How long should you walk a day to lose weight?
Walking can be beneficial for weight loss. To do this, it is enough to know how much you need to walk in order to lose weight or give your body elasticity. It is also a simple and economical exercise. To burn more calories and increase new muscle growth, you should add elements of strength training. Here are some exercises to try:
- squats;
- jumping;
- lunges forward or to the sides.
How much you need to walk per day to lose weight depends on your weight and speed. The heavier a person is and the faster he walks, the more calories he will burn.
Walking at a speed of 7.2 km/h allows a 70 kg adult to burn 336 kilocalories per hour.
Tracking your steps is a good idea. Many are guided by this when deciding how much to walk a day to lose weight. If you stop a random passerby on the street and ask him how many steps a day you need to walk in order to lose weight and feel good, the most popular answer will be: “Ten thousand.” Doctors say there must be at least four thousand.
Fitness bracelet with pedometer
Is it cardio or not?
To call walking a cardio activity, it must meet these conditions:
- exercises should speed up the heartbeat and blood circulation;
- you should not treat this exercise as a walk, the purpose of which is to “get some air”;
- To lose weight, you need appropriate intensity.
How does it affect body weight?
To find out how walking affects weight loss, it is enough to know how walking speed and physique are interrelated. For example, a lean person weighing 55 kg can burn 165 kcal by walking slowly for an hour (speed 3.2 km/h), while a person weighing 110 kg will burn 330 kcal during the same walk.
Walking quickly uses up a lot more energy. For example, a person weighing 50 kg, walking at a speed of 7.2 km/h, will burn 280 kcal, and a person weighing 80 kg will burn 309 kcal. For comparison, the average walking speed of most healthy adults is 4-5 km/h.
For the results to be noticeable, you should walk at a speed of more than 6 km/h. It is advisable to maintain this pace for at least 40 minutes, and preferably an hour. By doing such a load 4 – 5 days a week, there is a real chance to lose several kilograms in a month.
Is it possible to lose weight if you walk a lot?
If you walk a lot, you can lose weight. Walking, being a cardio exercise, stimulates all processes in the body, including fat burning.
Walking options: pros and cons, execution technique
Regular walks can be replaced or combined with other walking options. Let's look at the most effective ones.
Scandinavian with sticks
Nordic walking is a walking technique with poles whose benefits include:
- improved physical fitness;
- strengthening joints;
- improved posture;
- loss of calories.
Although Nordic walking with poles looks easy, it requires synchronized movements of the arms and legs.
Beginners should not exaggerate with the duration of classes. In the first days, 30-minute walks will be enough.
You can walk even in winter and not only on the ground, but also on sidewalks. The terrain doesn't matter either, but climbing the mountain is more difficult and is not recommended for beginners.
In order to understand how to Nordic walking correctly, you don’t need any special knowledge. You should take long steps. At the same time, the back is straight, you need to look into the distance, and not at the ground in front of us. At the same time, wide movements are made with opposite hands. The poles at the back are at an angle of 45 degrees. When this becomes a habit, you should push harder with sticks. With just a little effort, you will be able to master the rules of Nordic walking.
Nordic walking technique
Fast
The pace of a fast walk is 10% slower than the pace at which a person would start running, that is, approximately 6 km/h. Fast walking is 120-140 steps per minute.
On the stairs
Climbing stairs, in addition to the gluteal muscles, engages the muscles of the thighs and calves, as well as the muscles of the upper body - if you add the movement of the arms.
The muscles will be better strengthened if you walk through two steps.
Beginners can practice walking on stairs for five minutes at first, then 10. More advanced ones can do intervals. That is, go up to the 10th floor by stairs and go down by elevator. And so on for 20 minutes, then increasing this time to 25-30 minutes.
Sports
Race walking uses 90% of the body's muscles. The race walking technique for beginners looks like this:
- you need to ensure that both feet touch the ground for a minimum amount of time;
- the abdominal and back muscles should be tense;
- The leg that touches the ground should always be straight, this increases walking speed.
You can do race walking at home or in the gym, but you will need a treadmill for this.
On site at home
You can even lose weight by simply marching in place at home. For example, during breaks between watching a TV series. Increasing your heart rate is the key to losing weight and getting fitter.
Walking in place with knees raised
Interval
The essence of interval walking is to alternate the intensity of the load - for example, we walk at a very fast pace for 5 minutes, then at an average pace for 2 minutes, after which we again move on to a fast pace. And so on.
Interval training allows you to perform at your maximum for a limited time. However, this allows for increased energy costs.
