The Student Room Group

Is 5-6 miles a day too much to walk?

I am going to university this year so I will be moving out at the end of this month. My accommodation will be situated 2.3 miles away from my college.

I can walk for longer than most of my friends and I have walked much longer distance than this but not on a daily basis. I am asking how realistic is it to walk 5-6 miles a day (2.5 miles, twice a day). This will save cost on gym as I would already get a lot of exercise and also on travelling, allowing me to spend more on food and save for accidental situation like laptop or phone stopping to work in unexpected time.

I would like to know peoples opinion on 2 things.
1) Is it realistic to do so?
2) Is it healthy to walk that much?

Thank You!
healthy? if you've got good knees and aren't lugging a piano that far then sure
realistic? I dunno, how long does it take you and do you want to do it on a bad day with rain?

my recommendation is to buy a bike, you'll cover those 2.5 miles in a jiffy depending on how fast you cycle and whether you're on a hill. But seriously, bikes are amazing. it's also good exercise for your legs, you'll have nice calves after a while. you might even get addicted and end up buying a road bike and then you'll end up joining a group...
Original post by __itertools__
I am going to university this year so I will be moving out at the end of this month. My accommodation will be situated 2.3 miles away from my college.

I can walk for longer than most of my friends and I have walked much longer distance than this but not on a daily basis. I am asking how realistic is it to walk 5-6 miles a day (2.5 miles, twice a day). This will save cost on gym as I would already get a lot of exercise and also on travelling, allowing me to spend more on food and save for accidental situation like laptop or phone stopping to work in unexpected time.

I would like to know peoples opinion on 2 things.
1) Is it realistic to do so?
2) Is it healthy to walk that much?

Thank You!

It would get tiring, but some people can handle it. I know I couldn't, but that's because I'm a potato. If you're used to walking long distances then it shouldn't take you too long to get used to doing that every day. Just make sure you have a good pair of walking shoes, waterproofs for when it rains, and you eat good, energy-giving foods before you walk.
Original post by Kaspar Ambühl
healthy? if you've got good knees and aren't lugging a piano that far then sure
realistic? I dunno, how long does it take you and do you want to do it on a bad day with rain?

my recommendation is to buy a bike, you'll cover those 2.5 miles in a jiffy depending on how fast you cycle and whether you're on a hill. But seriously, bikes are amazing. it's also good exercise for your legs, you'll have nice calves after a while. you might even get addicted and end up buying a road bike and then you'll end up joining a group...

Thank you for your advice. I am ashamed to say that I am not a good cyclist and can not ride on road. Unless there exists a club that teaches you how to ride a bike for adults, there is no hope. On a bad day I don't mind taking a public transport.
Not at all.

Unless you have an exceptionally sedentary lifestyle, you'll find it relative easy.
Original post by _Wellies_
Not at all.

Unless you have an exceptionally sedentary lifestyle, you'll find it relative easy.

Thank you!
I was thinking of walking just half of that distance (one way only) for the first week.
My friend and I used to walk 8 miles a day during high school. From our home 1 way would be 4. It was completely fine but was pretty tiring. It wasn't so bad at first because I didn't have too many classes. But, I couldn't imagine doing that for university - sounds like it would have been a complete drag. I could barely wake up in time for my 9am tutorials, so I doubt I would've been able to walk it. :rambo:

But, if you're going 2 miles one way then that's definitely doable and not bad at all.
Original post by __itertools__
Thank you for your advice. I am ashamed to say that I am not a good cyclist and can not ride on road. Unless there exists a club that teaches you how to ride a bike for adults, there is no hope. On a bad day I don't mind taking a public transport.


there exist programs where they can teach you to ride safely and build your confidence, check with local council. otherwise really the only way to become a good cyclist is to ain experience. try maybe cycling around a large park with a cheap bike, get some practice in. if you feel you can handle that try some back roads. eventually you might be able to ride main roads and then if you're a suicidal nitwit like me you'll end up possibly gaining the confidence to ride on a two/three lane A road (not an M, that's illegal).

now if you have balance issues generally then no need to beat yourself up. there's is no need to be ashamed, there are things I can't do either (you know running? yah no I die after about 100m)

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