incorporating both long duration aerobic/cardio and relatively intense resistance training
And there are studies that show walking is just as good, and it certainly wears down the body less than your alternative.
And there are studies that show walking is just as good, and it certainly wears down the body less than your alternative.
I'm not sure I've ever actually seen one of these studies that show walking is as good for overall health as strenuous exercise. It's hard for me to believe, mostly because I do a ton of walking and find personally that the benefits are nowhere close. But also, "walking is just as good" seems mostly to be the rallying cry of out of shape people who don't want to exercise because it's hard.
> and it certainly wears down the body less than your alternative.
That's an odd way to put it. Exercise doesn't "wear down the body". It builds it up, quite literally if we're talking about resistance training. But even aerobic exercise builds up the cardiovascular system measurably.
Running puts tremendous stress on knees and feet. I've not been able to run since I was in my 30's due to my knees just not being able to take it anymore. (I'm not overweight.)
In fact, I walk 4+ miles a day, much up and down hills, and just that has pushed my feet pretty hard. About 5 years ago I had to switch to MBT's because I was essentially unable to walk in regular shoes. And it was a complete fluke that I found those shoes.
Of course it does. That doesn't mean it "wears down" the body in a meaningful sense. The body heals. Bones get stronger with use. So do muscles. Even connective tissue gets stronger with use. Cartilage might not (I'm not sure) but heals. It doesn't just grind down from use, or professional runners would all have severe arthritis at 25. Sedentary people still get arthritis.
> About 5 years ago I had to switch to MBT's because I was essentially unable to walk in regular shoes
I'm not sure you're a representative sample. It's not normal to be unable to walk in regular shoes unless you're elderly.
I have seen those studies and I tend to agree with them. My own personal experience supports the notion that walking is extremely healthful and provides almost all of the benefits you have in mind.
That is, if you're using measures like "do I feel good" "do I look good" "have I kept off those 20 pounds".
I however believe that there are more important measures: "can I run a few miles for help" "can I perform CPR for 10 minutes continuously" "can I lift and manipulate this charged hoseline".
I owe it to you and your family to be able to do these things. I measure your worth, to some degree, on your ability to do these things for me and my family. I don't care about what you look like or how many steps you did today.
I think in this case the charitable reading would be to not caveat it with ceteris paribus