5 types of walking and their fitness benefits, from fartlek to rucking

Yahoo

02-06-2025

After a decade of super intense fitness fads, the humble walk has become one of TikTok's biggest comeback trends to-date, with social media users clamouring to swap HIIT workouts for getting their 10,000 daily steps in.
While it's been around for as long as humans have existed, social media has brought the many brilliant benefits of walking to light, from healthy weight loss and better cardiovascular fitness, to decreased stress and sounder sleep.
Studies also show that there's a direct correlation between how many steps we walk per day and all-cause mortality, meaning daily walks could increase your chances of living longer.
But aside from regular strolls around your local park with a takeaway coffee, did you know that there are different types of walking that can provide unique fitness benefits?
From building lean muscle to soothing frazzled nervous systems, these are the best walking styles to try, broken down by individual fitness goals.
Originally designed as a summer training routine for cross-country skiers, Nordic Walking has caught on as an exercise method in its own right – particularly among elderly populations.
The outdoor regimen looks just like normal walking, but with the addition of two long poles, held in each hand and planted into the ground in sync with your stride.
Not only does the use of walking poles provide extra stability while you're on the move, they're also said to activate the muscles in the arms, shoulders and core, turning a regular walk into a full-body sweat.
In fact, a 2013 study into the effects of Nordic Walking found that regularly engaging in pole walking led to greater improvements in upper-body muscular strength when compared with just a bog-standard mooch around the block.
It might sound like a character from Shrek, but the unusually titled fartlek walking has some pretty powerful benefits to pair with its low-stakes training style.
Translating to 'speed play' in Swedish, the movement pattern is all about varying the pace and difficulty of your walks, interspersing bursts of faster walking between slower, more gentle rambles to catch your breath.
Just like interval training in running, a study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism found that alternating periods of fast and slow walking could improve cardiovascular fitness, help control blood sugar spikes and overall physical function.
The researchers also added that the movement pattern is particularly good for people with busy lifestyles, as it's a time-efficient way to reap the benefits of a leisurely walk in a shorter window.
You may have about already heard about rucking, if not, it's a military-inspired exercise style that involves intentionally carrying a weighted backpack on long walks.
With leading names in the wellness space like podcaster Andrew Huberman and longevity expert Dr Peter Attia all revealing they're big fans of weighted walking, the method is fast becoming as cult as cold water swimming and mushroom coffee.
Unlike other styles of walking, Rucking has one major USP – all that added resistance helps to build strength across the muscles required to walk, as well as sculpting your shoulders and back.
Rucking could also lead to greater weight loss results, with one study reporting an extra three pounds of fat loss over a three-week period in participants who carried added weight, compared to those who did not.
From 12-3-30 to 75 Hard, numerical workouts are all the rage right now. The latest is the 6-6-6 walking challenge, which involves walking for 60 minutes at either 6am or 6pm, with a 6-minute warm-up and cool-down.
So much messaging on social media tells us that we need to be in the gym, crushing hard sets with intimidating weights to be reaping the benefits of fitness. But science suggests the opposite, with one recent study finding that 160 minutes of walking a day can be so healthy for those over 40 years of age that it may add an extra five years to their lives.
Studies also show that adults who walk outdoors experience more vitality and energy than those who stick to indoor treadmills.
With endless amounts of must-download media available on our phones, it's fairly unusual to go anywhere these days without first plugging into a podcast or a playlist.
But all that external chatter could be blocking us from getting the most out of our walks, which is exactly why silent walking has taken off as a trend on TikTok recently.
The concept is as basic as it sounds: rather than popping in your headphones or calling a friend for distraction, a silent walk involves leaving your phone zipped in your pocket and staying fully present in your surroundings.
This slow-paced approach is all about tuning into the sights and sounds on your walk, and grounding in the present moment, which can help you manage your thoughts and feelings rather than being overwhelmed by them.
Basically, it's a fancy form of moving mindfulness, a meditation concept that science has underscored as a soothing balm for stress, anxiety and depression, with positive knock-on effects for sleep, mood and immune function.
Read more about walking:
The easiest ways to count steps as Aldi brings back £11.99 fitness tracker (Yahoo Life UK)
How fast you walk is more important than doing 10,000 daily steps (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
Study reveals exactly how many steps you need to walk a day, and it's not 10,000 (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)