quite briskly on a level surface.

I've had clients get visibly winded just walking under 4 mph on a treadmill at zero incline. If they were to do this on a regular basis, it would produce a training effect on their cardiovascular system; in other words, for these clients, the 4 mph level walk is a cardio workout.

But it's a mere warm-up for fitter people. However, I've had more fit clients quickly run out of steam upon walking at 15 percent incline (with an arm swing). If this isn't cardio exercise, then what is it? It's certainly not weight-lifting, and it's not yoga or stretching, either.

If walking doesn't get you huffing and puffing, then do it up hill or use a treadmill at a high incline or even medium incline. Swing the arms to get a realistic walk, rather than holding on.

Though walking is something that 1-year-olds do, this doesn't mean that this type of movement can't benefit the cardiovascular system. Find a way to tweak this type of activity so that it's challenging and gets your heart pumping. For your next cardio exercise, try some walking. Add intensity with hills, speed and/or a weighted vest.