Walking is natural and beneficial for your wellness, so it’s worth putting one foot in front of the other. Whether you’re going around the block with your dog, exploring new places on foot, or just spending some time strolling outside, walking has been proven to lower your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and more.
The Japanese interval walking method, also known as interval walking training, is increasingly popular in the fitness world, to the extent that many are forgetting about those 10,000 steps. This method also provides proven benefits.
The Japanese Walking Method
This method is designed by Japanese researchers and involves alternating between three minutes of walking at a brisk pace at around 70% of your maximum aerobic capacity and three minutes of slower walking at around 40% of your maximum aerobic capacity. A Japanese interval walking session usually lasts around 30 minutes, and you’ll repeat the three-minute brisk walk and the three-minute slow walk intervals five times in total.
- Three minutes of brisk walking (around 70% of maximum aerobic capacity)
- Three minutes of slow walking (around 40% of maximum aerobic capacity)
- Repeat as many times as you’d like.
What can 30 minutes do for your health?
Not only is it accessible and low-impact, but just 30 minutes of this Japanese interval walking method provides a number of benefits. Researchers found it improved several health markers more than traditional walking, including body mass index, aerobic capacity, blood glucose, and blood pressure. Researchers also concluded that interval walking training was far superior to other types of walking training in terms of improving body composition, fitness, and glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
The most effective walking method
In research dating back to 2007, Japanese researchers concluded that this walking method provides ten times the benefits in just half an hour. These findings came from a study involving 246 older adults split into three groups. One group didn’t engage in any walking, while the second group took around 8,000 daily steps using a popular step program at least four times a week. The third group did the Japanese walking method for up to 30 minutes per session for the same number of days every week.
The Japanese interval walking method was more effective than both other groups, despite the second group taking nearly 30,000 steps every week. Compared to those completing the 8,000 daily steps at least four times a week, those who did the interval walking method had a 29 times boost to their aerobic fitness, 10 times improvement in leg strength, and three times improvement in blood pressure.
