If you are ready to stage Up your daily walking game – literally – think about interval walking. This form of exercise can be your new secret key to losing weight and reaching your goal weight. The best part? You don’t have to accept it alone. We’re here to break down everything you need to know about interval walking for weight loss, including how to seamlessly incorporate it into your fitness routine, whether you’re a seasoned walker or a total beginner.
Interval walking keeps your fitness routine interesting while helping you burn calories. By alternating between brisk periods of brisk walking and periods of slower strides, you’ll make major progress on your weight loss journey. Now it’s time to put on your sneakers and get going!
What is interval walking?
“Interval walking is a workout routine structure in which you do brief periods of brisk walking followed by periods of slower walking,” explains Jordan Fernández, CPT has Trainers Academy. “For example, you can walk briskly for 30 seconds, just below an actual jogging pace, then tone it down to a leisurely stroll for the next 30 seconds.”
Intervals can last anywhere from 10 seconds to a full minute in a typical program.
How can interval walking help you lose weight?
Interval walking can support your weight loss efforts with the extra calories you burn. This makes it easier to maintain your required calorie deficit each day and week, leading to weight loss.
“Using an interval methodology has an added benefit over just straight walking because intervals help increase your metabolic rate after your workout,” Fernandez tells us. “So in essence, you get more bang for your buck because you burn calories during your workout and then your metabolism is elevated for the next 24 hours, giving you an ‘afterburn effect’.”
How to do interval walking to lose weight:
If you want to incorporate interval training into your weight loss regimen, Fernandez suggests doing it four to five days a week, starting with 20 to 30 minutes of all-out walking.
“Do a warm-up walk for about five minutes then alternate between 30 seconds of very brisk walking, followed by 30 seconds of light walking, for a total of 10 cycles,” he advises. “Follow it with a cool-down five minutes of slow walking. You can increase the number of intervals you do as your fitness improves or if you want to burn even more calories.”
When practicing interval walking for weight loss, Fernandez emphasizes not overcompensating by consuming more food, as that will undo all the hard work you put into your workouts. “This will be true for any workout program aimed at losing weight,” he adds.
Is interval walking more effective than steady-state cardio for weight loss?
Interval walking may be a more productive form of exercise than steady state for those looking to lose weight due to calorie burning. “However, in reality the effect is somewhat weak,” says Fernandez. “When looking at total daily energy expenditure, your best bet will always be to choose the form of exercise that you will be most consistent with. You will always be better off with consistency rather than intensity.”
Plus, it’s too easy to offset the calories you burn during a workout by eating too much. “A 30-minute interval walk probably burns between 200 and 300 calories, and then maybe another 50 to 100 calories over the next 24 hours, depending on the intensity of your intervals,” says Fernandez. “It’s basically the equivalent of having an extra serving of entrée or a bowl of ice cream with toppings, very easy to make.”
This is a major obstacle Fernandez sees her clients face when following a workout program focused on weight loss.
“In the grand scheme of things, it’s much less important what form of exercise you choose and much more important that you don’t compensate by eating more,” he adds. “In fact, you can lose the same amount of weight without exercise by simply reducing your calorie intake. However, adding exercise means you can eat a little more at each meal, which can reduce the feeling of deprivation associated with weight loss diets.
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Alexa Mellardo
Alexa is the Mind + Body Associate Editor at Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and bringing readers interesting topics on fitness, wellness, and self-care. Learn more about Alexa
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