Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBrisk Walking PaceBenefitsArm MotionMobility Concerns
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Brisk Walking Pace
Benefits
Arm Motion
Mobility Concerns
Brisk walking is a low-impact exercise with benefits for all ages. It is an easily accessible activity that can be done anywhere with little to no equipment. Brisk walking has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness,muscle strength, endurance, and body composition.
Brisk walking means picking up the pace to a point to where you could finish walking 3 to 4.5 miles in an hour.
Continue reading to learn more about a brisk walking pace, the time and distance needed for calorie burning and weight loss, benefits, proper form, and adaptions for walking with a medical condition or impairment.
Brisk Walking Pace: How Fast to Walk
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a moderate or brisk walking pace as 3 to 4.5 miles per hour (mph). This equates to walking a mile in 13 minutes and 20 seconds to 20 minutes.
If you have 30 minutes to walk, walking 1.5 miles (about 3,000 steps) or more during that time can help you achieve a brisk walking pace.
The Talk TestThe “talk test” can help you determine if you’re moving at a moderate intensity:If you can talk but not sing, you are achieving moderate intensity.If you can only say a few words without pausing for breath, you are exercising a vigorous intensity.
The Talk Test
The “talk test” can help you determine if you’re moving at a moderate intensity:If you can talk but not sing, you are achieving moderate intensity.If you can only say a few words without pausing for breath, you are exercising a vigorous intensity.
The “talk test” can help you determine if you’re moving at a moderate intensity:
8 Surprising Benefits of Walking Every Day
For Calorie Burning and Weight Loss
If you normally walk for exercise, brisk walking is a good way to increase the intensity of your workoutsto burn calories and lose weight. The faster you walk, the more calories you can burn.
To lose weight you must be in a calorie deficit, meaning you burn more than you consume. This deficit can be achieved through diet and exercise. To lose 1 pound a week you’ll need to be at a 3,500-calorie deficit, although this varies from person to person.
Activity trackers can help you calculate how many calories you burn per brisk-walking session and include the following:
Knowing this number can help determine how long and at what intensity you need to walk to lose weight.
How Many Calories Does a 30-Minute Walk Burn?Thenumber of calories burneddepends on the person’s weight, pace, and the distance covered. A person weighing 154 pounds, for example, will burn approximately 140 calories per 30 minutes walking at 3.5 mph.You will burn more calories at that pace if you weigh more, and fewer if you weigh less.
How Many Calories Does a 30-Minute Walk Burn?
Thenumber of calories burneddepends on the person’s weight, pace, and the distance covered. A person weighing 154 pounds, for example, will burn approximately 140 calories per 30 minutes walking at 3.5 mph.You will burn more calories at that pace if you weigh more, and fewer if you weigh less.
Thenumber of calories burneddepends on the person’s weight, pace, and the distance covered. A person weighing 154 pounds, for example, will burn approximately 140 calories per 30 minutes walking at 3.5 mph.
You will burn more calories at that pace if you weigh more, and fewer if you weigh less.
Number of Minutes and Distance
While walking at any pace is a great way to add more physical activity to your day, walking at a quick pace offers the benefits of other moderate-intensity exercises. Adding bursts of 10 minutes of faster walking to your walks is a good place to start. If you were moving at 3 mph, this would equate to half a mile (about 1,000 steps) in 10 minutes.
Your distance goalsmay also change over time. You may start walking 3 mph and move to 4.5 mph, or, if you only have 30 minutes to work out, go from 1.5 to 2.25 miles per half hour.
Measuring Distance and SpeedHow can you determine how far and how fast you are walking? Methods include:Treadmills usually display both distance andspeed.Use a fitness app or fitness tracker.Walk around an outdoor track and time your laps. Each lap is about one-fourth mile, with four laps equaling a mile.Measure your walking route using an online map and time yourself on that path.
Measuring Distance and Speed
How can you determine how far and how fast you are walking? Methods include:Treadmills usually display both distance andspeed.Use a fitness app or fitness tracker.Walk around an outdoor track and time your laps. Each lap is about one-fourth mile, with four laps equaling a mile.Measure your walking route using an online map and time yourself on that path.
