Brisk walking is a moderate-intensity workout that increases fitness and reduces health risks more than slow walking. Your degree of fitness determines the speed at which you must walk to be called brisk. Learn how to enhance your walking technique and walk faster on average.
WALKING SPEED
According to one study, the minimum speed for moderate-intensity exercise for persons under the age of 60 is roughly 100 steps per minute. If you are already in good shape, 3 miles per hour (4.8 kilometers per hour) may not be a good moderate-intensity workout zone for you. You should walk at a rate of 4 miles per hour (a 15-minute mile) or quicker to get into the zone. This is equivalent to 6.4 kilometers per hour. A reasonable walking speed for most people is 5 miles per hour (8 kilometers per hour).
WALKING TECHNIQUES FOR A FASTER WALK
If your normal walking pace is slower than brisk walking and you wish to increase your speed, you can enhance your walking technique. Many people can improve their walking pace by adjusting their posture, stride, and arm motion. Wearing flexible athletic shoes and apparel that allow for unfettered movement will also assist you to accelerate. You may need to walk slowly at first to ensure you have the right technique for walking swiftly. There are four aspects to this technique: stance, arm motion, step, and stride.
THE ADVANTAGES OF RISK WALKING
By enhancing your cardiovascular health, muscular strength, and body composition, brisk walking can help you age more independently and with a higher quality of life. Cardiovascular health and body composition can help avoid heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other chronic disorders.
Brisk walking can also help you improve your mental talents, which can help you perform better at work. Studies have indicated that a brisk walking program can reduce perceived weariness, raise working motivation, improve concentration, and reduce overall exhaustion. Brisk walking has unique advantages over walking at a slower speed for a longer amount of time. Walking at a faster pace increases your heart rate, stimulating and testing your cardiovascular system in ways that slower walking does not.
STEP IN THE WALK
Your walking stride is also crucial. Rather than striving to prolong your stride, seek to take more steps that are the length of your natural stride. Make sure whatever length you add is behind you. Maintain a longer period of time on the ground with your rear foot before pushing off with your toes. Resist the tendency to overstride when trying to walk faster. Your front foot should come down closer to your torso. Examine whether you are extending your foot too far in front of your body.
BOTTOM LINE:
Brisk walking can minimize health risks while simultaneously boosting fitness. Don’t worry about your speed; it’s your exertion (RPE or heart rate) that determines whether your pace is quick enough to put you in the moderate-intensity exercise zone.
