Owen Anderson, editor of Running Research News, theorizes that walk breaks may help you burn more fat. Here’s his theory: As exercise intensity increases, blood flow to your muscles increases. At the same time, free fatty acids (FFA) are released as we begin to break down our stored body fat. This is a good thing, but because the blood’s first priority is the working muscles, the FFAs have a difficult time getting circulated from the fat stores to the muscles to be used as fuel.
During a walk break, blood is temporarily diverted away from the muscles. This allows FFAs to be “picked up” in the central circulation. When running resumes, the FFAs flow back into the working muscles to be used as fat-burning fuel.
Walk breaks add to your calorie burning potential by lengthening the time you’re able to exercise. Many runners report that they can cover two and three times the maximum distances they could attempt without walk breaks. This enables you to burn more calories during a workout without adding stress to your body.
Dr. Karey Zufelt obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis, graduating with Highest Honors. She received her medical degree from the UC Davis School of Medicine and entered a Family Practice Residency at San Jose Medical Center, San Jose, California. Karey practiced medicine in the area of Women’s Health, her patient population spanning all age levels from teens to seniors. Connect to her by visiting her inspirational site, Running for Women.
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This is wonderful news! I love the run/walk method of running. It truly is a magical way to enjoy running as you said in a previous post. Now I will enjoy those walk breaks even more knowing that I'm burning more fat. Is there any specific run/walk ratio that works best?
Hi Kathy!
This really varies with each individual's goals. In my run/walk program, we begin very conservatively with a 1 minute run, and 5 minute walk. This run/walk cycle is perfect for someone just starting out in a running program.
The most popular walk break used in run/walk plans is a 1 minute walk break; however, depending upon the duration of your running interval, runners need to gradually "work down" to this shorter walk break.
The great thing about the run/walk strategy is that you can really "tweak" the run/walk intervals to fit your own fitness level and ability.
If you're going to use a 1 minute walk break, I recommend using a 1-4 minute running interval. You really won't find any improvement in performance or speed going beyond 4 running minutes, but as running minutes increase, the benefits of walk breaks diminish and the injury prevention factor is progressively diminished.
I've found that for women in my beginning program, the favorite intervals are run 3 minutes/walk 2 minutes (3/2) and run 2 minutes/walk 2 minutes (2/2). For intermediate runners, those training for a 10K, the 3/1 interval wins hands down!
I hope that helps!
Happy running!