How can you determine how far and how fast you are walking? Methods include:
Power Walking: Why It Increases Health Benefits (and How to Do It Correctly)
Benefits of Daily Brisk Walking
Walking has physical and mental benefits. Daily brisk walking has been shown to:
Brisk Walking vs. Other Low-Impact ActivitiesWalking not your speed? Other low-impact moderate-intensity activities likeswimming, biking, or gardeningcan have the same benefits.
Brisk Walking vs. Other Low-Impact Activities
Walking not your speed? Other low-impact moderate-intensity activities likeswimming, biking, or gardeningcan have the same benefits.
6 Best Ways to Incorporate an Indoor Walking Workout to Your Routine
What to Do With Your Arms
While not often considered, arm-swinging is an essential movement to walking. The arms swing to allow the shoulder girdle to rotate against the counter rotation (opposite way) of the pelvis.
Paying attention to the natural swing of your arms while walking and putting effort into that movement can help increase pace and efficiency.
When you walk briskly, you need to increase the cadence of your steps and swing your arms at an increased pace from how you typically walk. Some people find that overexaggerating this movement can help them walk faster, while others let it naturally occur.
With practice, good form for swinging your arms is:
Does Walking With a Weighted Vest Offer Health Benefits?
—MALLORY CHRISTOPHERSON, DC, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Brisk Walking With a Disability or Condition
The goal of brisk walking for health benefits is to get the body moving. For people with a disability, movement restrictions, or other conditions, walking may look differently than is typical, but movement can still be achieved.
Have an open mind to the idea that your brisk walk might not be a paced walk of 3 mph to 4.5 mph around the neighborhood but rather a short walk indoors that simply increases the intensity of your current physical activity.
How a Daily Walk Can Improve Your Mood and Mental Health
At-Home Walking Cheats
Mobility challenges or a condition that restricts exercise ability may change the way you approach your walks, but there are ways to adapt, such as:
In general, doing your best to walk each day at an increased pace from where you began can help you reap thebenefits of walking.
Targeting the Average Number of Steps per Day for Your Age and Sex
Summary
Brisk walking is a low impact exercise that has health benefits for all ages. A brisk walking pace ranges from 3 to 4.5 miles per hour, depending on ability.
The current physical activity recommendation for health benefits is 150 minutes a week. This could be a 30-minute 1.5-mile walk five days a week.
A quick pace increases the intensity and makes your walk a moderate-intensity exercise. Brisk walking has health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, better mood, reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and dementia, and weight management.
Arm swinging is less considered than leg movements but is still a crucial part of efficient walking. Paying attention to arm swing can help improve pace.
People with disabilities and other conditions can modify and adapt their walks to meet their needs. Examples include walking at home for short distances or moving arms and legs in a walking motion while in a chair for those who are unable to stand.
What’s the Average Time to Run a Mile?
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Ungvari Z, Fazekas-Pongor V, Csiszar A, Kunutsor SK.The multifaceted benefits of walking for healthy aging: from Blue Zones to molecular mechanisms.Geroscience. 2023;45(6):3211-3239. doi:10.1007/s11357-023-00873-8
Bai X, Soh KG, Omar Dev RD, Talib O, Xiao W, Cai H.Effect of brisk walking on health-related physical fitness balance and life satisfaction among the elderly: a systematic review.Front Public Health. 2022;9:829367. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.829367
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Measuring physical activity intensity.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Physical activity for a healthy weight.
Ace Fit.Physical activity calorie counter.
Slaght J, Sénéchal M, Hrubeniuk TJ, Mayo A, Bouchard DR.Walking cadence to exercise at moderate intensity for adults: a systematic review.J Sports Med (Hindawi Publ Corp). 2017;2017:4641203. doi:10.1155/2017/4641203
Nielsen RØ, Parner ET, Nohr EA, Sørensen H, Lind M, Rasmussen S.Excessive progression in weekly running distance and risk of running-related injuries: an association which varies according to type of injury.J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2014;44(10):739-747. doi:10.2519/jospt.2014.5164
Takami A, Cavan S, Makino M.Effects of arm swing on walking abilities in healthy adults restricted in the Wernicke-Mann’s limb position.J Phys Ther Sci. 2020;32(8):502-505. doi:10.1589/jpts.32.502
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
