RepCount App IconRepCount

Walking

Also called fitness walking, brisk walking.

What is walking?

Walking is a form of cardio built from the natural gait you use to move on foot. It can be done outdoors or on a treadmill, and its pace and duration depend on why it is part of the session.

Anatomical illustration of a man walking from left to right in four phases of a stride, seen from a front three-quarter view. He is upright with his arms swinging naturally and no equipment around him. The buttocks, front and back of the thighs, and calves are highlighted in red.

How do you walk for exercise?

Set up

  1. Choose a clear walking surface and footwear that feels secure.

Execution

  1. Stand upright and look ahead, with your shoulders relaxed and your arms free to swing.
  2. Walk with a natural stride, placing each foot where you can stay balanced and letting your arms swing comfortably.
  3. Keep the stride controlled as the surface or treadmill setting changes, and slow or stop if you lose your balance.

Common mistakes

  • Watching your feet the whole time

    Looking down continuously makes it harder to see the route or people ahead. Glance down when the surface calls for it, then look forward again.

  • Forcing a longer stride

    Reaching farther than feels natural can make each step less stable. Let the foot land where you can move smoothly and stay balanced.

  • Letting a treadmill setting pull you out of position

    If you have to reach for the rails or chase the belt, change the setting until you can walk under control again.

Where it fits in a session

Walking can be used before or after lifting, on its own, or as part of another cardio session.

Match the route, treadmill settings, pace and duration to the purpose of the session rather than treating one prescription as correct for every kind of walking.

Muscles worked

Front
Front — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.
Back
Back — Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Primary

Secondary

  • None listed in this guide

Select a muscle name to locate it.

Schematic surface view. Some muscles are partly visible or not shown.

Walking is a whole-body gait rather than a muscle-isolation exercise. The quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and gluteus maximus each contribute during different parts of a stride, so the list is not a ranking of which works hardest.

Scientific studies on walking

Walking studies test particular programs, not walking in the abstract. Pace, hills, consistency and the people taking part all affect what a result can tell us.

Structured walking programs have improved fitness and physical-function tests in middle-aged and older adults. Faster intervals and hills change the task, but the research below does not establish one pace or duration for every walker.

Can a walking program improve fitness?

A thirty-two-week trial assigned two hundred adults to a home walking program or their usual activity. The walking group improved more on a timed shuttle-walk test and repeated chair stands. Those are useful measures of physical performance, but they are not direct measurements of maximum oxygen uptake.

A separate five-month study compared faster walking intervals with steady moderate walking and no walking program. The interval group improved more in knee strength, directly measured cycling aerobic capacity and estimated walking aerobic capacity. However, only one hundred and thirty-nine of the two hundred and forty-six enrolled participants were included in the analysis. Some initial group assignments also changed to accommodate participants. These limitations weaken the comparison and leave open how well the program would work for everyone offered it.

Sources

How does walking uphill change the muscular demand?

Ten young adults walked on a treadmill at several speeds and slopes. Uphill walking increased activity in the measured hip, knee and ankle extensors compared with level walking, and the changes became larger at faster walking speeds. Downhill walking showed a different pattern, with increases in the measured knee extensors at the steepest tested descent.

These were immediate electrical-activity measurements. They help explain why changing the route can change the task, but do not establish which hill or pace produces the most muscle growth. Outdoor terrain and walking with poles were not tested.

Sources

Variations

  • Outdoor walking — Uses the natural changes in the route and surface around you.
  • Anatomical illustration of a woman running on a motorised treadmill, shown side on in two frames of the same stride. In the left frame she is airborne with the rear leg trailing behind her; in the right frame she is on one foot with the other knee swinging through under her hips. The machine is drawn in full — belt deck, side rails, upright handlebars and console — and her hands are off the rails, elbows bent and swinging. The muscles of both legs and hips are highlighted in red from the buttock down through the front and back of the thigh to the calf and shin, and the abdominal wall is shaded as well; the arms and head are left pale.
    Treadmill walkingUses a moving belt with speed and incline controlled at the console.
  • Hill walking — Adds uphill and downhill sections without changing the basic gait.
  • Walking with poles — Uses a pole in each hand while you walk.

Related tools

Frequently asked questions

What muscles does walking work?

The quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and gluteus maximus all contribute to walking. The quadriceps help control and straighten the knee, the hamstrings help control the leg as it swings, the calves help move the body forward over the foot, and the gluteus maximus helps extend the hip.

Is treadmill walking different from outdoor walking?

The movement is still walking, but the setting changes. A treadmill gives you a predictable surface and console-controlled speed and incline; outdoors, the route sets the turns, gradients and surface changes.

How fast should I walk?

There is no single pace that fits every session. A warm-up, cool-down, easy aerobic walk and race-training walk have different purposes, so use the pace called for by the plan you are following.

How long should I walk?

Duration depends on why you are walking and how it fits with the rest of your training. Record the time or distance if either is useful for the plan, but the guide does not prescribe one target for every purpose.

Should I walk before or after lifting?

Either can make sense. Walking may be part of a warm-up, a cool-down or a separate cardio session; its place depends on what the session is meant to accomplish.

Sources

  1. Bordoni B, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Thigh Quadriceps Muscle. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513334/
  2. Hu Y, Raja A. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Hamstring Muscle. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546688/
  3. Binstead JT, Varacallo M. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb: Calf. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459362/
  4. Elzanie A, Borger J. Anatomy, Bony Pelvis and Lower Limb, Gluteus Maximus Muscle. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538193/
  5. Okamoto N, Nakatani T, Morita N, Saeki K, Kurumatani N.. Home-based walking improves cardiopulmonary function and health-related QOL in community-dwelling adults.. 2007. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17525884/
  6. Nemoto K, Gen-no H, Masuki S, Okazaki K, Nose H.. Effects of high-intensity interval walking training on physical fitness and blood pressure in middle-aged and older people.. 2007. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17605959/
  7. Franz JR, Kram R.. The effects of grade and speed on leg muscle activations during walking.. 2012. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21962846/

Track your progress over time with RepCount

Log every set, see plate loading in context, and track your strength over time. Available on iOS and Android.

Download on the

App Store

Get it on

Google Play