What to know about walking for weight loss Regular walking offers many potential health benefits, including weight loss. It is also one of the easiest and most cost effective forms of exercise a person can do. Many people can walk regularly and reap the benefits of being more active.
One study concluded that individuals who walked at 2.5 miles per hour (mph) on a flat surface while wearing a weighted vest that weighed 15% of their weight, burned 12% more calories than a person who did not wear a vest.
Although any increase in activity level will bring benefits, there are some things a person can do to increase the amount of fat they burn while walking. Tips include:
A person wearing a weighted vest that represented 10% of their body weight and who walked at the same pace on a 5-10% gradient burned an average of 13% more calories.
Picking up the pace
Walking uphill
As with running, swimming, and other forms of aerobic exercise, pace makes a difference. To help increase calorie burn, a person A person burns more calories walking at a should walk uphill regularly. brisk pace compared to walking more slowly. For some, this may mean increasing the A study showed that when people increased treadmill gradient, while others may want their pace to a run, they burned more to incorporate more hills into their outdoor calories. walking routine.
Wearing a weighted vest Adding extra weight to a workout will burn more calories. Heavier people burn more calories because their bodies require more energy to perform the same task than someone who is not as heavy; wearing a weighted vest while walking encourages a person’s body to work harder during a walk. 26
A person should aim to walk up hills, stairs, or inclines two to three times a week.
