8 Walking Workouts To Add To Your Fitness Routine

As one of the most basic ways to move, walking can help boost your mood, improve immune function, and strengthen your heart and muscles while going easy on your joints. Here, trainers share their favorite walking workouts to help you reap those benefits, no running necessary.

Endurance Intervals from iFit’s Kelsey Sheahan

1. Warm-up: 4 minutes walking at your slow pace
2. Push: 4 minutes at moderate to fast pace, with the last 30 seconds at max pace
3. Recover: 2 minutes at slow to moderate pace
4. Repeat four times
5. Cool-down: 2 minutes at a slow pace

Pyramid Walk from 99 Walks’ Eric Cohen

1. 4-minute warm-up
2. 2-minute power walk
3. 1-minute slow pace recovery
4. 4-minute power walk
5. 1-minute recovery
6. 6-minute power walk
7. 1-minute recovery
8. 4-minute power walk
9. 1-minute recovery
10. 2-minute power walk
11. 3-minute recovery

Cardio Circuit from BOUT Boxing’s Nell Kucich

1. 3-minute jump rope
2. 15-minute power walk at a brisk pace
3. 30 jumping jacks
4. 100 mountain climbers
5. 1-minute plank
6. Stretch

Strength Training Walk from 99 Walks’ Natalie Doornink

1. Warm-up: 2 minutes walking at your slow pace
2. Alternate 1 minute at a fast pace with 30 seconds each of fast feet, walking lunges, push-ups, jump squats, and side shuffles
3. Recover: 1 minute at a slow pace
4. Repeat twice

Treadmill Hills from Barry’s Lindsey Clayton

1. Half-mile warm-up
2. 1-minute power walk (treadmill speed at 2.0-4.0) at 4% incline
3. 30-second fast pace, no incline
4. 30-second power walk
5. 30-second max pace
6. 1-minute recovery
7. Repeat 4 times, increasing incline (5, 6, and 7%)

Sheahan’s HIIT Session

1. Warm-up: 5 minutes walking at your slow pace
2. Part one: 30 seconds at max pace, then 1 minute at moderate pace. Repeat 6 times
3. Part two: 1 minute at fast pace, then 30 seconds at moderate pace. Repeat 6 times
4. Cool-down: 2 minutes at slow pace

Kucich’s Long-Distance Walk

1. 45 seconds of jumping jacks
2. 45 seconds of walking lunges
3. 5-mile walk (or until you get you 10,000 steps)
4. Every half mile, throw in 30 seconds each of side steps and walking backwards
5. Stretch

Pro tip: Add hand or ankle weights for an added challenge.

Sheahan’s Speed Intervals

1. Warm-up: 5 minutes walking at your slow pace
2. Push 1: 90 seconds at moderate pace
3. Push 2: 1 minute at fast pace
4. Push 3 : 30 seconds at max pace
5. Recover: 1 minute at slow to moderate pace
6. Repeat 5 times
7. Cool-down: 2 minutes at slow pace