WALKING (BURNS 300-400 CALORIES PER HOUR)

Once thought of as a perfect aerobic exercise for fat burning and overall health, walking is now considered one of the least effective of the aerobic methods.

Although great for beginners or those with injury or who are obese, walking probably is not the best form of exercise for losing weight and achieving fitness, as it is of a much lower intensity compared to other methods.

It is thought that the lower the intensity of an activity, the smaller the number of calories burned per unit of time (it is also thought that 15 minutes of cycling will burn more calories than a 45 minute walk at moderate pace).

Furthermore, metabolism will increase on average for only one-two hours after walking, as opposed to higher intensity aerobic activity where it can be increased for up to 24 hours or longer.

Walking can be used for the following purposes:

Assisting with fat burning in the obese (who can't use other methods).
As a low impact activity for the injured.
As a moderate activity for recovery purposes (when higher intensity activities might result in overtraining).
As a build up to a higher intensity method of aerobics.
A good beginner's walking program could be as follows:

Frequency: three times a week.
Intensity: 50-70 percent of MHR.
Duration: 20-45 minutes per session.