Of course, losing weight and sculpting your physique involves a lot more than just calories. Even so, if you’re looking to shed a few pounds, burning calories with exercise can definitely help you along the way. Different types of exercise burn varying amounts of calories. Higher-intensity exercise like running, swimming, cycling, and high-intensity interval training or HIIT generally torches the most calories per hour. That being said, walking also burns calories and is more accessible for many people. In this hot-off-the-press study, researchers unveil a simple walking hack showing us we don’t need to break a serious sweat to burn more calories. Let’s delve into the research.
The study
In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers wanted to explore if energy costs increase when walking on rougher, uneven terrain compared to a more flat surface. They theorized that energy costs will increase as the terrain and speed change.
The study involved 10 participants who walked on indoor synthetic uneven terrain at four different walking speeds. There were also random step heights, and researchers measured the participant’s metabolic rate.
The results
The researchers concluded that:
- As the terrain roughness and speed increase, so does the energy cost. Faster walking and rougher terrain drastically increased energy expenditure.
- Tendons help muscles by absorbing and returning some of the energy.
- When participants pushed their feet off at higher speeds, the energy cost and work required were also higher. Participants lifted their feet higher as the terrain also got higher, which could have contributed to the increase in energy expenditure.
The researchers predicted that more energy and work are required to redirect the body’s center of mass between steps when walking on uneven terrain.
The takeaway
While this is a small study, it’s interesting nonetheless. It makes sense that a rougher terrain is more difficult to walk on and requires more energy expenditure, consequently burning more calories. Additional research also shows that walking outdoors increases the heart rate more than walking indoors on the treadmill. This indicates that walking outdoors, in general, also results in more significant physiological exertion.
While calorie-burning isn’t everything, it’s worth noting that increasing your effort when walking and walking outdoors on uneven terrain burns more calories and raises your heart rate higher, which could level up your fitness even more.
