We don’t have to jog or run marathons to realise the benefits of ambulation. We don’t even have to obsess about the daily ritual of reaching 10,000 steps anymore. Research has recently demonstrated that quickening our pace can reduce our biological age by a whopping 15 years. This can be achieved with a paltry quota of 6,000-8,000 steps rather than the hitherto rather exhausting denomination of 10,000 steps. In addition to which walking briskly for 20 minutes most days has been found to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer’s.
Faster walking also lowers heart disease risk and apparently we should be aiming for 100 steps per minute or if you don’t wish to count you know you’re walking briskly if you cannot hold a conversation, even with yourself. For those who don’t have the time to enjoy a leisurely stroll at Lamborghini pace they need to gravitate to the Ferrari-esque momentum of 135-140 paces per minute which is close to jogging without the cartilage decimating impact on their joints. Or in line with the high intensity interval training format walking for a ½ hr by alternating fast walking for 3 minutes followed by a much slower pace for the same time can lead to fitness benefits and disease prevention.
Striding uphill is good for fat burning and finding a natural environment that we enjoy walking in can also help with accelerating our pace. If weight loss is the imperative walking at a pace of 100 steps per minute for at least an hour every day is required. To which a reduction in calories needs to be added to achieve sustainable weight loss.
