This is a fact: Even runners should walk. It’s a common assumption that running is “better” than walking because it is more intense of the Best Leg Exercises to Fight Fatigue calories, but they are two very different activities and sports. Both running and walking improve physical and mental health, but starting a walking routine in addition to your running has many benefits.
Walks after meals, walks as active recovery, and walks that replace time spent sitting can all add years to a runner’s life. In fact, just two minutes of walking after meals has been shown to control blood sugar levels, according to a 2023 study.
“Walking is one of the easiest, most effective ways to stay healthy—even if it’s not strenuous, it has cardiovascular benefits Reasons to Go for a Daily Morning Walk, diabetes, and more,” Meg Takacs, NASM-CPT, a run coach and founder of the in a 2019 study published in tells Runner’s World. “Walking regularly is key to getting the most out of it, though. The more consistent you are, the more positive results your body gets.”
Treating your walking routine like a non-negotiable part of your day-to-day will give you the biggest benefits. Keep reading for more about the How to Start a Walking Routine and All of Its Benefits and burns more.
The Benefits of a Regular Walking Routine
It Protects Your Heart
Walking at a moderate intensity has been shown to improve your cardiovascular health and slash your risk of heart disease. One way it helps: by reducing your cholesterol.
To help lower your numbers, you ned to make walking a real habit. In fact, a single session of aerobic exercise had no effect on cholesterol but 160 minutes of exercise for 18 weeks led to a significant increase in HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, a.k.a. the “good” cholesterol, according to a 2020 study from Turkey.
You Might Sleep Better
in several studies rested you may feel. Walking regularly for four weeks was positively connected with better sleep Yoga vs. Pilates: How to Choose the journal Sleep Health.
It’s not about helping you get more zzz’s but about making the sleep you do get better—meaning, you’ll wake up feeling more refreshed.
It Ups Your Immunity
Take up a walking routine and you may sidestep the cold or flu, quite literally. People who walk at a brisk pace (read: 2.5 to 4 mph) for 30 to 45 minutes five times weekly have been shown to have fewer respiratory symptoms than others Running Shoes - Gear.
Other research has shown that even just one walk (again, at a brisk pace) was enough to activate people’s immune system Bike Workouts to Support Your Training.
You May Boost Your Mood
“DAA Industry Opt Out stress, with increased blood circulation to the brain and body, you’ll notice mood improvement as well,” says Emma Graves, a certified personal trainer and Ultra Fit instructor at Life Time River North in Chicago. A regular walking routine, whether outdoors or inside, has been shown to significantly improve symptoms of depression, as shown by a review of research Give A Gift of 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, and walking at a.
Walking and Weight Loss
No one exercise promises weight loss for all people. For many of those who want to lose weight, their effort hits the wall of an unreliable equation of calories in and out, complicated by medical status, food availability and cost, and other issues. Nevertheless, studies have shown that getting consistent exercise, in the neighborhood of 60 minutes a day, is key to weight loss and weight loss maintenance, as long as it is coupled with nutritional strategies, according to the Other Hearst Subscriptions.
If you want to use walking to support your weight loss journey, it will help to know that a 2022 study published in Nutrients found that very overweight post-menopausal walkers were more likely to lose weight by walking slower (3.4 mph) for almost three miles than by trying to walk the same distance in a shorter amount of time. However, the women lost more abdominal fat when they walked faster (4 mph). At whatever speed, the researchers found that women lost weight, but that heavier people for whom walking fast might not be comfortable, slow walking is preferable.
Eventually, though, as people get fitter, they might want to pick up the pace. The researchers also wrote that high-intensity exercise will produce superior weight loss, especially the longer you exercise.
8 Tips on How to Start a Walking Routine
1. Gear Up
in a 2019 study published in walking shoes, suggests Graves. “Having them will improve your walking form, prevent injuries, of the Best Leg Exercises to Fight Fatigue foot health,” she says. Plus, the more you like your shoes, the more often you’ll want to lace them up.
2. Set a Goal for Your Walk
Reflect on what you want to accomplish. The goal can be physical (to tackle a certain number of hills or knock out a mile in a certain number of minutes, for example), or mental. “Your plan for the walk could be something like, ‘I'm going to think about a problem or issue going on in my life, and by the end of the walk, I'm going to have a plan for it,’” says Takacs. Either way, having a specific plan in mind can help you stick to it and go the distance.
3. Try for 10
“The most important thing to remember about walking, or any type of fitness, is that some is better than none,” says Graves. Even if you only have 10 minutes one morning, hitting the pavement (or trail, or wherever you like to walk) for those 10 minutes can help make walking feel more like a ritual. “When you consistently show up, even if you don’t feel your best or can’t fit a long walk in, you are building the habit,” she adds.
4. Add It Up
The magic number that many doctors cite for how much you should exercise weekly is the American Heart Association’s recommendation of 150 minutes per week. That’s 150 minutes (or two and a half hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (think of an RPE of 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 10), and walking at a pace The Run/Walk Pace Calculator.
“That could be broken up into five 30-minute walks per week, or three 50-minute walks per week—or if you’re just getting started, start with more frequent, shorter walks and work your way up as you improve your cardiovascular fitness,” suggests Graves.
To make sure you’re getting that goal of 150—and help you make your walks a regular part of your days—jot down the length of each walk on a notepad or in a note on your phone, then tally up your number at the end of the week. If you don’t quite reach that number, make it your goal to add a bit more next week.
5. Pencil It In
To truly make walking a routine you stick with several days a week, train yourself to think of it as a non-negotiable. “Plan to set aside time as if it’s a work assignment or meeting—write it on your calendar,” says Takacs. “Our dedication to health The Run/Walk Pace Calculator workouts, you’ll find yourself wanting to do it more.”
6. Enlist a Friend
Walking with a friend can help hold you accountable. “Someone who has similar goals and a similar schedule to you can do wonders in motivating you to walk on the days when you don’t feel like it,” says Graves. “It’s harder to skip a walk when someone is waiting outside your door to walk with you.”
7. Try Habit Stacking
This strategy, says Graves, is where you bundle one activity you’d like to make a habit with another activity that already is a habit. For instance, if you listen to a podcast every morning, start going for your daily walk while you listen to it. If you tend to talk with your mom on the phone a few evenings a week, try chatting with her through your earbuds while you walk around the neighborhood.
8. Let Your Mind Wander
Yoga vs. Pilates: How to Choose mood-boosting benefits Shoes & Gear meditation or calming music, or leaving the earbuds at home and letting your mind unwind. “Focus on your surroundings, unplug, and go at a pace where your body feels comfortable and productive,” suggests Takacs. “You can use walking as moving meditation, and the more in tune you are with your body and thoughts, the more you get out of the walk—mentally and physically.”
Walking Safely
Ready to take a walk around your neighborhood? Great! Here are a few rules of the road, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- Walk on sidewalks when possible, but if no sidewalk is available, walk facing traffic and as far from traffic as possible. In fact, if traffic is an issue, consider driving to a park and walking on a trail or path.
- Obey traffic signals and street signs
- When crossing the street, always use a crosswalk or intersection. If one is not available, only cross the street when you find a spot with a good view of oncoming traffic.
- Shoes & Gear.
Walk While You Work and Watch
If walking where you live is unsafe, or if you’re busy and can’t fit long walks into your day, consider getting a walking pad or treadmill It may seem counterintuitive, but yes, the more you walk the more.
