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Whether you’re powering through an incline session on the treadmill or venturing onto a new trail, walking can be a fantastic way to improve your fitness. With the rise of trends like the 12-3-30 weight-loss workout and the Japanese walking method, it’s clear why individuals are drawn to this often-overlooked yet effective form of exercise. To enhance your routine, we present four walking intervals that could help you efficiently burn stubborn fat, especially beneficial after the age of 50.
“Walking is the most accessible and excuse-proof form of exercise,” states Jill Brown, a master health coach, personal trainer, nutritionist, and fitness instructor at Equinox Fitness Clubs. “Cardiovascular exercise, as the name suggests, benefits the heart, blood vessels, and lungs. While it elevates the heart rate, strength training also builds muscle mass, aids in maintaining our metabolic rate, and is crucial for longevity. Overall, exercise is the most effective anti-aging remedy we have.”
Fat Loss vs. Fat Burning
Before getting started, it’s crucial to understand the difference between fat loss and fat burning.
“Burning fat does not automatically result in fat loss—only a calorie deficit can lead to actual fat reduction,” Brown emphasizes. “Therefore, if you’re working out to shed weight and consume the same number of calories you burned, you won’t achieve weight loss.”
Carbs and fat are both utilized as energy sources during workouts.
“Even if you were to only burn carbs during exercise but you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose fat weight. This is what intervals do,” Brown points out. “You burn more calories from carbs than from steady-state at a light -moderate intensity.”
The higher your heart rate is, the greater amount of calories you’ll torch from carbs.
“But at a higher heart rate, you also burn more calories overall. It mainly comes down to time,” Brown adds.
4 Walking Intervals That Melt Stubborn Fat
Brown’s personal favorite is using the treadmill to alternate between flats and hills or smaller and higher hills. This can be performed in many ways—just a few are outlined below.
- Keep your pace at 3.0mph or more as you alternate between level 1 and level 5, then level 1 and level 6, level 1 and level 7, and so on. Continue until you reach your max level. Do each level for 1 to 2 minutes. Aim for a minimum of 5 high-intensity intervals or more as you progress.
- Alternate between smaller and higher inclines—i.e., switching between levels 5 and 10. Brown recommends programming 2 to 3 minutes at level 5 and 1 minute at level 10. Aim for a minimum of 5 high-intensity intervals or more as you progress.
- If you enjoy walking outdoors on flat ground, incorporate speed rather than inclines. Alternate between a moderate pace—where you can converse comfortably without being out of breath—and a fast pace for 1 to 2 minutes. Aim for a minimum of 5 high-intensity intervals or more as you progress.
- Test out the Japanese walking method, which requires you to walk at a high intensity for 3 minutes, a low intensity for 3 minutes, and repeat for 30 minutes in total.
Muscle Groups That Benefit Most From Walking Intervals
Walking intervals put your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves to work. As you rev up the intensity, you engage the core muscles as well. Recruiting all of these muscle groups is particularly beneficial as you age and naturally lose lean muscle mass, a process known as sarcopenia.
“Even if you’re very fit, you will likely have less muscle mass than when you were 25. The type of muscle we lose the fastest are type 2 (fast twitch) muscle fibers,” Brown says. “These are the muscle fibers we use for sprints, jumps and power. Intervals can help rebuild some of these muscles, especially if you do uphill walking with speed.”
Brown recommends performing interval workouts twice a week.
Alexa Mellardo
