These 3 Workouts Take Walking to the Next Level

Walking is a stellar form of low-impact cardio any time of year, but there’s something extra lovely about walking outside in the spring. Not only can the warmer weather feel amazing after a winter spent cooped up inside, but the chirping birds, budding flowers, and greening grass can provide a naturally energizing setting for getting your steps in.

Then there are the compelling health benefits: A meta-analysis of six studies published in 2022 in the Journal of Clinical Medicine found that walking in nature effectively boosts mental health. And a separate review, published in 2023 in GeroScience, highlighted the fact that walking can lower your risk and the severity of certain health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and dementia, while also bolstering mental wellbeing, sleep, and longevity.

Walking is an all-around excellent choice for your physical and mental health. And spring is the perfect time to start a new outdoor walking routine—or shake up your existing one.

With that in mind, I leaned on my expertise as a certified personal trainer to put together three different walking workouts to try this season. They’re all 30 minutes in length, but vary in focus and format. The first centers on different speed intervals to challenge your heart and lungs, the second incorporates bodyweight strength moves to spice up the stimulus for your muscles, and the third uses mindfulness techniques to maximize the mental health benefits of walking. Pick and choose your favorites, or weave all three into your routine for extra variety.

Walking Workout #1: Speed Intervals

In this workout, you’ll regularly switch up your walking speed (rather than maintaining one steady pace).

Research shows that toggling between different intensities as you stroll—a technique known as interval walking training—is an effective way to boost physical fitness and muscle strength. It can also improve glycemic control for people with type 2 diabetes.

This workout uses rate of perceived exertion (RPE) to distinguish between different intensities. RPE is basically how hard you feel like you’re working on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is complete rest and 10 is all-out effort.

In this workout, you’ll walk at an RPE of 2 (easy effort), 3 (moderate), 4 (somewhat hard), and 5 (hard). At RPE levels 2 through 4, you should be able to talk with ease. Once you get to level 5, you will likely need to stop and catch your breath mid-sentence if you tried to say something.

Depending on your fitness level, you may be able to toggle between these levels by adjusting your pace (for example, you’d adopt a casual stroll for RPE 2 and a brisk pace for RPE 5). But if you find that fast walking doesn’t feel challenging enough to reach RPE 5, find another ways to dial up the intensity, such as walking on a hilly route (walking briskly uphill will deliver a greater challenge to your cardio system, as well as your hamstrings, glutes, and calves, compared to walking briskly on flat terrain), or walking with a weighted vest or backpack (adding external load will make walking more difficult for your body overall). Just know that using a weighted vest or backpack can exacerbate back, neck, or shoulder pain, so if you have a history of those issues, chat with your doctor first, as Outside previously reported.

Walking Workout #2: Bodyweight Strength

This workout incorporates several bodyweight exercises—including walking lunges, walking squats, and a forward-march balance—to challenge your balance and deliver extra strength work to your legs, glutes, and core as you stride.

Pro-tip: Pick relatively even terrain for this one, as that will increase your chances of completing these moves safely and effectively.

How to Do the Bodyweight Moves

FYI: Stay mindful of your surroundings. Make sure no one is right behind you when you switch from walking to the exercises.

Walking Lunge

• Stand tall and step one foot several feet in front of your body.
• Immediately bend both knees to lower your torso down towards the ground.
• Keep your chest tall and engage your core to maintain a flat back.
• Pause for a moment at the bottom, then press through your front heel to return to standing.
• As you stand, lift your back leg up and step it on the ground several feet in front of you.
• Bend both knees again to come into your next lunge.
• Continue this pattern, alternating sides and moving forward as you lunge.

Walking Squat

• Turn your body to the left and stand tall with your feet together.
• Step your right foot out to the side several feet and bend both knees to sink down into a squat.
• Engage your core and keep your chest lifted and back flat.
• Pause for a moment at the bottom, then press through your heels to return to standing.
• Step your left foot in next to the right, then quickly step the right foot out to the side again and bend your knees to come into your next squat.
• Continue this pattern, leading with the right leg. Make sure to lead with your left leg the next time you do this move.

Forward March Balance

• Stand tall with both feet together.
• Engage your core and keep your chest tall as you lift one leg, knee bent.
• Pause when that quad is parallel to the ground. Hold for a moment, then place that foot on the ground, several feet in front of you, and immediately lift up your other leg, pausing when that quad is parallel to the ground.
• Continue this pattern of marching forward and balancing.

Now that you’ve got the bodyweight moves down, you’re ready to do the actual walking routine.

Walking Workout #3: Mindful Meditation

This final workout underscores the mental benefits of walking by pairing it with a popular mindfulness exercise—the 5 Senses Grounding Technique—which helps reduce stress and anxiety by anchoring your attention in the present moment. This workout also incorporates a brief gratitude practice. Regularly practicing gratitude is linked with a slew of surprising health benefits, including better sleep, mood, and immunity, as well as decreased depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and disease, according to the American Heart Association.

Do this walk on days when you’re feeling mentally fried, or really any time you want to better connect with the world around you and reflect on all the good in your life.

Before you do the routine, here’s how to do the five-senses grounding technique and gratitude.

5 Senses Grounding Technique

This is all about grounding yourself in the present moment by noticing your surroundings through all five senses.

• For the first five minutes, focus on what you can see in your surroundings, for example, a daffodil erupting through the ground, a dog frolicking in a field, a cloud lazily drifting overhead.
• Over the next four minutes, focus on what you can touch and feel, such as the rough bark of a tree, the soft petals of a flower, or the rough sidewalk or trail beneath your feet.
• For the next three minutes, notice what you hear, perhaps a bird singing, an airplane buzzing, or even the sound of your own breathing.
• During the next two minutes, acknowledge what you can smell, like a blossoming cherry tree, or freshly cut grass.
• For the final minute, focus on what you can taste. This one is a little more limited, but could include things like taking a sip of water (if you brought a bottle with you), or noticing the lingering taste of toothpaste or your most recent snack.

Gratitude Practice

Spend five minutes reflecting on what you’re thankful for in your life. This could include big-picture things—such as your family, friends, and health—as well as smaller-ticket items, like your morning coffee ritual, your favorite pair of socks, or a friendly smile from a stranger.

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