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The best walking workouts to add to your routine

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These are guaranteed to boost your heart rate, and your energy levels.

a photo of a young woman and an older woman walking
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You might think that in order to get enough exercise, you must go to the gym, or sign up to an exercise class, but walking alone is possibly the simplest way to work out. It's free, you can do it almost anywhere, and you don't need any fancy equipment or a gym membership. 

Whether you’re walking for weight loss or just re-thinking your commute to work, there are a number of benefits to increasing your daily step count. Take a look at all of the different ways walking for 30 minutes per day can benefit your health here. We’ve also found the best under-desk treadmills for upping your miles as you work, and apps that allow you to get paid to walk. 

But how can you turn your daily walks into workouts? We spoke to Craig Mason, coach for audio-led fitness app WithU, about how walking workouts are beneficial to the body’s general health, and what the best ones out there are — including workouts for beginners, intermediate and advanced walkers. Read on to find the best walking workouts to add to your routine. 

What are the benefits of walking?

“Walking offers a profound number of benefits to people of every fitness level. Walking not only burns calories, which helps you lose or maintain weight, but also lowers your blood sugar levels and reduces the risk of coronary heart disease,” says Morgan. You’re also able to build lean muscle in your legs when walking, thanks to building up strength walking at an incline. A huge benefit that walking can bring is the instant impact on your mental health, due to the release of endorphins, known as happy hormones, to the body.

Morgan recommends doing 3-4 walking workouts per week. If you do other training such as strength training or running, then do a walking workout 1-2 times per week. You should also aim for a minimum of 10,000 steps per day — an easy way to do this is by getting off public transport a few stops before your destination, or choosing the stairs over the lift or escalator. Here’s what happened when our fitness editor walked 10,000 steps a day for a month.

a photo of three women walking

(Image credit: Getty/MoMo Productions)

The best walking workouts

Before taking on any of these workouts, it’s important to have the right footwear on, as you don’t want to be doing serious walking workouts in your Converse. Check out the best running shoes that’ll be supportive enough for walking, as well as this Skechers Go Walk walking shoe, or the best hiking boots if you’re going off-road. 

While your phone has the ability to count your steps, for a more accurate estimate of how far you’ve gone and how many calories you’ve burned, it’s also a good idea to invest in one of the best fitness trackers on the market.  

Ready to walk? Read on. 

Beginner

Duration: 16 minutes

Warm-up: warm up with a 3-minute stroll

Roll your shoulders, and take a big deep breath in through the nose and out of the mouth.

Keep your chest up and that head held high, make sure your shoulders are dropped down from those ears, and make sure your arms are moving forward and back as you begin walking.

Walking workout: power walks and intervals

Take 7 x 1-minute power walks, followed by 30-second rest periods.

Be sure to start to slow down around the last 5 seconds of each interval.

Cool down: cool down with a 3-minute relax

Take it nice and easy and walk slowly, focusing on breathing in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.

Allow your arms to drop down to your sides, keeping your shoulders pulled back through the ears, trying to relax the body as you slow down.

Intermediate

Duration: 24 minutes

Warm-up: warm up with a 3-minute easy stroll

Start by getting yourself into a nice easy walk, rolling the shoulders back, chest up high, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth – check in on your surroundings as you go and throughout this workout.

Check you’re activating through these glutes. Every time your foot hits the pavement, squeeze your bottom, as this will help fire up the glutes.

Walking workout: interval and rest period 1

Power walk for 3 minutes

Take a rest period of a slower walk for 1 minute

Walking workout: interval and rest period 2

Power walk for 2 minutes

Take a rest period of a slower walk for 1 minute

Walking workout: interval and rest period 3

Power walk for 1-minute

At this stage, bring your breath back, and your heart rate back down. Slow your breath, elongate your breaths and get oxygen into the body. Take a rest period of a slower walk for 1-minute

Walking workout: interval and rest period 4

Power walk for 3 minutes

Be sure to check in on your form and straight back at this stage. Take a rest period of a slower walk for 1 minute

Walking workout: interval and rest period 5

Power walk for 2 minutes

Take a rest period of a slower walk for 1 minute

Walking workout: interval and rest period 6

Power walk for 1 minute. 

Start to get a little slower as you draw to a close

Take a rest period of a slower walk for 1 minute

Cool down: cool down with a 3-minute relax

Take it nice and easy and walk slowly, focusing on breathing in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.

Allow your arms to drop down to your sides, keeping your shoulders pulled back through the ears, trying to relax the body as you slow down.

Advanced

Duration: 46 minutes

Warm-up: warm up with a 5-minute easy stroll

Start by getting yourself into a nice easy walk, rolling the shoulders back, chest up high, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Be sure to keep your glutes engaged, and squeeze them each time your feet hit the ground.

Each additional minute into your warm-up, gradually pick up the pace.

Walking workout: interval and rest period 1

Power walk for 10 minutes

Take a rest period of a slower walk for 2 minutes

Walking workout: interval and rest period 2

Power walk for 10 minutes

Take a rest period of a slower walk for 2 minutes

Walking workout: interval and rest period 3

Power walk for 5 minutes

Take a rest period of a slower walk for 2 minutes

Walking workout: interval and rest period 4

Power walk for 5 minutes

Take a rest period of a slower walk for 2 minutes

Cool down: cool down with a 3-minute relax

Take it nice and easy and walk slowly, focusing on breathing in through the nose and exhaling through the mouth.

Allow your arms to drop down to your sides, keeping your shoulders pulled back through the ears, trying to relax the body as you slow down.

Not for you? Check out what happened when we tried the 12-3-30 treadmill workout as well as this Taylor Swift treadmill workout. 

Mollie Davies
Mollie Davies
Mollie is a UK based, Welsh, lifestyle journalist. She writes frequently on all things involving women, health and fitness, and beauty - amongst other topics. Her work can be found in Cosmopolitan, Insider, the Independent, Women’s Health and more. In her spare time, you’ll find her at the pottery wheel or walking her basset hound.
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