Walking for Weight Loss: 5 Tips To Burn Calories

By Jenny Everett – Medically reviewed by Amy Kwan, PT

Fast-paced walking, when combined with eating a balanced diet, is effective for weight loss, as well as reducing your risk of heart disease and depression.

The intensity of your exercise directly influences fat-burning hormones. You are likely to release more of these hormones if you exercise at a pace considered to be hard.

How Fast and Often Should You Walk?

Aim for a 30-minute power-walk three days per week. You can complete this time all at once or break it up into spurts with slower strides in between.

According to Tom Holland, exercise physiologist and author of Beat the Gym, the following terms are guidelines to help you determine what pace to go:

• Stroll: Think window-shopping pace or intensity of four on a scale of 10, which burns about 238 calories per hour.
• Brisk walk: This means an effort of five or six on a scale of 10. It burns up to 340 calories an hour. You can talk, but you need to catch your breath every few sentences.
• Power walk: Your effort should be a seven or eight on a scale of 10. Talking is possible only in spurts of three or four words. You are burning approximately 564 calories an hour.

1. Give This Plan a Try

The following program, designed by Holland, mixes a regular walking workout with interval routines. The interval routines help you reach your power-walking quota of 30 minutes three times per week.

Aim to walk on three non-consecutive days. Do one of the below plans for each day, and either rest or cross-train (like power yoga or swimming) on the other days.

Tempo Day

A tempo workout means that you maintain a pace that’s hard but comfortable. Here’s a sample workout:

• Warm-up: Stroll for five minutes.
• Workout: Maintain a power-walk intensity for 30 minutes.
• Cool-down: Stroll for 3-4 minutes.

Long Interval Day

This interval workout transitions between hard and recovery paces. You will hold your hard pace longer than your recovery pace to build endurance:

• Warm-up: Stroll for five minutes.
• Interval workout: Maintain a hard power-walk intensity (eight on a scale of 10) for five minutes. Recover at a brisk pace for one minute. Repeat for a total of six intervals.
• Cool-down: Stroll for 3-5 minutes.

Short Interval Day

Short intervals focus more on speed than long intervals. Try this sample workout:

• Warm-up: Stroll for five minutes.
• Interval workout: Maintain a hard power-walk intensity for two minutes. Recover at a brisk pace for one minute. Repeat for a total of 15 intervals.
• Cool-down: Stroll for 3-5 minutes.

2. Increase the Intensity

Add a bit of challenge to your exercise to get even more out of your walks. Try incorporating some of the following:

• Add hills: You automatically make your workout more challenging when you climb hills on a treadmill or in your neighborhood.
• Go off-road: Head out for a light but brisk hike. The uneven terrain forces you to work harder than average.
• Make longer strides: Instead of taking more steps, “work on increasing your stride length,” Weltman told Health. “You’ll cover more ground.”
• Swing your arms: Move your arms in an arc with your elbows bent at 90 degrees and your hands in loose fists. Keep your elbows tight. Swinging your arms helps drive you forward and helps build upper-body strength.

3. Perfect Your Form and Posture

Here are a few tips to perfect your form:

• Activate your abs: You automatically trigger good posture when you engage your core. Pull your belly button toward your spine.
• Chin up: Your gaze should be ahead of you. Focus on a point about 10 feet in front of you.
• Squeeze your glutes: Your backside propels you through your walk. Keep your glutes tight so you can go longer and faster than normal.

4. Try Running

You might end up exhausted or giving up if you try to go from 0% to 100% on your first time adding running to your exercise regimen. Use the following guideline, designed by Holland, to transition to running instead of walking.

For the Running Newbie

Do a modified version of the short-interval day three times a week. Run for one minute and work up to two minutes. After a couple of weeks, walk for one minute and repeat for 15 intervals.

Repeat this for a few weeks, then transition to the long-interval day. Run for five minutes and walk for one. Repeat that for six intervals.

For the On-and-Off Runner

If you have some experience, you can dive right into the long-interval day plan. Substitute running for power walks. The intervals should be challenging. Try doing the tempo day run at a challenging but comfortable pace.

For the Regular Gym-Goer

You can also use Holland’s plan to cross-train. Do the same routines while on the elliptical, rowing, or stationary bike.

5. Walk More During the Day

Without setting specific times to walk, you can incorporate other small activities to increase your daily walking:

• Park further away when you drive places.
• Plan physical activity breaks during the day.
• Stroll to the next stop if you take the bus.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Walk to work or on errands.

Benefits

Walking can help reduce abdominal (belly) fat, which is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Power walking is easier on the joints than running. Other benefits of regularly walking include:

• Boosts bone strength and reduces osteoporosis risk
• Helps you think better
• Improves sleep
• Prevents weight gain
• Supports your emotional well-being and reduces your risk of depression