{"id":348145,"date":"2025-08-16T03:13:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T03:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/348145\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T03:13:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T03:13:15","slug":"surprising-study-finds-this-type-of-walking-is-better-for-your-heart-than-hiit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/348145\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprising study finds this type of walking is better for your heart than HIIT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Exercise in general has been <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC6557987\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">proven<\/a> beneficial for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themanual.com\/fitness\/heart-disease-prevention-in-men\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">your heart health<\/a>, from reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themanual.com\/fitness\/how-to-lower-blood-pressure\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">lowering blood pressure<\/a> and inflammation. You don\u2019t have to spend hours exhausting yourself at the gym or running marathons to see these heart benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Previous <a href=\"https:\/\/heart.bmj.com\/content\/early\/2025\/05\/02\/heartjnl-2024-325004\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">research<\/a> shows that walking at an average pace of around three to four miles per hour lowered the likelihood of a heart arrhythmia by one-third and resulted in a 35% reduced risk of heart rhythm abnormalities. Walking at a pace faster than four miles per hour slashed that risk by 43% as well as lowering the levels of inflammation. Taking a brisk walk around the block is also advantageous for your heart.<\/p>\n<p>The heart-healthy power of Nordic walking<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/lucas-favre-man-hiking-nordic-walking-with-nordic-walking-poles-outside-by-the-trees-wearing-hat-uns.jpeg\" alt=\"Man walking with Nordic walking poles outside by the trees wearing a hat\" class=\"wp-image-1364737\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tLucas Favre \/ Unsplash<\/p>\n<p>Nordic walking involves the use of specially designed poles to help support your body on diverse terrain. Researchers set out to uncover whether Nordic walking, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themanual.com\/fitness\/best-hiit-workouts-for-beginners\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">high-intensity interval training (HIIT)<\/a>, or moderate-to-vigorous-intensity continuous training was more beneficial for adults with coronary artery disease. Let\u2019s explore the latest research.<\/p>\n<p>The study<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/pexels-ghost-acolyte-nordic-walking-poles-e1755292541805.jpg\" alt=\"nordic walking poles\" class=\"wp-image-1446348\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tGhost Acolyte \/ Pexels<\/p>\n<p>In a 26-week <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onlinecjc.ca\/article\/S0828-282X(22)00213-6\/fulltext\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 130 participants with coronary artery disease took part in different types of exercise, including HIIT and Nordic walking. The researchers measured the functional capacity of participants using a walk test at the start of the study, after six weeks, and after 12 weeks. Functional capacity refers to an individual\u2019s capability to perform their typical daily life activities.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The goal was to determine how different exercises impacted health, quality of life, functional capacity, and more.<\/p>\n<p>The results<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/pexels-harrisonhaines-person-nordic-walking-in-snow-e1755292636940.jpg\" alt=\"person nordic walking in snow\" class=\"wp-image-1446353\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tHarrison Haines \/ Pexels<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the study results revealed the following:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" data-block-type=\"core\">\n<li data-block-type=\"core\">Those who did the Nordic walking had the most notable improvements in the distance covered in the walking test and their quality of life. Nordic walking poles are designed to help accelerate your walking pace.<\/li>\n<li data-block-type=\"core\">The Nordic walking group had a 19% improvement in their functional capacity compared to a 13% improvement for HIIT and a 12% enhancement for moderate-to-vigorous continuous training.<\/li>\n<li data-block-type=\"core\">The researchers concluded that Nordic walking might be the most effective choice for boosting heart health overall, though all types of movement were shown to be beneficial in this study.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The heart-healthy power of HIIT<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/pexels-airamdphoto-13106624.jpg\" alt=\"Man doing HIIT workout.\" class=\"wp-image-1352002\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tAiram Dato-on \/ Pexels<\/p>\n<p>Of course, this is just one study, and high-intensity interval training still provides benefits for your heart. Previous <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/31937915\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">research<\/a> reveals that HIIT can lower your blood pressure and heart rate, even for those with obesity and high blood pressure. HIIT circuits have also been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0168822722006271\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">found<\/a> to lower blood sugar levels, which is good news for your heart. <\/p>\n<p>The takeaway<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on-async--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-async-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sam-moqadam-vozp2lojrhi-unsplash-e1746648684752.jpg\" alt=\"Fat-burning HIIT workout\" class=\"wp-image-1173898\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>\t\tSam Moqadam \/ Unsplash<\/p>\n<p>So, whether you feel like Nordic walking on a sun-speckled nature trail or powering through a HIIT circuit, you\u2019ll get plenty of benefits for your heart. Most fitness professionals recommend doing what you enjoy and varying your workout routine with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themanual.com\/fitness\/what-are-the-different-types-of-exercise\/\" data-popup-added=\"true\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">different types of exercise<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Exercise in general has been proven beneficial for your heart health, from reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":348146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[1630,105,12430,11653,16,15,19896],"class_list":{"0":"post-348145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-fitness","11":"tag-premium","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-workouts"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115036265302392733","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348145","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=348145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}