I had a lengthy discussion with a distance runner at the gym the other day. The guy can run effortlessly for 8 to 10 miles. He just runs at a pace of 8-10 mph with great form at a constant rate without a sip of water. He sweats like a pig, mind you.

Listen, I’m happily married, so don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t think he has a very good male physique. He’s very thin with no real muscle mass. He runs every day (7 days a week). I’ve rarely seen him lift any weights. And when he has, he used the machines instead of the freeweights. I don’t have anything against stationary machines, but they don’t compare to freeweights when you want to build muscle mass.

My example has always been, what male physique looks better, a long distance marathon runner or 100 meter sprinter? They are two totally different bodies. To me, the former looks rather sickly, while the latter can catch you and kick your ass. The guy is fast, muscular and strong!

I kind of ranted above for a little while, but the point I was trying to make was, what burns more calories, running for one mile or walking for one mile. My running friend thinks running does. He’s always cracking the whip when I’m running 6-8 mph as opposed to him 8-10 mph. I simply state that it will only take me a little longer than him and we will still burn the same calories.

Let me give you an example. If I ran for one mile at 5 mph, it would take me 12 minutes to burn approximately 170 calories. If he ran for one mile at 10 mph, it would take him 6 minutes to burn those same 170 calories (assuming we weighed the same).

Therefore, a mile will still burn (at our weight) 170 calories regardless of how long it takes us to go the mile. I studied engineering and the physics involved shows this being a fact. Unfortunately, I can’t convince him of that.

So, if you want to lose weight, don’t worry about how fast you go, just go the distance.