{"id":187363,"date":"2025-06-15T21:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T21:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/187363\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T21:50:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T21:50:12","slug":"5-walking-tricks-that-burn-fat-and-build-muscle-trainer-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/187363\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Walking Tricks That Burn Fat and Build Muscle, Trainer Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many people turn to walking<\/a> as their go-to source of exercise\u2014and for good reason. It\u2019s accessible, affordable, and doesn\u2019t require any equipment. Plus, this low-impact workout<\/a> is gentle on the joints and can be an effective calorie burner. But possibly the best of all, walking allows you to get outdoors and explore nature. The trail possibilities are endless. But if walking is your main form of movement, here\u2019s exactly how to make every step count.<\/p>\n

What To Focus On<\/b><\/p>\n

In order to get fit on walking alone, we consulted Luke Jones<\/b>, certified personal trainer at HERO Movement<\/a>, who breaks down what to focus on.<\/p>\n

Be Consistent<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cLittle and often is the way to create a sustainable habit,\u201d Luke tells us. \u201cRegular, short daily walks (15\u201360 mins, depending on your baseline) are my preference vs occasional long ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

8 Ways To Burn More Calories On Every Walk Without Picking Up the Pace<\/a><\/p>\n

Tune In<\/b><\/p>\n

Lacing up your sneaks and heading out for a brisk walk can be a great opportunity to disconnect from the craziness of the day and reconnect with your body.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>Music, podcasts, audiobooks and loved ones can all be great company, but heading out solo without any distractions can also be valuable,\u201d Luke says.<\/p>\n

Progress<\/b><\/p>\n

As time passes, you can add more distance to your walks, bump up your speed, and increase terrain variation.<\/p>\n

What Happens to Your Body When You Walk 30 Minutes Every Day<\/a><\/p>\n

How to Make Your Daily Walk Burn More Fat and Build Muscle<\/b><\/p>\n

Luke suggests several ways you can add to your daily walk to build muscle and burn more fat.<\/p>\n

\tAdd Weights<\/p>\n

\"fitShutterstock<\/p>\n

Wearing a rucksack with weight plates or a weighted vest is a stellar way to turn your regular walk into a strength training session.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis increases the metabolic demand and can help build strength through the lower body and core without needing to move faster,\u201d Luke explains.<\/p>\n

6 Best Walking Workouts You Can Do on Your Local Track<\/a><\/p>\n

\tUse Hiking Sticks<\/p>\n

\"NordicShutterstock<\/p>\n

Hiking poles or sticks actually help you engage more muscle groups during your walk, including the arms, back, and shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis increases the caloric demand while simultaneously reducing the perceived effort,\u201d says Luke. \u201cIn short, you can burn more calories, but your walk feels easier at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIncorporate Intervals<\/p>\n

\"twoShutterstock<\/p>\n

If you really want to turn your walk into a fat-burning session, consider intervals. Alternate your walk between a fast pace and slow recovery periods.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e<\/p>\n

Luke suggests, \u201cTwo minutes brisk, one minute steady. This adds a slightly different cardiovascular challenge and keeps things interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why People Are Ditching Regular Walks for \u2018Nordic Walking\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\tAdd Mini-Strength or Mobility Sets<\/p>\n

\"lunges,Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Stop every five to 10 minutes to perform some mobility drills or a set of bodyweight exercises such as pushups, lunges, squats, or stretches on a bench.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>You\u2019ve now got yourself a hybrid session that hits strength, mobility and cardio in one,\u201d Luke points out.<\/p>\n

\tAdd Variables to Your Route<\/p>\n

\"manShutterstock<\/p>\n

Little tweaks in your walk can make a major difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrisk walking<\/a> (where you can talk but not sing) pushes your heart rate into a moderate intensity zone, great for building your aerobic base without placing huge recovery demands on your nervous system,\u201d Luke explains.<\/p>\n

Incorporating hills or inclines instantly makes your walking workout more intense and works the hamstrings, glutes, and calves harder.<\/p>\n

In addition, maintaining a tall posture, activating your core, and naturally swinging your arms helps enhance muscle activation and efficiency.<\/p>\n

Alexa Mellardo<\/p>\n

\t\tAlexa is a content strategist, editor, and writer based in Greenwich, Connecticut. She has 11+ years of experience creating content for travel, lifestyle, fitness, wellness, F&B, home, and celeb news publications.\t\t\t\t\tRead more about Alexa <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many people turn to walking as their go-to source of exercise\u2014and for good reason. It\u2019s accessible, affordable, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[69688,1630,105,76765,16,15,5182],"class_list":{"0":"post-187363","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-build-muscle","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-how-to-lose-body-fat","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-walking"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114689594288838163","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}