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The Independent
10 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
I tried the 30-minute walking workout that offers ‘10 times the benefits' of walking 10,000 steps per day
Walking is an accessible form of movement with impressive health-boosting credentials; I think there is enough research available to safely make that statement. Treating 10,000 steps per day as the gold standard for a healthy lifestyle is far more contentious. The number stems from a 1960s Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer called the Manpo-Kei, or '10,000 steps metre'. It's a nice round number, but it's not one identified by science as the holy grail for health – a 2023 study by the University of Granada suggests that, while more is better, 8,000 is sufficient 'to significantly reduce the risk of premature death'. Walking 10,000 steps also takes a fair old while. Even at a decent nick, this task is likely to take you upwards of 90 minutes each day, making it a struggle for busy folks. Recently, an alternative walking protocol – colloquially termed 'Japanese walking' due to its country of origin – has stepped into the spotlight online. It takes just 30 minutes per day, with fitness coach and content creator Eugene Teo claiming it offers '10 times the benefits' of walking 10,000 steps per day in his viral video above. As a fitness writer, I've covered walking extensively, finding it's one of the best ways to help people of all fitness levels introduce more movement into their regular routine. So, intrigued, I endeavoured to try 'Japanese walking' and find out if the impressive health claims around it held water. How to try the 'Japanese walking' method Complete the sequence below five times without any breaks: Benefits of Japanese walking The 'Japanese walking' protocol comes from a study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings journal in 2007. It was designed to test whether high-intensity interval walking training (IWT) can offer greater benefits than moderate-intensity continuous walking training, in terms of improving thigh muscle strength, peak aerobic capacity (the maximum amount of oxygen you can take in and use during exercise) and blood pressure. Over five months, 60 men and 186 women with an average age of 63 were divided into three groups; no walking training, IWT and CWT (continuous walking training). The CWT group was instructed to walk at 50 per cent of their peak aerobic capacity (a fairly slow pace) and take 8,000 or more steps per day at least four times per week. The IWT group was told to complete the protocol above, four or more times per week. Among participants who met these conditions, those in the IWT group saw a 13 per cent increase in isometric knee flexion, a 17 per cent increase in isometric knee flexion, and an eight per cent increase in peak aerobic capacity for walking. This was 'significantly greater than the increases observed in the moderate-intensity continuous walking training group'. The research also found a greater reduction in resting systolic blood pressure in the IWT group, despite the fact they didn't spend as much time walking each week. The conclusion states: 'high-intensity interval walking may protect against age-associated increases in blood pressure and decreases in thigh muscle strength and peak aerobic capacity.' What happened when I tried Japanese walking I don't have a full science lab set up at home; what I do have is two legs, a Garmin watch and a lot of walking experience, so I decided to put these to good use. During my Monday lunch break, I took my dog for a 30-minute walk as normal. Then, at 1pm the following day, I tried the 'Japanese walking' method on the same looped route, setting my Garmin Vivoactive to record both sessions and taking note of any subjective changes I felt. My usual 30-minute walk saw me accrue nearly 3,000 steps, covering 2.12km at an average pace of 14kph. My heart rate averaged 85bpm, remaining fairly constant throughout, and I burned an estimated 157 calories. As anyone who has owned a dog might expect, there was a good deal of stopping and starting to inspect particularly interesting trees and bollards, and I defaulted to a fairly casual pace amid a busy work day. For the Japanese walking protocol, my numbers looked a bit different, with my fast pace falling just below 120 steps per minute and my slow pace a few shy of 100 steps per minute. I travelled significantly further, covering 2.94km and 3,500 steps at an average speed of just over 10kph. My average heart rate came out very similar (86bpm) but there were noticeable peaks (104bpm) and troughs in line with the high- and low-speed intervals. My estimated calorie burn was also significantly higher: 211. Benefits of the Japanese walking method The idea that walking faster, or sprinkling more intensity into your exercise, holds greater benefits is nothing new. Specialist in walking for health, Dr Elroy Aguiar, is an assistant professor at the University of Alabama's department of kinesiology. He was the lead author on a 2024 paper published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, which correlated as little as one minute of high-intensity activity with improved health outcomes. 'One of the really interesting findings from our paper was that, if you look at people's highest one minute of activity across each day, averaged across the monitoring period, that was a very strong signal for whether they had one or more metabolic syndrome risk factors [elevated waist circumference, high triglycerides, low HDL (or 'good' cholesterol), high blood pressure and high blood sugar] present,' he tells me. Another series of studies he worked on, featured in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, pointed to the fact that 'if you walk at a cadence of about 100 steps per minute, that's equivalent to what's called 'moderate-intensity', and all of the research in this area suggests that most of the benefits [of walking] accumulate at a moderate or higher intensity'. Beyond this, completing the Japanese walking method four times per week leaves you half-an-hour away from the World Health Organisation's 'global recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week'. Add a couple of short full-body strength training sessions into the mix and you have a decent minimalist workout plan for beginners. Potential drawbacks of the Japanese Walking method All of the information above paints the Japanese walking method in a favourable light – as it should, with the protocol delivering impressive results in a non-intimidating time-span. However, if we are questioning the claim that it is 'better' than walking 10,000 steps a day, there are a few further areas to consider. Firstly, Dr Aguiar's 2024 paper supported the idea that the 'best' walking method for reducing metabolic risk factors involves a combination of high volume (number of steps) and high intensity (walking speed). 