Stress, distractions, and unwanted emotions can trigger overeating. You can also raise your heart rate by adding incline to a treadmill workout or using a route with hills and stairs for an outdoor workout. Verywell Fit's content is for informational and educational purposes only. The body changes on the rest days, and Im a true believer walking . And during the pandemic, its become an even more vital physical activity for many people. Find the one you enjoy the most or mix it up. However, these are the most comfortable walking and running shoes that Ive ever worn so I take them. At the typical walking rate, itll take you 23 hours to get to 10 miles. Walking wont necessarily tone you unless you are adding resistance, she explains, quickly adding: But, I definitely give walking two thumbs up.. Walking 10km a day is not bad. I felt like all the effort that I spent in the gym was coming right back on my dinner plate. Better blood sugar control. Using fitness walking poles can also raise your heart rate at a slower pace. The science is clear that walking can drastically improve your health compared with sedentary activity. Our bodies are not meant to sit around all daythey are meant to move.. (Here are great options for reflective clothing for running and walking. One of the best exercises you can do is walk every day. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. So, a faster pace will equate to more calories burned per hour but less total walking time. You do need to pair this with a good diet, avoiding foods that cause inflammation. Step 1 Set aside about one hour for walking four days a week. link to Best Peloton Walking Classes (And why you need them), link to Walking After Yoga (Everything you need to know), how to use a weighted vest for weight loss. I was craving sweets, salted nuts, chocolate, and pasta. All rights reserved. With this in mind, by all means, work up to 10-mile walks if they interest you. Consult your health care team to see if walking is the right exercise for you and any precautions necessary for your individual circumstances and adjustments to your medications or diet. A small 2018 study from the American Council on Exercise and Western State Colorado University found that moderate-intensity activity can help athletes maintain endurance performance and power output compared to simply resting or doing active recovery at a vigorous intensity. Stanten points out that whatever you listen to, its most important to be tuned in to your surroundings. Make sure you get enough sleep. It is best to walk every day because daily walking allows the good effects to accumulate. Yes, these shoes are incredibly comfortable for long-distance walking, but they look awful. But is walking good enough exercise? Daily walk - 45-60 minutes minimum. More recent research shows that this 3,500-calorie rule may be a bit of an oversimplification, however. doi:10.1097/JES.0b013e3181e373a2, Qiu S, Cai X, Schumann U, Velders M, Sun Z, Steinacker JM. This is also equal to 10,000 steps. treatment ALS PACT: Parenting at a Challenging Time Katie Bressack, a board-certified holistic nutritionist and yoga instructor in Los Angeles reveals one reason lockdown periods during the pandemic may have contributed to higher rates of stress, depression, and anxiety: The more we sit, the more we feel low-energy in general, she says. Historically, when I was doing daily high-intensity workouts like T25 or P90x, I also noticed that my appetite is going up, and my food intake had almost doubled. And while youll certainly realize these benefits if you walk 10 miles a day, its important to remember that any amount of walking is great for your health. Your heart and lungs and brain will all be better off with any sort of activity, even if its low-key. It has an ergogenic effect that helps me to walk further, longer, and more often. This can be done at once or in chunks throughout the day for great regular exercise. "Walking can improve your circulation and aerobic fitness, control blood pressure, improve blood sugars, as well as decrease stress," says Ivan Sulapas, MD, primary care sports medicine physician and assistant professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in . If adding a mile each week feels like too much, add half-mile increments. Exercise and walking are excellent tools for controlling Type 2 diabetes and improving health for people with diabetes. Its easy to do, and you can do it anywhere. Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. Therefore, if walking 10 miles becomes a habit for you, you may notice that your weight loss is not consistent or continuous. Its so important that people find a good relationship with walking because for a lot of people, it may be their small opportunity for movement, says Mohr. Walking every day for weight loss can be a great way to burn calories and increase fitness. Adapt your walking schedule as needed to fit the distance into your day. This along with a body's natural calorie burn rate will help people lose weight with a calorie-controlled eating plan. Next, learn how easy it is to walk more steps per day. Weekly 75 minutes of moderate-intensity activity is half the amount recommended by the NHS. Walking and running are both types of cardio. 2. However, there are some downsides to walking 10 miles per day. If you're unable to walk for longer periods of time, this . I love walking, Bressack says. From there, you can gradually pick up the pace. So, eat good foods that can fuel your body. Once again, compared with no activity, walking is an excellent physical intervention. That's according to a new review of 196 articles . As time goes on, your fitness levels will increase and so will your walking speed. