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Americans love to say they’re too busy to break a sweat — but a viral fitness trend is blowing that excuse out of the water.
Enter “Japanese walking,” a simple, science-backed exercise routine that promises serious gains in just 30 minutes.
“All movement is medicine, but if you’re short on time or want to get the most bang for your buck, this is for you,” strength training coach Eugene Teo said in a recent TikTok.
It’s long been said that taking 10,000 steps per day is the key to better health, with research linking regular walking to improved cardiovascular fitness, improved sleep quality and even a lower dementia risk.
But that magic number isn’t rooted in science. Instead, it originated from a marketing campaign to promote a Japanese pedometer in the 1960s.
And let’s be real, carving out the two hours it takes to hit that mark isn’t going to happen for most Americans. In surveys, nearly half say they’re too busy with work and other obligations to exercise at all.
Japanese walking might be the solution, offering a more efficient way to achieve the health benefits typically linked to 10,000 steps a day in a fraction of the time.
In a 2007 study, Japanese researchers recruited 246 adults with an average age of 63 and divided them into three groups.
One group did no walking at all. Another group walked at a steady, moderate pace, aiming for 8,000 or more steps a day at least four times per week.
The third group practiced interval walking by walking slowly for three minutes, then walking quickly at a hard effort for three minutes. They repeated this cycle for 30 minutes, four or more days per week.
Researchers found that interval walking was superior to continuous walking for improving blood pressure, blood glucose levels and body mass index.
It also led to the greatest improvements in leg muscle strength and aerobic capacity, which measures the maximum amount of oxygen the body can take in and use during exercise.
The low-impact regimen might even hold the key to staying in shape as you get older.
A longer-term study found that the Japanese walking method helps protect against the decline in strength and fitness that naturally occurs with aging.
Interval walking is “one of the most overlooked yet incredibly effective tools for improving long-term health, especially among middle-aged and older adults,” Dr. Ramit Singh Sambyal, a general physician, told Verywell Health.
“By simply alternating between short periods of brisk walking and slower-paced recovery, we engage the cardiovascular system in a much more dynamic way,” he added.
Another perk: Completing the 30-minute Japanese walking routine four times a week puts you just thirty minutes short of the CDC’s recommendation that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week.
Add just one more walking session, or incorporate one of these 30-minute workouts, and you’ll be among the few Americans who actually hit that target.
Tips and tricks to master Japanese walking
To make sure you’re hitting the right pace, use a fitness tracker that measures your heart rate.
During those three minutes of brisk walking, aim for 70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. When you slow down, let it drop to 40% to 50%.
No tracker? No problem. Try the “talk test.” At a brisk pace, you should be able to say a few words but need to catch your breath quickly. At a leisurely pace, you should be able to chat comfortably.
And if you’re worried about keeping up a brisk pace for a full three minutes, experts say it’s okay to start small.
“Try walking at your regular pace for a few minutes, then pick up the speed for 20 to 30 seconds, and repeat,” Dr. Sarah F. Eby, a sports medicine specialist, told Healthline.
“As your body adapts to this new exercise stimulus, you can gradually increase the duration of the faster walking bouts,” she added.
Photo by RINGO CHIU/AFP via Getty Images
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