7 Ways to Add Intensity to Your Walking Workout

7 Ways to Add Intensity to Your Walking Workout

There's no denying that 2022 is the summer of the "Hot Girl Walk," at least according to TikTok, where the low-impact exercise has become a viral sensation thanks to nearly 400 million views on videos with the hashtag #hotgirlwalk. Plus, walking is also a beneficial, low-impact way to get some cardio in. “Walking is a great form of steady state low-intensity [LISS] cardio, or low-intensity cardio exercise that you do between 45 minutes and an hour,” says Noam Tamir, CSCS, strength coach and founder of TS Fitness in New York, NY.

Walking is an important daily physical activity with many benefits scientifically proven, such as: Such as improving cardiovascular fitness, increasing energy levels and even improving mood and boosting immune function. Of course, a walk just for fun or to get your vitamin D fix is ​​reason enough to get outdoors, lest every walk turns into a heart-pounding workout. But for those days when you're craving a little challenge, increasing the difficulty of your walk can do just that. Here, top trainers share tips on how to improve your daily steps and add intensity to your outings.

7 Ways to Add Intensity to Your Walking Workout

1. Move at a challenging but sustainable pace.

Your walking workout can take place on the treadmill or outside, moving at a comfortable pace, but does it feel a little too easy? "You want to move at a challenging, steady pace that you can keep moving, but also doesn't make you feel too comfortable," says Mathew Forzaglia, an NFPT-certified personal trainer and owner of Forzag Fitness in New York, NY. “You want to be at about 65 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate, which if you have access to a heart rate monitor or a watch with built-in heart rate monitoring, you can use that to track.”

Don't have a heart rate monitor? Use the “speaking test” to measure intensity. You want to move at a pace where you can speak but not sing; You can speak in complete sentences, but you are a little out of breath.

2. Add weighted resistance.

By adding some extra weight to your gait, you increase resistance. “Weights can mimic the resistance of the levels on an elliptical,” explains Tamir. “By adding resistance, you increase your heart rate and improve overall cardiovascular health.” While you can use hand weights, wrist weights, or ankle weights, Tamir suggests a weighted vest. “It distributes weight more evenly, where something like ankle weights can change your entire gait, which is not something you want to do,” since changing your gait can put strain on your ankle and increase your risk of injury.

3. Vary your walking speed with intervals.

There is no doubt that walking has benefits including improved endurance, reduced stress on the body and increased cardiac output. However, adding some speed intervals to your walk brings other benefits to what would otherwise be a relaxing cardio workout. "By incorporating some faster intervals, you'll work on heart rate variability, improve your cardiovascular health, and also burn more calories," explains Tamir. "Not only will you burn more calories in less time, but you'll also increase excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC, which allows the body to continue burning calories even after exercise." Or to put it another way, the workout may be over, but your metabolism remains elevated for a period of time afterwards.

4. Walk on a higher level.

If you live at or near altitude (defined by a study in Respiratory Research as 5,000 feet or higher), try taking your walk to new heights. “Exercising at [a higher] altitude can increase the flow of oxygen to your muscles, causing them to tire more slowly,” explains Tamir. Because as a 2016 study found, altitude training can increase the production of erythropoietin (EPO), and EPO is a hormone that makes red blood cells deliver oxygen throughout the body.

Altitude training also improves your VO2 max, or the amount of oxygen your body uses during exercise, which improves endurance, explains Tamir. Research backs up these claims: A study in the Journal of Exercise Nutrition and Biochemistry showed that training at altitude was more effective than training at sea level at oxygenating athletes' blood and muscles. Another study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that training at altitude improved VO2 max in elite distance runners.

TL;DR: If there's a hike you've been wanting to try or you live near some hilly trails, consider changing the setting for your usual walk. This means you can enjoy the benefits of altitude and exercise in nature at the same time.

5. Breathe through your nose against your mouth.

For advanced hikers, changing your breathing throughout the miles can also increase intensity. "Keep your mouth closed and breathe [in and out] through your nose while finding a steady pace, this is hard, but [a pace] you can maintain," says Forzaglia. "Not only are you challenging your nervous system [by concentrating on a new breathing method], but you're also decreasing your breathing rate, or the number of breaths you take during exercise." Translation: You put in more work to use the same amount of oxygen than you would if you breathed in and out through your mouth. As a study in the International Journal of Kinesiology and Sports Science shows, this type of nasally restricted breathing pattern does not result in lower cardio fitness. Nasal breathing is initially challenging and can feel uncomfortable, but over time, studies show that it becomes easier and your breathing becomes easier and more efficient.

6. Walk in the sand.

If you live near the water, consider a sandy beach walk versus a walk on the solid sidewalk. “I suggest doing this barefoot,” says Tamir. "The sand provides unstable resistance and forces your body, and especially your feet, to work harder. Not only will you benefit from walking itself, but you will also strengthen your feet." Because when you run in the sand, "your nervous system has to recruit additional muscle fibers in your legs, hips, and core in response," says Rocco Bergin, a trainer at the Sports Center at Chelsea Piers in New York City who often performs workouts in the club's sandbox, Shape said previously.

Not lucky enough to leave near the beach? Try to mimic the resistance of walking in the sand with walking in the pool; The water adds resistance to your walking without affecting your joints, as Shape previously reported. You can also experiment with walking on a variety of surfaces, such as grass or dirt paths, to strengthen your feet

7. Incorporate strength exercises.

Walking can be a cardio workout, but you can still incorporate strength exercises into your conditioning. “Stop along your route to do some bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, skaters, or even bench hops,” says Tamir. "You'll be training other areas of the body while still keeping your heart rate elevated."

Having a variety of options to make your walking workout more intense can make your normal walking routine feel fresh. Try adding these progressions to your next walking workouts and see which variations help you stay motivated to move.