Walking to get fit? Walk faster!
2009-03-18 12:03
New York - People who walk for
exercise should aim for a pace of 100 steps per minute to
ensure their workout is intense enough, according to US
researchers.
Many people who want to keep fit use a pedometer to track
how many steps they take but the device gives no information on
how intensely they're exercising or check on whether their
heart rate is being raised enough to improve physical fitness.
In the new study, researchers found that the average walker
should aim for 100 steps per minute at a minimum in order to
get a moderate-intensity workout.
Experts recommend that adults get at least 30 minutes of
moderate activity, five times per week.
If those 30 minutes are achieved in one session, that means
taking a minimum of 3 000 steps per session.
However, the researchers point out in the American Journal
of Preventive Medicine, walkers can also break those steps down
into several shorter exercise sessions throughout the day.
Bouts of exercise
"Because health benefits can be achieved with bouts of
exercise lasting at least 10 minutes, a useful starting point
is to try and accumulate 1 000 steps in 10 minutes, before
building up to 3 000 steps in 30 minutes," lead researcher Dr
Simon J Marshall, of San Diego State University, said in a
statement.
A simple pedometer and a wristwatch, he added, offer
walkers a way to ensure they are working out intensely enough.
The findings are based on exercise tests given to 97
healthy adults with an average age of 32.
In general, men needed to walk at a pace of 92 to 102 steps
per minute to achieve a moderately intense workout for their
hearts. The range for women was between 91 and 115 steps per
minute.
"We believe that these data support a general
recommendation of walking at more than 100 steps per minute on
level terrain to meet the minimum of the moderate-intensity
guideline," Marshall said.