Simply walking slightly faster is enough to ‘boost your health – slashing risk of serious health issues'
A trial on over-60s suggests exactly how much to increase your stride to improve strength and fitness.
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It suggests small speed boost could help to prevent frailty, reducing the risk of falls and injuries, and allowing more independent living.
Experts at the University of Chicago said picking up the pace could be an easy lifestyle tweak for people who find it hard to exercise.
Study author Dr Daniel Rubin said: 'Even casual walking had positive effects on our study participants.
'People who haven't experienced frailty can't imagine how big a difference it makes to be able to not get tired going to the grocery store, or not need to sit down while they're out.
'Our results demonstrate that increased walking cadence was associated with an increase in functional capacity improvement.'
The study recruited 102 people from retirement communities in the USA and compared their walking speed to their fitness.
14 extra steps per minute to boost health
Some continued walking at a casual pace – about 80 steps per minute – while others walked as fast as they safely could, about 100 steps per minute.
After four months, people in the fast walking group showed a more significant improvement in fitness tests than the casual walkers.
The researchers said an average increase of 14 steps per minute should help to improve someone's health.
A report by Sport England this year showed that physical activity among retirees is increasing but at least a third of over-55s do not hit NHS targets.
Get fit at 50: Workouts for beginners and those short on time
The health service recommends adults get at least 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week.
Writing in the journal Plos One, Dr Rubin added: 'Walking is an important exercise to reduce frailty in older adults.
'It directly benefits the circulatory, cardiopulmonary and immune systems while reducing the risk and severity of various health conditions.
'Walking interventions are advantageous as they are easily scalable, low cost, and can be performed with no additional equipment.'
How much exercise should you do and when?
There are guidelines issued by the NHS and the Government regarding how much exercise people should do each day.
People should be active daily, and avoid sitting for long periods.
The NHS recommends an adults – those aged 19 to 64 – should aim for 150 minutes of 'moderate intensity activity' a week.
This works out to 21 minutes a day, or 30 minutes five days a week.
Or, they could do 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, which could be less than 11 minutes per day or 25 minutes three days a week.
Adults should also aim to do strength exercises twice a week, at least.
Examples of moderate-intensity activities include brisk walking, water aerobics, riding a bike, dancing, doubles tennis, pushing a lawn mower, hiking or rollerblading.
Examples of vigorous activities include running, swimming, riding a bike fast or on hills, walking up the stairs, sports, like football, rugby, netball and hockey, skipping, aerobics, gymnastics or martial arts.
Things like lifting heavy weights, sprinting up hills, spin classes or circuit training are considered very vigorous.
What time should you exercise?
Getting exercise into your day, no matter what time is a good idea.
But you may want to be more selective depending on your goal.
A 2023 US study on 5,285 middle-aged adults showed exercising between 7 and 9 am was the best time if you're looking to lose weight.
Researchers found that early-bird gym goers had a lower body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference than those working out later.
A 2022 study led by Prof Paul J Arciero, Skidmore College, New York, found that the optimal time of day to get your kit on might differ according to your gender.
Prof Arciero said women wanting to lose fat around their belly and hips would do better to hit the gym in the morning, but those seeking to gain upper body strength or simply improve their mood might see more results from evening exercise.
The results were the opposite for men.
If you struggle to get to sleep, it's been found that exercise in the morning may help, but exercise in the evening may help you to stay asleep.
Exercise, generally, can improve sleep quality.
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