Now that we are clear that strength exercise is the best option to gain muscle, activate the metabolism and lose weight, many wonder if walking is really effective in burning calories. The truth is that experts encourage us to combine strength and cardio in our weekly routine to burn fat and lose weight, although they advise giving priority to the first. Of course, if you choose to go for a walk as a cardio exercise to lose weight, you should know that it’s not worth walking anyway.

And, as stated Felipe Isidroprofessor of Physical Exercise and Health and head of Physical Activity at PronoKal Group, to the Clara magazinethe walk must be scheduled and programmed taking into account intensity, duration, frequency and terrain. And walking for an hour at an easy pace is not the same as taking a brisk 30-minute walk.

The most effective walk

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According to the expert, for walking to help us lose weight, it must also be combined with «an adequate caloric deficit through a personalized nutritional guideline.» Additionally, the walk must meet these requirements:

• It should last between 30-60 minutes each session.
• With a frequency of 4-6 days per week.
• At a brisk pace, with an intensity of 120-140 steps per minute.
• They can be include climbs or changes of pace on the walk itself to progress in improving metabolic health.

If you want to have results sooner

And, if walking is the only physical activity you do, according to Isidro, you must «establish an effective routine to achieve your fat loss goal.» In fact, to obtain faster results with weight loss, the expert recommends taking walks between 10,000 and 15,000 steps daily at a pace of about 120 steps per minute with changes in intensity –which means taking two steps per second.

If you don’t have time…

It may be that, although you have considered walking daily following this type of pattern, in reality, you do not have all the time required to lose weight. In these cases, Felipe Isidro recommends taking shorter walks that you can fit in, perhaps, during breaks in your work day or trips to go to work, home, or to run errands. Thus, according to the coach, it may be a couple of 30 minute sessions distributed in morning and afternoon, or even three 20 minute sessionsafter every important meal.

Intensify walking work

If what you need is a more complete routine that includes walking, the expert gives us some additional keys to optimize results:

1. Add weight. It consists of walking carrying weights or small weights on the wrists or ankles to encourage extra work on the muscles. Of course, you should not overdo it with the weight because you can damage the joints, generate asymmetries or force bad posture.
2. Do intervals. Changes of rhythm are a good resource to intensify fat burning and activate the metabolism. It’s about quickening your pace, including running in short bursts of time during your walk. This is what is known as interval training (HIIT):
3. Terrain changes. When the walk includes climbs, its intensity increases and the muscles of the lower body are strengthened, in addition to increasing cardiovascular resistance. You can do it on a treadmill by playing with the incline.
4. Add strength exercises. A good alternative is to introduce repetitions of strength exercises such as squats, lunges and push-ups throughout the walk to strengthen muscles, increase metabolism and achieve more effective fat burning.

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