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Try adding some high-intensity intervals into your walk, says Stanten. Our content is for informational purposes only. The buoyancy of the water supports your body and takes the strain off painful joints so you can move them more fluidly. Drink lots of water and make sure you dont become dehydrated. While many exercise options are available, few beat walking in terms of simplicity, low risk of injury, and low entry barriers to beginning a program. Not at all! 1 While there is no absolute number of steps to achieve, most people do well with a goal of 10,000 or more daily steps. Too much sitting: the population health science of sedentary behavior. For 10,000 steps, minutes per day. This can be broken down into small, doable spurts of activity; in fact, it should be, if youre just starting out. But as an example, a 135-pound woman can burn between 100 and 115 calories on a 30-minute walk, while a 30-minute run can burn about 250 to 270 calories. I find that incline walking is very therapeutic just like walking in nature. Dr. Sulapas recommends noting how much you can do in a week; then increase the distance or time by about 10 percent the next week. The mental health benefits of walking include improved concentration, lower anxiety, stress, and reduced depression. Walking 10 miles burns 7001,200 calories and can help support weight loss goals. Walking 10 miles takes a substantial amount of time and does not provide the full range of stimuli needed for comprehensive fitness adaptations. For the evening, I like to default back to my classic piano and cello instrumental songs. Your pace will matter less in regards to the total number of calories burned. If you've been walking to reach your weight loss goals but are finding they remain out of reach, try these strategies. Walkers who log 10,000 steps per day consistently are more likely to achieve the recommended amount of moderate physical activity and reduce the effects of being inactive. Push yourself at a fast pace for 30 seconds, and then go back to your normal comfortable pace for a few minutes. Unlike other forms of cardiolike running, biking,dance workouts, or boxingwalking isnt intimidating and it doesnt require lessons or special equipment. Here's how Amanda gets to 10,000 steps (and sometimes as many as 14,000!) Now, changes you would notice in coming few months. Wearing proper footwear and finding pleasant walking routes will help reduce your risk of injury and improve the experience and consistency of your walking routine. (Learn more about walking for exercise.). Last medically reviewed on January 25, 2022. Photograph: Luc Claessen/Getty Images doi:10.2337/dc10-9990, Hackford J, Mackey A, Broadbent E. The effects of walking posture on affective and physiological states during stress. 2005-2023 Healthline Media a Red Ventures Company. 1. Overall, you can expect to burn 7001,200 calories when walking 10 miles, depending on several factors. Research suggests that walking can decrease cardiovascular risk factors, body mass index, waist circumference, and the incidence of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression (2). Walking 10 miles a day is a big goal and may be unrealistic for some people. Walking does not stimulate muscle and bone growth as effectively as other exercise options. If some days you only have time for a quick walk and nothing else, thats fine. Walking 10km a day was a good idea because I didnt feel like Im exercising, so I managed to keep my food intake the same as before. Even Easy Exercise Is Linked to a Longer Life. Walking can also protect you against dementia as the blood flow to the brain is increased. To assess your aerobic and muscular fitness, flexibility, and body composition, consider recording: Your pulse rate before and immediately after walking 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) How long it takes to walk 1 mile, or how long it takes to run 1.5 miles (2.41 kilometers) How many standard or modified pushups you can do at a time If you are in this category, its a good idea to start with a shorter distance while you build up your strength and stamina. Yes: If you can walk independently and maintain a speed of 4-6 km/h (2.5-3.7 mph) for half an hour per day, then walking is sufficient exercise. Traditionally, it was thought that to lose 1 pound (0.45 kg), you must burn roughly 3,500 calories more than your intake over a given time period. To tally up your formal exercise plus your additional walking throughout the day with the goal of reaching 10,000 steps in total, here's the math: Your 30 minutes of formal exercise on the treadmill add up to about two miles, or around 4,000 steps. Focus on your exertion instead, which is measured by your heart and breathing rate. But whythisworkout? In the beginning, it felt really hard, especially when I was walking uphill. I find that walking up the stairs is much better than walking on a flat surface because you can burn 0.17 to 0.20 calories for every step that you take. Just because a simple stroll around the block doesnt make you breathe heavily or sweat buckets doesnt mean it isnt doing something good for your body. Calorie restriction ensures youre burning stored fat and losing weight, whereas resistance training helps to maintain lean body mass. I was drinking around 500ml of water during 90-minute brisk walking. Whether you have diabetes or you are at risk of developing it, take the first steps to improve your physical fitness. Even a slow stroll has major benefits. Walking 10,000 steps a day will burn about 300 Kcal. Thats very great. However, if you live in the places like Florida or Louisiana, youre not spoiled for choice. Improves Heart Health. If youre doing it every day around the same route, it can get very boring quickly. Help keep your weight steady. is necessary for the body to repair.. 