How much walking per day

In general, walking costs little compared with a gym membership or home gym equipment. Finally, you can adjust the intensity and duration of your walk depending on your fitness level and goals.

Despite its simplicity, walking can have a profound effect on your physical and mental health. Research on walking shows a range of benefits across multiple different age and demographic groups. Research suggests that walking can decrease cardiovascular risk factors, body mass index BMI , waist circumference, and the incidence of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression 1.

Additional studies have found that setting distance-based goals instead of time-based goals may be more effective for realizing these benefits. For example, working up to walking 10 miles per day could be better than working up to 2 hours of walking per day in terms of progressive goal setting 2.

Aside from the direct measurable physiological and psychological benefits, walking gives you the opportunity to explore your local area while exercising. Additionally, you can bring a friend to make it both a workout and social occasion. The specific number of calories burned while walking 10 miles depends heavily on your body weight.

Overall, you can expect to burn —1, calories over the course of walking 10 miles. Your pace will matter less in regards to the total number of calories burned. However, walking faster will help you hit the mile mark much sooner. So, a faster pace will equate to more calories burned per hour, but less total walking time. Walking 10 miles per day is an effective way to support weight loss.

To lose 1 pound 0. For example, to lose 1 pound per week, you need to eat 3, fewer calories than you burn over the course of that week. With that in mind, adding 4 days of walking 10 miles per day with no additional food intake would put you at around 1 pound of fat loss per week, assuming your calorie intake and expenditure were even before you started your walking program. Your best bet for weight loss is to combine your walks with dietary modifications that were ideally guided by a registered dietician or other qualified professional.

While walking might sound simple enough, building up to 10 miles takes time, especially if you plan to walk 10 miles every day. Depending on your current fitness level, walking for even a single mile may either be challenging or relatively easy. To start building up to 10 miles, begin by walking a single mile. If you can comfortably walk a mile in 15—20 minutes, add another mile to that walk.

For example, if you find that 3 miles is challenging at the beginning, walk 3 miles per day for a week, then bump it up to 4 miles per day the following week. British Journal of Nursing. Tips for being active with diabetes. Accessed April 27, Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed June 9, Reducing sedentary behaviors: Sit less and move more.

Move more and sit less the NEAT way. Rochester, Minn. Thompson WG expert opinion. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 5, See also 5K training schedule Exercise warm-up Aerobic exercise Air pollution and exercise Ankle weights for fitness walkers Barefoot running shoes Buying athletic shoes? Check your arch Buying new workout shoes? Get the right fit Choose the right walking shoes Cycle your way to better health Do you need to warm up before you exercise? Elliptical machines: Better than treadmills?

Exercise: Are you working hard enough? Exercise for weight loss: Calories burned in 1 hour Exercise: How much do I need? Exercise intensity Exercising: Does taking the stairs count? Take it up a notch Focus on fit when shoe shopping Walking schedule Healthy heart for life: Avoiding heart disease How much exercise do you need? Interval Training Kids and exercise Vary your cardiovascular workouts Exercise and opioids Interval training Aquatic exercises Step it up with an activity tracker The real secret to a healthy heart Time for new walking shoes?

Tired of walking alone? Team up! Walk most days of the week for at least 30 minutes to burn an extra 1, to 3, calories in total for the week and to improve your metabolism each day. You've taken the first step towards a healthy weight and an active lifestyle. It may sound a little daunting to think of how much physical activity is needed to burn calories. But it's also the amount recommended to reduce your health risks for diabetes, heart disease, and more. Looking to start walking off the weight?

Our free guide offers tips, workouts, and a printable schedule to help you get on the right track. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical activity guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Keeping it off.

Updated May 15, Getting started with physical activity for a healthy weight. Updated February 4, A systematic review and meta-analysis of interval training versus moderate-intensity continuous training on body adiposity. Obesity Rev. American Heart Association. Losing weight. The effects of high-intensity interval training vs. Try to make walking a routine — for example, try to walk at the same time each day.

Remember, you use the same amount of energy, no matter what time of day you walk, so do what is most convenient for you. You may find that asking someone to walk with you will help make it a regular activity.

Some people find that keeping an activity diary or log also makes it easier. A pedometer measures the number of steps you take. You can use it to measure your movement throughout a day and compare it to other days or to recommended amounts. This may motivate you to move more. The recommended number of steps accumulated per day to achieve health benefits is 10, steps or more. Plan to cover a set distance each day and monitor how long it takes you to walk this distance.

As your fitness improves, you will be able to walk a longer distance and use more energy. Instead, pace yourself so that you can still talk. This simple rule of thumb means that you walk safely within your target heart rate, which brings about health gains. Our bodies tend to get used to physical activity, so continue to increase your intensity as you are able to improve your fitness levels.

You can increase the intensity of your walks by:. The best way to warm up is to walk slowly. Start off each walk at a leisurely pace to give your muscles time to warm up, and then pick up the speed.

Afterwards, gently stretch your leg muscles — particularly your calves and front and back thighs. Stretches should be held for about 20 seconds. If you feel any pain, ease off the stretch. Dressing too warmly can increase sweating and build up body temperature, which can make you uncomfortable during a walk or possibly cause skin irritations.