Enhance your walking routine and boost your strength after 50 with these four daily practices.

Many people in their 50s mistakenly believe that lifting weights is the sole method for rebuilding muscle. While strength training is undoubtedly effective, walking offers a powerful alternative for maintaining and increasing muscle mass. It serves as a low-impact form of resistance exercise, encouraging movement and providing significant benefits, particularly for your legs and glutes.

As we age, preserving muscle becomes increasingly important to ensure a healthy, active, and independent lifestyle. Walking regularly can help you achieve this goal by both increasing lean muscle and maintaining the muscle you already have.

We consulted with Dr. Mikel Daniels, a board-certified podiatrist at WeTreatFeet Podiatry, who recommends four daily walking strategies that can be more effective than weight training for those over 50. All you need to begin this revitalizing journey is a good pair of sneakers and a commitment to your health.

We spoke with Dr. Mikel Daniels, board-certified podiatrist with WeTreatFeet Podiatry, who shares four daily walking practices that rebuild lost muscle better than weight training after 50. All you need is a solid pair of sneakers and determination to get started.

The best part? You can make this activity as social as you’d like by inviting your besties. Consider starting a walking group—it may be a way to encourage you to keep up this habit on days you’re likely to stay inside.

“After 50, you can still meaningfully rebuild muscle with a focused, ‘smarter’ walking. This is especially true if you treat walking like strength work instead of background cardio,” explains Dr. Daniels. “In my practice, the patients who do best aren’t the ones who grind out miles; they’re the ones who walk with intention, work the hills, and use short, hard intervals.”

Smart walking is chock-full of goodness. Intensity is achieved by speed and incline, not by adding weight to your shoulders or spine. This is golden for individuals who have back problems, arthritis, or limitations. You will target your quadriceps, hamstrings, calf complex, and tibialis anterior.

So let’s get started with four walks you’ll actually enjoy!

Intentional Interval Walking

Upgrade your 30 to 40-minute stroll to intentional interval walking. This involves alternating easier and more difficult stretches of walking. Doing so will boost your knee strength and thigh muscles.

“In one study of older adults, progressive walking that included moderate plus high‑intensity intervals (around 45 minutes, ~5 days/week for several months) increased thigh muscle size and strength. Another trial showed brisk walking and similar ambulatory exercise can induce measurable leg muscle hypertrophy and strength gains in adults,” Dr. Daniels tells us.

Here’s what your intentional interval walking sessions should look like:

1. Strolling pace (5-minute warm-up)
2. Brisk walk (1 to 2 minutes)
3. Easy recovery walk (2 to 3 minutes)
4. Repeat 6 to 8 times, 4 to 5 days a week
5. Cool-down (5 minutes)

Hill/Incline Walking

Uphill walking can be compared to a bodyweight leg press machine. This difference? You’re using your own body and gravity, which is easy on your body—especially your knees and hips.

“Studies of progressive walking in older adults show that higher‑intensity walking adds more strength improvements, especially at the knee,” Dr. Daniels explains. “I have a 72‑year‑old diabetic patient who couldn’t tolerate leg press because of knee pain but could handle 4% incline walking. Over about four months, her knee extension strength improved, and she could climb the three steps to her porch without using the rail (tiny victory, big life impact).”

Here’s what your hill/incline walking sessions should look like:

1. Walk up a moderate hill (30 to 60 seconds)
2. Walk back down slowly
3. Repeat 6 to 10 times

Step, Stair, and “Terrain” Walking

This exercise can be compared to functional strength training—and it’s joint-friendly! You’ll be reaping solid strength and balance benefits while improving gait speed.

“Research on stair climbing shows it improves cardio‑metabolic health; combined with walking, it can support lower‑limb strength and performance in older adults. We also have data that increasing step count and physical activity reduces sarcopenia risk,” Dr. Daniels says.

Here’s what your sessions should look like:

1. Choose a walk route with curbs, 1 to 2 staircases, and uneven surfaces
2. Start walking
3. Every 3 to 5 minutes, climb a staircase, step up and down on a curb, or walk on uneven terrain

“This setup mimics some of the balance and strength benefits you see in multi-component exercise programs that improve gait speed and functional tests in older adults,” Dr. Daniels adds.

Loaded/Purposeful Walking (Farmer’s-Carry Style)

This farmer-carry style of purposeful walking is an excellent exercise for everyday strength—without barbells. Walking will build lean leg muscle, and adding a backpack as you progress will add resistance for your upper body. You can challenge your walks by adding items to your backpack, like water bottles or a book for extra weight.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

“The load gets distributed across your body, so you can stick with light weights but still rack up serious time under tension. It hits your grip, shoulders, trunk, and hips in that real-life way—like lugging grocery bags home—instead of just sitting strapped to a machine,” Dr. Daniels tells us.

Here’s what your loaded / purposeful walking session should look like:

1. Use 5 to 15 pounds in each hand, or alternate one for a “suitcase carry”
2. Walk 20 to 40 steps
3. Rest for 30 to 60 seconds
4. Repeat 4 to 8 times
5. Alternatively, when using a lightweight backpack, start with 5 to 10 pounds
6. Work up to 10 to 20 minutes at moderate pace, 2 to 3 days per week