8. Improves blood flow. As the title says, for me, walking was the key to losing weight! The risk of injury is relatively low, says Lauryn Mohr, personal trainer and metabolic specialist at Life Time Fitness in Omaha, Nebraska. Walking on pavement, concrete, or other hard surfaces is much higher impact than walking on trails, grass, or rubberized track surfaces. Most people aim to walk 1km a day for a start. Ideally, find a surface thats a little more forgiving than sidewalk pavement, particularly in the early stages of your walking program. Research has shown that walking for 30 minutes a day should be a minimum exercise goal for everyone to reap health benefits. 1 km has 1320 steps. If you dont like the music you can get on Spotify or Youtube and listen to some educational podcasts or audiobooks. Bressack says one reason walking can be so accessible is because the only equipment many people need is a solid pair of sneakers. Instead of thinking about time, you can use landmarks or music to guide your intervals, Stanten says. Which Is Better for Your Health: Walking or Running? Let's calculate how many steps you would be taking everyday. For people just getting started with fitness, walking is a wonderful form of cardio or aerobic exercise, Mohr says. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109767. This way I feel looser, especially if Im walking uphill. 5 things I learned from walking 10km a day. 2010;33(12):e147e167. However, if you could bring all equipment outside, it is much better to exercise in the fresh air outside. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For my afternoon walks where I need a bit extra energy so I like more house, techno, and rock tunes. After I was done, I didnt have any food cravings for sweets or chocolates (caffeine is a good appetite suppressant). Apart from weight loss, walking has several other benefits. This helps warm up the muscles and get the circulation going before you walk., (Heres what to do if walking causes lower back pain. Experts recommend adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. Likewise, a person weighing 185 pounds (83.9 kg) would burn about 419 calories walking at a 15-minute mile pace for 1 hour (4). In my previous life, I was an exercise physiologist, working for British NHS, Canyon Ranch Tucson, Regent Seven Seas, and Oceania Cruises. Regular walking helps maintain a healthy weight, decreasing cardiovascular risk factors. Your email address will not be published. Additionally i work as a server for 3 days per week. Before walking, I recommend doing some dynamic stretches that will activate your sympathetic nervous system and make you ready for your workout. And you dont need to walk at a particularly rushed pace to reap the benefits. Walking 10km a day can also prevent conditions such as type 2 diabetes while alleviating depression. But if youre training to walk a long race or taking a long hike over the weekend, heres what you can expect for calorie burn over those miles. 6 Health Benefits of Walking. Additionally, taking 1 or 2 nonconsecutive days off from walking per week is a good plan to avoid any overtraining or overuse injuries. Your personal data will be used to support your experience throughout this website, to manage access to your account, and for other purposes described in our privacy policy. "Swimming is good for individuals with arthritis because it's less weight-bearing," explains Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Daniel Bubnis, MS, NASM-CPT, NASE Level II-CSS, Brisk walking is a highly beneficial form of exercise. There are dozens of studies that show the benefits of daily walking on cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and other chronic disease events. Chimps spend about. The two main strategies for working up to 10 miles per day are: Depending on your current fitness level, walking even a single mile may be either challenging or relatively easy. A beginner's walking plan often starts with 10 to 15 minutes of walking and increases the time of your daily walking workout by a few minutes each week. Some studies have found that walking at a self-rated fast pace was associated with a reduced risk of early deaths from . If that doesnt fit with your schedule, start doing it after just one meal, and then either extend the length or add in more walks throughout the day over time. If you're just going for general health, then yes, walking 10km every day is a good workout, whether you do it all at once or in chunks throughout the day. Celebrate National Nutrition Month with 10 healthy buys Healthline editors are obsessed with. Take care if you have diabetes -related nerve damage . It's actually recommended that a healthy person walks about 5 miles / 8km every day. Brisk walking workouts can help you maintain a steady blood sugar level and body weight if you have Type 2 diabetes. For most beginners, I recommend walking after a meal. Enhanced blood flow is going to improve recovery and help ease muscle soreness, she says. Of course, there are more intense forms of exercise like HIIT that burns more calories. No sort of rest day is needed and you are fine for walking farther than that every day as well. In fact, research suggests that intermittent walking breaking up longer walks into shorter walks is as effective as longer continuous walks at improving health measures (6). There isnt a specified walking distance or an absolute number of steps to lose weight. If you want to use walking as your aerobic activity of choice, heres how to get the most out of it. I was wearing a weighted vest with an extra 20 pounds of weight for 3 weeks during my 10km walks. According to the American Council on Exercise, a 155-pound (70.3-kg) person can expect to burn roughly 351 