{"id":197268,"date":"2025-06-19T13:44:09","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T13:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/197268\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T13:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T13:44:09","slug":"how-much-you-should-walk-to-see-fitness-gains-according-to-experts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/197268\/","title":{"rendered":"How much you should walk to see fitness gains, according to experts"},"content":{"rendered":"

It just happens that one of the most accessible and budget-friendly forms of exercise is also the most beneficial for your health: walking. It\u2019s been proven to help reduce heart disease risk<\/a>, strengthen your joints and heart, boost your mood<\/a>, and help you live longer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There has been debate about how much walking is ideal. Should you be aiming for 10,000 steps a day or is 7,000 the right number<\/a>? How fast should you move<\/a> to reap the most benefits of your walking workouts?<\/p>\n

Using the myriad scientific data, studies, and expert insight on walking, here is what Fortune has uncovered about the ideal amount of walking to do see benefits.<\/p>\n

How many steps a day<\/strong> to aim for<\/p>\n

While 10,000 steps has been floated around as the ideal number to hit every day, experts have said that number is fairly arbitrary\u2014it\u2019s actually more of a target range that experts advise to aim for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat 10,000 steps was never a peer-reviewed number,\u201d Howard Luks, a New York-based orthopedic surgeon and the author of Longevity\u2026Simplified: Living a Longer, Healthier Life Shouldn\u2019t Be Complicated<\/a>, told Fortune.<\/p>\n

Research<\/a> has indicated that people who hit around 7,000 steps a day are able to maintain good health, while another study from 2023<\/a> of 3,000 participants showed that those who took at least 8,000 steps one or two days a week were 14.9% less likely to die over a 10-year period than those who did not. People who took 8,000 or more steps three to seven days a week were 16.5% less likely to die over the same period as well.<\/p>\n

That 7,000 to 10,000-step range is pretty much the sweet spot to see improvements in your fitness, according to National Academy of Sports Medicine trainer Mallory Fox<\/a>. She says that is generally where people will start to achieve weight loss and see benefits to their cardiorespiratory systems.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s important to set realistic goals geared towards your individual improvement, according to NiCole Keith, professor of kinesiology at Indiana University\u2013Purdue University and immediate past president of the American College of Sports Medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen thousand steps is a lot of steps,\u201d she told Fortune. \u201cIf you\u2019re an active person and you\u2019re out walking all the time, or you work in a manual labor job and you\u2019re on your feet and you\u2019re carrying things and walking around\u2026that\u2019s great. But if you\u2019re a receptionist and only getting 3,000, then make a goal to make it 3,500. Then see if you can push it up to 4,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fox agrees that people should take their time in increasing their step count, and advises taking a look at how much you\u2019re walking each week\u2014either with the help of a wearable device or the rough step estimate provided by smartphones\u2014and aim to increase that by about 10% each week to ensure you don\u2019t get injured or too sore.<\/p>\n

She also echoes that the improvements you\u2019ll see in your fitness, body composition, and overall health are largely dependent on your lifestyle and physiology.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody is different. Someone\u2019s exercise history, their height, their weight will contribute to how much they need to do,\u201d she says. You\u2019re likely to see improvement just by doing \u201cany additional movement beyond [your] normal activity level,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just about step count\u2014pace matters too<\/strong><\/p>\n

While there\u2019s nothing wrong with leisurely strolls to relieve stress and clear your mind\u2014and remember, every step counts\u2014research indicates that your walking pace is another contributing factor for longevity in particular.<\/p>\n

The same 2023 meta-analysis on walking also found that a faster pace was associated with a reduced risk of death, regardless of the number of steps taken per day. Researchers posit that\u2019s because walking faster pushes your heart more, allowing you to get more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity that boosts cardiovascular health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week<\/a> for most adults, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity\u2014and pushing the walking pace could help you reach that recommendation.<\/p>\n

A 2022 U.K.-based study<\/a> also found that walking quickly could lower dementia risk<\/a>. And researchers on a 2022 Brazil-based study<\/a> observed that the greater the number of daily steps\u2014and the quicker the pace of those steps\u2014the less likely someone was to suffer from arterial stiffness, a condition where the arteries, the blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart, become less flexible and more rigid, which could lead to heart problems.<\/p>\n

So just how fast are we talking? Walking at a pace of around 100 steps per minute for 30 minutes a day, five days a week would meet the weekly requirements for moderate exercise for older adults, Brazilian researchers pointed out. A 2011 study<\/a> supported that estimate, stating that 100 steps per minute equated moderate physical activity.<\/p>\n

But as Fox pointed out, anything is better than nothing, especially if you\u2019re starting from a lower baseline.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many benefits of walking even at a slow walk or a leisurely stroll,\u201d she says. \u201cThe intensity isn\u2019t set in stone. It\u2019s just moving the body more is the bottom line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Easy ways to add steps to your day<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are 5 easy ways to naturally incorporate more walking into your day, according to the American on the Move Foundation<\/a>:<\/p>\n