The great thing about walking is that it requires no equipment, can be done anywhere, and is completely free, making it an ideal way to add some exercise to your daily activities. But when it comes to walking for improved health, researchers have found that pace is more important than number of steps.
The best fitness trackers recommend walking 10,000 steps each day, but that number isn’t based on research. Rather, it appears to be a number used in a 1960s marketing campaign for a Japanese-made pedometer known as a “manpokei,” which translates to “10,000 steps counter.”
If a goal helps motivate you to get outside, that’s fine, but you don’t actually need to achieve it to reap the health and fitness benefits. According to researchers at the University of Massachusetts, aiming for a pace of 100 steps per minute may be more important.
The team reviewed previous studies, including results published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, and found that a pace of 100 steps per minute could be classified as moderate-intensity exercise that improves fitness and raises heart rate.
Of course, walking doesn’t have to be your primary aerobic activity, but current guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggest that adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity throughout the week.
So, while you don’t have to give up on quiet, calming walks, picking up the pace every now and then can help you reach your recommended weekly goal, especially if running or other aerobic exercise isn’t your thing and you prefer walking instead.
100 steps per minute is an easy goal to remember, but not so easy to measure with a fitness tracker or smartwatch. Most wearable devices assign an average pace based on cadence and distance, then convert your pace to miles per hour.
So in reality, instead of walking at an easy pace, aim to walk briskly at a pace that feels like exercise and gets your heart rate up, so that your tracker can sense the intensity of your steps even when you’re not using it.
But it’s also important to vary your activity, with government guidelines also recommend “engagement activities at least two days per week, at least at moderate intensity and working all major muscle groups”.
But that doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym multiple times a week. Instead, you can invest in a set of adjustable dumbbells and kettlebells and do some high-intensity resistance training (HIRT) workouts to build muscle, get your heart rate up, and get a stronger cardiovascular system.
