Walking is one of the simplest, most accessible forms of exercise, but avoid limiting its purpose to merely cooling down or accumulating a set number of steps. By incorporating structured walking workouts, you can enhance endurance, facilitate recovery, and increase your overall daily activity without straining your joints. All you need is the right pair of shoes.
“The human body relies on six fundamental movement patterns—squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull, and locomotion,” explains John Rusin, C.S.C.S., DPT, a physical therapist and personal trainer. Walking embodies the locomotion pattern, underscoring its importance in a balanced movement system.
Yet, a leisurely walk won’t suffice if you aim for genuine fitness improvements. Rusin emphasizes that increasing your pace or carrying weight can transform walking into a form of exercise. The goal is to elevate your heart rate into the trainable zone—60 percent or higher of your maximum heart rate for cardiovascular benefits.
Walking Workouts to Add to Your Routine
Here are five workouts to structure your walking plan effectively.
Progression Walk
If you’re new to walking as a workout or are returning to a consistent fitness routine, start with this plan.
Begin with a 5- to 10-minute walk at a comfortable pace, observing the distance you cover. During subsequent walks of the same duration, aim to extend your travel distance. As this becomes easy, gradually increase your walking time.
Steady-State Incline Walk
This incline walk serves as a form of Zone 2 training—endurance-building without overwhelming intensity. You can perform this exercise most days while ensuring complete recovery.
First, calculate your maximum heart rate. A basic method is subtracting your age from 220. During the workout, monitor your heart rate using a heart rate monitor or fitness tracker, aiming for the zone 2 range (60 to 70 percent of max) or gauge your rate of perceived exertion (RPE). A low RPE (2 to 3) means you can converse without pausing for breath.
Set your treadmill speed to a comfortable walking pace, around 3 mph, and adjust the incline to reach your target heart rate, typically between 3 and 7 percent.
Maintain this routine for at least 10 minutes, aiming for longer durations. The World Health Organization recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, making 45-minute sessions a viable goal.
As your fitness improves, increase the incline to stay within the correct heart rate zone. While the viral 12-3-30 TikTok workout (3 mph, 12 percent incline, 30 minutes) works for some, Rusin advises avoiding exceeding 80 percent of your max heart rate.
Weighted Walk (Rucking)
Rucking, or walking with a weighted backpack or vest, adds resistance to your walk, boosting heart rate and calorie burn without the stress on joints typical of running. Rusin recommends this to nearly all his clients.
Begin with a weighted vest or backpack, adding resistance to your torso. Milica McDowell, DPT, vice president of operations at Gait Happens, suggests starting with no more than 10 percent of your bodyweight if you’re new to rucking. Weighted ankle or wrist devices should be avoided for long distances as they can alter your gait and impact your spine, hips, and shoulders.
Choose any surface—treadmill or neighborhood path with pets—for this walk, maintaining a steady pace for up to 30 minutes and gradually increasing weight or terrain difficulty.
Editor-Approved Gear for Rucking and Weighted Walks
Explore our favorites from the best rucking backpack and weighted vest lists. Learn more about essential features in the linked articles.
