PT Health Life – Brisk walking has been shown to improve cardiovascular health, muscle strength, endurance and body composition, but what is the right way to walk fast?
Brisk walking is a low-impact exercise that benefits all ages. This is an easily accessible activity and can be done anywhere with little or no equipment.
1. How fast is your walking speed?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a fast (or moderate) walking speed is about 5 – 7km/hour. This is equivalent to walking 1 mile in 13 – 20 minutes.
Accordingly, if you have 30 minutes to walk, walking 2.5km with about 3,000 steps or more during this time can help you achieve a fast walking speed.
The talk test can help determine whether you are moving at a moderate intensity:
- If you can talk but not sing then you are achieving moderate intensity.
- If you can only say a few words without stopping for breath, you are exercising at a vigorous (high) intensity.
2. To burn calories and lose weight with brisk walking
Although it varies from person to person, 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week can help maintain weight. To lose weight, most people need to increase the amount of calories they burn by increasing their exercise time and/or intensity and reducing their calorie intake.
If you usually walk for exercise, brisk walking is a good way to increase the intensity of your workout to burn calories and lose weight. The faster you walk, the more calories you can burn.
To lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit, meaning you burn more calories than you consume. This deficit can be achieved through diet and exercise . To lose 1 pound per week, you need to be at a 3,500 calorie deficit, although this varies from person to person.
Using activity trackers such as Fitbit, Strava… can help you calculate the number of calories burned during each brisk walking session. Knowing this number can help determine how long and how intensely you need to walk to lose weight.
How many calories does a 30-minute walk burn?
The number of calories burned depends on the person’s weight, speed and distance traveled. For example, a person weighing about 70kg will burn about 140 calories per 30 minutes of walking at a speed of 5.6 km/h. You will burn more calories at that rate if you weigh more and less if you weigh less.
3. How to walk fast
Minutes and distance
Walking at any pace is a great way to add physical activity to your day, but walking at a brisk pace provides benefits over other moderate-intensity exercises. Adding 10 minutes of faster walking to your walking schedule is a good starting point. If you are moving at 5km an hour, this will equate to 0.8km (about 1,000 steps) in 10 minutes.
If you’re new to brisk walking, try walking briskly for 10 minutes, five times a week. You can warm up by walking at an easy pace, walk briskly for 10 minutes, and finish with a cooldown (walking at an easier pace). After a week, you can increase your walking time at a faster pace to cover a longer distance.
To reduce the risk of injury, gradually increase distance weekly but no more than 10% – 15% per week. Once you feel comfortable walking at a brisk pace and building your endurance, you can increase your walking time to 150 minutes per week.
Your distance target may also change over time. You can start walking at 5km per hour and move up to 7km per hour, or if you only have 30 minutes to workout, go from 2.5km to 3.5km in half an hour.
How can you determine how far and how fast you are walking? Methods include:
- Treadmills usually display both distance and speed.
- Use a fitness app or fitness tracker.
- Walk around the outdoor track and time your laps.
- Measure your walking route with an online map and time yourself along the path.
Pay attention to swinging your arms
Although not often considered, arm swinging is an essential movement when walking. Paying attention to the natural movement of your arms when walking and making an effort to execute that movement can help increase speed and efficiency.
When walking fast, you need to increase your cadence and swing your arms at a faster speed than you normally walk.
When practicing, good arm swing form is:
- Elbows bent at a 90 degree angle
- Hands are loose, not clenched
- Elbows kept close to the body
- The arm opposite the front foot is straight forward, not crossed and not raised above the sternum…
