These walking routines will increase your burn and deliver faster results
I go for walks all the time—with my dog or pushing my daughter in a stroller. But to be honest, I rarely return thinking, 'Yes, workout accomplished'. I moved and got some steps in, sure, but it often didn’t feel as intense or challenging as my other sweats. Lately, though, I’ve totally rethought that somewhat shortsighted view.
Walking has received a major glow-up in recent years, with countless hashtags (#hotgirlhikes, #silentwalks, #12330, and more) taking over social media. The activity has become downright cool: Now, 52% of exercisers say outdoor walking is essential to their general fitness routine, according to Mindbody’s 2024 Wellness Index. Additionally, in the past few years, with guided classes being offered on major platforms such as Apple Fitness+, Peloton, iFit, Aaptiv, and Obé, walking has joined the ranks of exercise modalities like strength training, HIIT, and running.
What are the biggest benefits of walking?
Walking can reduce your risk for chronic diseases, including sleep apnea, hypertension, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, per a study in Nature Medicine. Walking can also decrease visceral fat stored around your belly and reduce the risk for obesity, studies show. Plus, every 500 additional steps a day over 2,000 (up to 4,500 steps) was associated with a 14 percent lower risk for heart disease, heart failure, and stroke in people ages 70 and older, per a study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions last year. (FYI: You generally won’t build as much muscle mass solely from walking, so for max gains, don’t forgo other methods!)
These healthy boosts aren’t just for beginners. Once you learn how to incorporate not-just-a-walk-in-the-park variations into your routine, you’ll find yourself craving more sweaty strolls. Knowledge, ahead…
If you want to build muscle: rucking
Long before social media existed, this loaded variety was a military training workout: Soldiers carried a heavy pack (rucksack) and logged miles (ruck marching). Think of the practice simply as an extended walk with a weighted pack, says Katie Knight, CPT, an online fitness coach and a GoRuck Games champion.
The pack (you can purchase a specific rucking one or DIY it) is key to getting the most from the miles. 'It makes you stand up straighter as you move, and you work different muscles compared to hiking or backpacking,' says Emily McCarthy, cofounder of the community GoRuck.
Rucking is a total-body workout too; it uses your core and shoulder muscles as well as your legs as you carry the load. It also really pays off: The method improved strength in upper- and lower-body muscles, according to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. After a 10-week period of resistance training and weighted walking, participants gained overall strength in squat jumps, push ups, and sit ups.
Try it: start small, with a light pack and low mileage
Then gradually increase both as your fitness improves, recommends Knight. You can even attempt rucking at home or at the gym on a treadmill. There are specialty rucking packs that allow you to insert different weight plates and keep them evenly distributed.
But you can also just grab a backpack and put in a 25.kg dumbbell, some ankle weights, and/or a full water bottle. For beginners, 2.5kg to 5kg is ideal. 'Put your treadmill on an aggressive incline between 8 and 12% and walk at a speed from 4.3 to 5.6 for about 10 to 30 minutes,” says Percell Dugger, CPT, a Nike running coach.
If you want a total-body cardio workout: Nordic walking
At its most basic, this style simply involves strolling with poles. Nordic walking originated as a way for cross-country skiers to keep up their training sans snow, says Malin Svensson, CPT, an International Nordic Walking Association master trainer and coach. But it has evolved into a year-round, any-surface way to walk.
The variation is excellent cross-training or off-season cardio for other sports because you coordinate muscles from head to toe and keep the heart and lungs pumping, says Svensson. It also 'increases your endurance while taking stress off your ankle, knee, and hip joints, strengthens your core, arms, chest, back, buttocks, and legs, and improves posture and flexibility', Svensson notes. And the motion, with or without the poles, improves resting heart rate, blood pressure, maximal oxygen consumption, and more, according to one review.
Try it: syncing your arms and legs is key to optimising miles, but it may take a bit of practise until it feels rhythmic
While maintaining a natural opposing-arm-and-leg rhythm, plant your pole at a slight backward angle and push off with each step, making the triceps burn and engaging multiple upper-body muscles. 'Keep your arm in a handshake position', Svensson says, with slightly bent elbows that aren’t too tight to the body.
If you want a scalable challenge: hot-girl hikes
What started as hot-girl walks (to the tune of over 1 billion views) on TikTok evolved into hot-girl hikes. The latter simply include an extra bit of planning, a lot more nature, and more rigour. You don’t have to set out on your own Wild adventure or hit a new summit—a few trail miles will count.
Hiking also brings in some added benefits that walking alone doesn’t offer. 'Naturally, you will find more incline, hills, and uneven terrain, and that can increase the workload and challenge you from a fitness perspective more so than a flat road walk', says Rachelle Reed, PhD, an exercise scientist and American College of Sports Medicine ambassador. Also expect a balance workout from uneven surfaces, as well as an emotional lift from being in nature. Exercising in green spaces has been linked to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and blood pressure, per a review in Extreme Physiology & Medicine.
Try it: take it easy with a few miles on a flat path to start
Focus on pushing through your heels to engage glutes and release pressure on knees in steep pitches, says Bradee Felton, CPT, host of the Fit for Hiking podcast and founder and CEO of the site Ponytail on a Trail. If you’re wearing a pack, maintain proper posture by squeezing shoulder blades together.
If you want a mental-health boost: silent walking
While it might sound more like a spa experience than a workout, a jaunt free of distractions comes with profound mental-health benefits. Made famous on social media, silent walking is all about strolling without tech. Leaving music, podcasts, audiobooks, and phone calls behind ideally leads to mindfulness and connection during your journey. (But feel free to bring Fido if you want company!)
Think of it as a walking meditation and a physical activity that gives you a break from the business of your life, says Reed. As such, the quiet goes deeper than popping out the earbuds; it includes muting the mental chatter, with the goal of engaging with your senses, your surroundings, and the present.
It also opens the opportunity to experience awe, which comes with a host of mind perks unique to this emotion, such as greater kindness and feelings of social connection and community. Feeling daily moments of awe was predictive of better general wellbeing, too, according to multiple recent studies.
Try it: embrace the rhythm of it all
Pay attention to details such as 'how your legs are moving, your breathing rate, or how your body feels when you walk faster or slower, to refocus into the here and now', says Reed. 'Remember that this walking takes practice—and that mindful meditation is more about acknowledging your thoughts without judgment, rather than trying to think about nothing at all'. Mind magic!
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