With weights
Adding resistance can also help increase the intensity of your workout. If you choose to walk with weights, here are some tips:
- Overload will only do harm. Weights should increase your heart rate and burn calories, not cause changes in your posture or walking.
- Moderate movements.
- Wear a vest. Some experts prefer weighted vests because they add weight to the torso. For the body, such a load will be more natural.
Research has shown that wearing a vest that fits 10 to 15 percent of your body weight helps you burn more calories without feeling as heavy.
Walking in winter
Walking is a great way to maintain a beautiful figure, and walking in winter is a daily dose of movement. People prone to airway inflammation should walk slowly to avoid increasing their heart rate and taking deep breaths of frosty air.
Change the angle of the road
About 30% more calories are burned if you walk on an upward path. This way you'll use more energy going uphill, but a third is a nice bonus. If you climb uphill, you'll be working your hamstrings (back of your thighs) and glutes (back muscles).
Taking short steps helps reduce the stress on your joints when climbing up and will also help you maintain your balance. You may lean forward a little as you climb a hill - this is a natural process and is normal, but always try to keep your body over your hips.
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Are there any hills nearby? Use a treadmill! Set the incline to 3-5° and maintain a good pace.
Exercises on the simulator
Many people recommend using exercise equipment to lose weight. Below are the most effective of them.
On the treadmill
Walking on a treadmill is a great way to lose weight. To improve your results, you should use these tips:
- Mix up types of walking. Diversity is the key to success.
- Train intervals. If you want to lose a few pounds, try interval training.
- The higher the incline of the treadmill, the more calories you will burn.
Sometimes it's worth spending more time on the treadmill. Instead of the standard 30 minutes, try walking for 45 minutes or even 1 hour . This can double your workout results.
Walking on a treadmill is a common form of cardio exercise.
On an ellipse
To get the right results when practicing on the elliptical, you need to follow some tips.
- The duration of classes should be from 40 minutes to an hour (pulse - 110-130 beats per minute).
- You should exercise 2-3 times a week
- During exercise, you need to maintain correct posture. Straight back, raised head, feet on the pedals and hands on the handles.
How many steps should you take on a stepper?
In order for the result to be noticeable, one thousand is the minimum number of steps on a stepper that should be completed in one 20-minute workout.
Go for a short run
This is an easy exercise that you can easily fit into your daily routine and will really improve your weight loss process simply because you are more likely to do it every day.
When walking, you burn about 4 kcal per minute, depending on your body type plus/minus 1-2 calories. So if you can manage to fit in just 15-20 minutes of walking as part of your regular work schedule from Monday to Friday, you could lose half a kilo in 8 weeks! Walking (outside or on a treadmill) can also improve mental health, particularly in improving mood, stress management and decision-making.
Running (both light and fast) doubles your calorie burn, so try breaking out of your office for a light jog for 1-2 minutes. You don't have to run until there are large beads of sweat on your face, just enough to make you a little out of breath.
Which is better - running or walking?
If you want to know which is better for losing weight: walking or running, you should consider the technique of doing both. When walking, the legs are straight most of the time, and the center of gravity remains calmly at the same height. And when we run, we actually jump from one leg to the other. Each bounce raises the center of gravity, and the landing lowers it again, so the knees bend to “absorb” the shock. This continuous vertical movement requires enormous counteraction to gravity. Accordingly, this requires more energy.
Add body exercises to your walk
Incorporating simple bodyweight exercises into your walk will help you achieve your weight loss goals in two ways:
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- firstly, you will burn more calories while walking;
- Secondly, it helps increase your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories at rest.
Add compound movements (those that work multiple muscle groups) to get the maximum calorie burn for your efforts. Walking lunges can be easily integrated into even short walks. They will work the entire lower body. The same applies to push-ups from a wall or bench. Combine all three exercises (walking, lunges, push-ups) and you will work the muscles of your entire body from head to toe, without even breaking a sweat!
Review of reviews: which activity allows you to lose weight better
For many, walking has become a friend in losing weight. Walking on stairs brings good results, and there are only good reviews about it. The girl, by climbing the stairs for 40 minutes every day, managed to lose 15 kilograms in three months. Plus, she went for 30-minute walks. The technique is similar to exercises on a stepper, so walking up the stairs can become a substitute for an expensive exercise machine.
The following also received positive feedback:
- skiing;
- classes on the ellipse;
- Nordic walking;
- fast walk.
Thanks to intensive walking for 2 hours a day, the man managed to lose 10 kilograms. No diets, just normalizing your diet a little. He walked 10-15 km a day. Walking in place combined with walks has received a lot of good reviews.