calories per hour when walking at a 15-minute mile pace (4). I think it should be part of your fitness routine, regardless if you want to torch extra fat or not. Still, average hunter-gatherer men and women walk about 9.5km (six miles a day), respectively, in order to hunt or collect food. (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=f6da93d0-6850-44b9-a6b9-f62dcef33270&cid=877050e7-52c9-4c33-a20b-d8301a08f96d'; cnxps.cmd.push(function () { cnxps({ playerId: "f6da93d0-6850-44b9-a6b9-f62dcef33270" }).render("a62a84b67add450880a65f158730a944"); }); One of the biggest reasons walking is so popular is because its a low-impact exercise, meaning it doesnt put nearly as much pressure on the joints as running or any sort of jumping or hopping movement. Walking a 10k is good if the athlete is injured, if one wants a good aerobic exercise that does not require much muscle and for beginners trying to improve. I never go outside walking without any music or podcast. You can walk for exercise in many settings, both urban and rural. Yes, walking 10km a day is healthy. The specific number of calories burned while walking 10 miles depends heavily on your body weight. This trainer adds that if you like the way walking is making you more fit or you want to increase the impact, you can maximize the effect of your walks by making them one component of a comprehensive workout plan. Julce, who works full-time as a registered nurse, adds that walking can be a safe workout not only for physical fitness recovery, but also for an individual whos getting over an illness or medical procedure. The researchers calculated that if everyone in the studies had done the equivalent of at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, about one in six (16%) early deaths would have been prevented. Sometimes finding the motivation to workout can be difficult because youfeel tired at the beginning of your workout. Walking at a steady pace at 60-70% of maximum heart rate (a pace where you can maintain a conversation) maximizes fat burn, is relatively easy, and is accessible to most people of all ages. Stretching helps to loosen up muscles and wont make you feel tired the following morning. It really lifts your spirits. (Learn more about the healthbenefits of nature.). Aim for 30 minutes per session. Your email address will not be published. The goal is to average 10,000 steps a day throughout the month of March, and it's up . During walking (somewhere halfway) I like to stop and stretch my calves and quads. During walking, the body gets quickly dehydrated and you can lose energy, feel lethargic, and start to feel muscle cramps. Walking 10km a day uphill is good for weight loss because it allows you to increase the intensity, without increasing the speed. Warming up the muscles is always a good idea before an exercise, says Dr. Sulapas. Impact of Walking on Glycemic Control and Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis. With that in mind, adding 4 days of walking 10 miles per day with no additional food intake would put you at around 1 pound of weight loss per week, assuming your calorie intake and expenditure were equal before you started your walking program. For the morning walking, I like the variety ofclassical, pop, and film scores that are positive and uplifting. In general, walking 10km a day (which is 14,080 steps) is considered an exercise that has similar health benefits to the federally recommended 150 to 300 minutes per weekof moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, according to the Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee (PAGAC). For shorter races like the 5k and 10k, being loose and flexible will help your stride feel more natural on race day. Happier mood. My point is that walking up the stairs kicks your butt more than walking flat. The easiest way to walk 10km a day and be consistent is to organize your daily schedule around your walking routine. For the first few weeks, I was only walking. Walking is one of the best aerobic exercises that can help reduce the subcutaneous (the one you can pinch) and visceral (dangerous) belly fat. 1.You get used to it pretty fast : Unlike running, walking is easier, more comfortable and you can do it anywhere, you don't need a park or somewhere specific, you can walk in any public area without bothering anyone. Walk fast to that next tree or the next house. I was eating the same amount of food that I normally eat. Working up mile by mile until you reach 10 miles per day will reduce your risk of overuse injuries. Finally, you can adjust the intensity and duration of your walk to fit your fitness level and goals. Typically, I recommend holding the stretch for at least 30 seconds to get its maximum effect. (Also, try these morning stretches for energy.). It was also enough to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 17% and cancer by 7%. Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. Your email address will not be published. This common pain is referred to as shin splints. Here i'll walk between 6 to 12 hours (usually 10) resulting in a distance walked of 10 to 35km. In general, walking 10km a day is enough exercise, as long as you incorporate additional resistance training. readmore Walking does not provide sufficient intensity for higher level athletic improvements. There are other ways to get in a great walking workout in less time. Healthline: Medical information and health advice you can trust. While its always good to do some stretches after a walk when you can, its not totally mandatory every time, says Stanten. When it comes to mental and physical health, the need for regular exercise cant be overstated. These may look stylish at night out or during your beach break, but they wont work for your daily weight loss walking.