'Accumulating a high volume of walking throughout the day [8,000-plus steps], then focussing on at least 30 minutes of faster walking or jogging, would be a way to move the metrics in a positive direction and lower your metrics for each of the [metabolic syndrome] risk factors,' he says. I racked up a little over 3,500 steps when trying the Japanese Walking method – less than half of the 8,000 daily steps research has repeatedly linked to many favourable health outcomes, and short of the 5,000 mark often viewed as the threshold for a sedentary lifestyle. Using this method as part, rather than all, of your daily steps could be a better approach for achieving your health goals. However, if you only have 30 minutes per day free, it still offers dramatically more benefits than not moving at all, and improved return on investment over a regular 30-minute walk. Another area where the Japanese walking method loses out to walking 10,000 steps per day is movement regularity. While the former involves a concentrated 30-minute dose of activity, the latter can be spread throughout the day, encouraging you to abandon your office chair and sofa more often. A 10-year study of 8,000 people, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that those replaced 30 minutes of daily sitting with light activity had a 17 per cent lower risk of dying in that period. This even applied if they accrued these 30 minutes across short intervals throughout the day – hence why your smartwatch is constantly sending you reminders to stand up and move. Regular movement can also help maintain mobility and reduce stiffness in our joints and muscles. 'When we're dealing with an adaptation from stillness, movement is the answer, so any movement is better than just being still,' movement mechanics expert and The Training Stimulus founder Ash Grossmann summarises. The final factor to consider is enjoyment. By adding a rigid framework, Japanese walking ensures intensity. However, it also meant I was unable to stop and chat to people in the park or appreciate my surroundings to the same extent. For me, this lowered the stress-busting potential of my walk, sacrificing some of the usual mental health benefits of walking for physical ones. The Japanese walking method: the verdict In my time writing about health and fitness, the net positive effect of regular movement has been one of the most striking common denominators. For those looking for a minimum effective dose: any movement will do you a lot of good, particularly if your starting point is a sedentary lifestyle. But if you can fit one or two quick full-body strength training sessions, regular aerobic activity (like walking) and an occasional dash of more intense exercise into each week, it will stand you in very good stead. Walking is among the most accessible forms of exercise there is, lowering the barrier to entry for exercise for billions of people, which is why I'm always keen to promote it. However, in the modern world, even finding time for a quick walk can be tricky for particularly busy individuals. The Japanese walking method provides a time-savvy way to enjoy many of the benefits of a greater volume of daily walking. Sure, you could enjoy higher-intensity exercise in any number of other forms, from cycling to a HIIT workout, but walking remains the most efficient – you don't even need a change of clothes. So should you try it? Yes, especially if you're short on time and looking for a way to squeeze health-boosting movement into your day. And should you stick with it? This depends. If you enjoy this framework, or find it's something you can stick to with a good degree of regularity, that's the ticket to a sustainable movement habit and the many health benefits that come from it. If not, look for an alternative form of moderate- to high-intensity exercise that you find fun, and commit to this instead – consistency is the key to long-term results.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Simple Trick I Used to Go From 500 to 10,000 Steps A Day
A few months ago, I was averaging about 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day. Some days, I barely move, spending hours on my laptop and amassing only 500 steps total. Pitiful, I know. So when I took on a 10,000-step challenge for March, I initially thought I was way over my head. How was I supposed to dedicate a month to 10,000 steps when my step count was 514 the day before? 🩺SIGN UP for tips to stay healthy & fit with the top moves, clean eats, health trends & more delivered right to your inbox twice a week💊After some trial and error in the first two weeks of my 10,000-step challenge, I discovered a hack. It was so simple, and I still use it today to get at least 7,000 steps, even on a busy day. As a health writer, I'm not here to gatekeep, so I'm sharing it to get us all Have you ever felt there's so much to do and so little time? If your goal is to walk more, then follow these three steps. The first thing I had to do was break a bad habit, which I'm sure most of us have—scrolling on our phones in the first few minutes after waking up. I had to be honest with myself: A "few minutes" of mindless scrolling would probably have me lying in bed for another half hour. That half hour could be spent doing something more productive, like getting my first few steps of the day in. After I shook off sleep, I forced myself to stand up for a minute. I found that just a minute of standing snapped me out of my sleepy daze and stopped me from accidentally falling back asleep or going back on my It was tempting to dive straight into checking my emails and getting ready for work after I shook off the morning drowsiness. But instead, I dedicated the first 30 minutes of my day to walking. Whether taking a stroll around the block or walking up and down my hallway, I gave myself the "me-time" to get my body moving before I had to sit for hours at work. When I did a brisk walk, 30 minutes gave me about 2,500 steps. Most of the time, I walked slowly while drinking my morning coffee. Still, this amounted to 1,200 to 2,000 steps before 7:30 AM—shaving off almost a third of my 10,000 daily step best part was the mental and emotional boost I gained from my walk, leaving me feeling focused and motivated to tackle everything I needed to do for the Doing 10,000 steps a day sounds daunting. But 500 steps an hour? That's doable. I gave myself 5 to 10 minutes every hour to walk around, even if it was just circling the room a few times. To make the time fly by, I would use that time for more passive activities like replying to emails or checking was also a good reminder to avoid sitting too long anyway. According to science, it would be even more ideal to get up and move every half hour. One Columbia University study found that just five minutes of light walking was enough to counteract some of the health issues of prolonged sitting.A few minutes here and there might not seem like much. But breaking up my steps after eight hours added 3,000 to 4,000 steps. Adding in the approximate 2,000 steps I did in the first 30 minutes of the day, I already had about 5,000 to 6,000 thousand steps didn't seem intimidating when I was already halfway there. Knowing I was 50% done helped me relax and finish my steps leisurely instead of trying to cram it all in for the last few hours of the day or give up altogether. While my 10,000-step challenge is over, I still use this method to avoid sitting around all day. Even as I wrap up this article, I plan to get up and walk another five to 10 minutes. I recommend you do the Next:Rx for Prolonged Sitting: A Five-Minute Stroll Every Half Hour. Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
