You’ve probably heard plenty of times that getting regular exercise offers a wide range of health benefits, from improved weight management to a lower risk of heart disease and some cancers. But if you’re finding it hard to squeeze in your routine walk, you’re not alone. Even the most dedicated walkers miss a session sometimes.
Just remember not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. In other words, every little bit of exercise helps, even if it means you walk a little less on some days than others. The key is to try to stay consistent over the long haul.
A little bit of exercise is good—and more is better
One study looking at more than 1,900 middle-aged adults found that women had a 13 percent lower risk of obesity with every additional 1,000 steps they took each day. What’s more, compared to those who walked the least, people who took the most daily steps had a 31 percent lower risk of high blood pressure—and a 43 percent lower risk of diabetes. The research was presented at a 2020 American Heart Association conference.
If you can kick your workout up a notch or two, you’ll likely score even more benefits for your heart, overall health, and longevity.
Most health experts recommend that adults aim to get 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity exercise. Moderate exercise includes moves like walking, gardening, dancing, and light weightlifting. Vigorous exercise includes jogging and running, uphill hiking, bicycling, swimming, and other high-tempo aerobic exercises.
One large 2022 study published in Circulation looked at adults in the United States who reached and surpassed those guidelines. People who met the basic weekly guideline had a 20 to 21 percent lower risk of death than those who didn’t. They also had a 22 to 25 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease, in particular.
But those adults who reached two to four times that amount of weekly exercise—in other words, 300 to 600 minutes per week, or roughly 60 to 120 minutes per day, five times a week—had up to a 31 percent lower risk of death and up to a 38 percent lower risk of death from heart disease, specifically.
The findings were similar for those who upped the ante on vigorous exercise. Adults who met the recommend weekly amount of 75 minutes of vigorous movement had a 19 percent lower risk of death than those who did not, with a 31 percent lower risk of death from heart disease, in particular. Those who increased their vigorous exercise up to 150 to 300 minutes per week had up to a 23 percent lower risk of death and up to a 33 percent lower risk of death from heart disease.
More exercise is generally better, but there are limits. Getting more than 600 weekly minutes of moderate exercise or 300 weekly minutes of vigorous exercise was not associated with harms to participants’ heart health—but it also didn’t appear to provide any further health benefit or reduction in risk of death.
If even the baseline of 150 weekly minutes (or 30 daily minutes) of moderate exercise sounds like a tall order, it’s ok to break your sessions into smaller pieces. In other words, take that walk whenever you can. If it helps you fit them in, you can divide 30-minute walks into three 10-minute sessions.
And for extra health perks? Try picking up the pace.
The need for speed
Research suggests that people who walk faster enjoy more health benefits than those who walk at a more casual speed.
For example, in one 2018 analysis of more than 50,000 walkers published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, those who reported walking at an average pace were 20 percent less likely to die after an average of 9.2 years than those who reported walking more slowly. People who walked at a brisk or fast pace had a 24 percent lower risk of death. Pace likely mattered less for people who were younger, already physically fit, or doing other exercise.
Walking quickly may boost your cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), as well. (CRF is another way of describing how your heart and lungs perform during physical activity.)
In fact, a 2018 study of roughly 122,000 patients published in JAMA Network Open found that the better a subject’s CRF, the lower their risk of dying over a median 8.4-year follow-up period. While elite performers had the highest chances of survival, even people with below-average CRF fared significantly better than those in the lowest CRF group.
So, even if you miss a few walks, don’t give up on your routine altogether. And when you do walk, try moving a little faster. Your heart will thank you.
Sources: Ross R, Blair SN, Arena R, et al. Import... + 4
- Ross R, Blair SN, Arena R, et al. Importance of assessing cardiorespiratory fitness in clinical practice: A case for fitness as a clinical vital sign: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2016;134(24):e653-e699.
- Mandsager K, Harb S, Cremer P, Phelan D, Nissen SE, Jaber W. Association of Cardiorespiratory Fitness With Long-term Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Exercise Treadmill Testing. JAMA Netw Open. 2018;1(6):e183605.
- American Heart Association. More steps-per-day linked to significant reductions in diabetes and high blood pressure. Published March 5, 2020.
- Stamatakis E, Kelly P, Strain T, Murtagh EM, Ding D, Murphy MH. Self-rated walking pace and all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality: individual participant pooled analysis of 50 225 walkers from 11 population British cohorts. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(12):761-768.
- Nauman J, Khan MAB, Joyner MJ. Walking in the Fast Lane: High-Intensity Walking for Improved Fitness and Health Outcomes. Mayo Clin Proc. 2019;94(12):2378-80.
