JP Fitness Forums - View Single Post - Cardio machines vs hilly dog walks in OPT

Kirjava · 07-04-2009, 07:44 AM

Life has finally stabilized to the point where I feel like I can commit to a fatloss program like OPT, so I am going to give it a go again.

My only question is with regards to the cardio workouts in OPT. I'd like to switch out the cardio workouts in OPT with hilly dog walks instead. I take my very-active husky for fast-paced, hilly 90-min walks most days of the week after work and on the weekends, and that combined with a 35% deficit in the past two weeks has shown some nice progress on the scale--i.e. I dropped from 147 to 142.

However, I'd like to put some weights back in there, and I like the focus of a program, so I'd like to restart OPT.

The thing is, is that I love my walks (and so does my dog!; I also walk her for 30 min before work every day). I love being outside with her, and the modernate nature of them keeps me from feeling famished and like I "deserve" more food.

My understanding is that a brisk 90 min of a hilly walk has the same calorie-burning benefit of shorter bursts of more intense cardio, so would it be okay to swap them out? Any feedback would be appreciated.

ETA my title is a bit misleading; I realize that OPT does not only allow cardio machines. I could also go jogging/running with my dog, for a shorter amount of time. That is something I'd consider doing, if there was a clear reason why that was a great benefit than the longer brisk walk.

07-04-2009, 07:44 AM	#1 (permalink)
Kirjava Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 379	Cardio machines vs hilly dog walks in OPT Life has finally stabilized to the point where I feel like I can commit to a fatloss program like OPT, so I am going to give it a go again. My only question is with regards to the cardio workouts in OPT. I'd like to switch out the cardio workouts in OPT with hilly dog walks instead. I take my very-active husky for fast-paced, hilly 90-min walks most days of the week after work and on the weekends, and that combined with a 35% deficit in the past two weeks has shown some nice progress on the scale--i.e. I dropped from 147 to 142. However, I'd like to put some weights back in there, and I like the focus of a program, so I'd like to restart OPT. The thing is, is that I love my walks (and so does my dog!; I also walk her for 30 min before work every day). I love being outside with her, and the modernate nature of them keeps me from feeling famished and like I "deserve" more food. My understanding is that a brisk 90 min of a hilly walk has the same calorie-burning benefit of shorter bursts of more intense cardio, so would it be okay to swap them out? Any feedback would be appreciated. ETA my title is a bit misleading; I realize that OPT does not only allow cardio machines. I could also go jogging/running with my dog, for a shorter amount of time. That is something I'd consider doing, if there was a clear reason why that was a great benefit than the longer brisk walk. __________________ My healthy cooking blog.