‘Japanese Walking' Is a Fitness Trend Worth Trying
But not all walking is equally effective.
A method nicknamed 'Japanese walking' on social media — also known as interval walking training, or I.W.T. — seems to offer greater advantages than a simple stroll, or even than walking at a moderate pace for 8,000 or more steps a day.
The strategy was first introduced two decades ago in a study led by Hiroshi Nose, an exercise physiologist at Shinshu University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. The country has one of the world's oldest populations, and Dr. Nose hoped that, by applying interval-training techniques used by elite athletes to its senior community, he could improve older people's health and reduce the country's medical costs, he told The New York Times in an email. After seeing promising early results, he and his collaborator, Shizue Masuki, continued to study the method in depth.
While this type of exercise isn't new, it has been a trend on TikTok this summer. Here's what the science says about the benefits of interval walking and how to get started.
What is 'Japanese walking'?
As the name suggests, interval walking is a form of interval training, which involves alternating between bursts of intense activity and more gentle movement or rest. In this case, it's basically just alternating between fast and slow walking.
But compared with more classic forms of high-intensity interval training, interval walking is more approachable for many people, especially those who haven't exercised in a while or who are recovering from injuries that make high-impact activities like running difficult, said Dr. Carlin Senter, the chief of primary-care sports medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
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