JFW - Just F'ing Walk!

“I admit that you save time only running in training, but whether or not you enjoy the workouts as much without walking is another matter”

– Paavo Nurmi, “The Flying Finn” Former World Record Holder in every event from the 1500m to the 20k

Last week I posted the above tweet that apparently shocked a number of people. The “no pain, no gain” ethos is so deeply ingrained that the thought of a simple walk actually adding fitness for anyone other than the straight from the couch, “Joe Bagodonuts,” is anathema for many. But, alas, as Nurmi, discovered, even for very fit athletes, there is benefit to simply going for a walk.

Nurmi’s estimated VO2max, based on his race times was in the range of 75-80ml/kg/min, not far removed from the elite runners of today. And, certainly higher than those keyboard warriors poo-pooing the benefits of the pedestrian lifestyle. And, just how did he build his impressive VO2max?

“My workout program was as follows, an early morning walk of 10-12km followed by some sprints…. After the walk I always did some gym work at home and had a bath…After about an hour I began training on the track…Usually I ran 4-5 x 80-120m sprints. After that a fast 400-1000m for time. Then 3,000-4,000m at an even speed…My evenings consisted of cross-country running over 4,000-7,000m. After this, I would run 4-5 x 80-100m sprints”

So, the largest part of his training by distance (~80km per week out of a total of ~150km/wk) and certainly by time, with a couple of hours each morning, was devoted to plain ol’ walking!

But, that was almost 100 years ago, surely that wouldn’t work today?