Sports Medicine: brisk walking, why it's good for you and how to start practising it

By Cristiano Antonino On Mar 23, 2023

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About brisk walking: it takes place at about 6 to 7 kilometres per hour and is accompanied by the natural movement of the arms

It is not a run, it is not a run in place, it is not a slower run or jog, it is not a walk.

It has no particular contraindications and is suitable for practically everyone.

The benefits of brisk walking

The 4 main benefits of brisk walking compared to other aerobic sports activities are:

improves mobility and muscular endurance by gradually training the heart;
improves blood circulation and oxygenation of organs and tissues;
positively stimulates the nervous system;
it relieves tensions and anxiety generated by accumulated stress, especially if it is done outdoors, in nature and during daylight hours.

In addition, it is an activity that does not impact on the joints and is therefore practicable for everyone.

Brisk walking is a panacea at all ages, as it

has no particular contraindications;
does not require any special prior athletic training for a healthy person;
does not require any previous skills or specific sports equipment to be purchased.

Everyone can start practising it without any particular initial investment in physical or economic terms, other than the purchase of a comfortable suit and a suitable pair of shoes.

Walking consciously, acquiring more awareness of one’s stride also brings certain mental benefits: walking frees the mind from negative thoughts, in scientific terms, combats stress and gives new energy to the psyche of the person who practises it consistently.

Does brisk walking make you slim?

Brisk walking alone does not make you lose weight. But it does help.

Its practice, constant and lasting over time, can have a positive effect on weight loss, amplifying the results of a controlled (low-calorie) diet.

Only in this sense can it be said that brisk walking can help you lose weight, help you return to or maintain your ideal weight.

As with any other sport or motor activity, the results of brisk walking can only be obtained by modifying our eating habits (choosing seasonal foods, better hydration, reducing consumption of simple sugars, salt, fat, etc.), eliminating bad habits (alcohol, cigarette smoking, drug and substance abuse, etc.) as well as modifying our sedentary lifestyle (increasing energy expenditure with aerobic practices accompanied by a few minutes of targeted exercises that strengthen the muscles, improving posture).

Walking for at least 30 to 40 minutes a day is enough to get us moving and feel better.

We start walking steadily at our usual pace, and as the days and weeks go by we increase the duration and intensity: this exercise is enough to trigger a new good and healthy habit within us; this will gradually become more and more gratifying and make us less and less lazy.

How to start and how to practise brisk walking

Anyone taking up brisk walking for the first time must set themselves small goals, as in all new motor and sporting activities.

Training for brisk walking beginners involves starting at your own pace and minutes and then gradually increasing from week to week.

Ideally, you should either train three times a week for 45 to 60 minutes or every day for 30 minutes.

Training for beginners takes place in 3 phases and 3 weeks.

This is how long you need to train for:

The first week you start with a fast walking workout of maximum 10-20 minutes (2/3 times a week).
In the second week you double the training time, thus reaching walking time of around 40 minutes.
In the third week you reach 60 minutes of training time. One hour is the ideal time to maintain over time. In theory, even for life, unless otherwise medically indicated.

However, it should be pointed out that these are general training indications that must then be adapted to each person wishing to start practising a sport under the control and advice of the sports doctor and, in any case, always in agreement with the general practitioner and any specialists treating the patient with known pathologies (e.g. cardiologist, diabetologist and endocrinologist, orthopaedist, physiatrist, geriatrician, etc.).

Pay attention to recovery time and rest

We must also not forget to give our organism the right amount of rest: especially at the beginning, it is important to alternate days of activity with days off from motor activity to give our physique the right amount of time to recover.

Otherwise, we could run into problems that could negatively affect (in the short, medium and long term) our state of health.

This is why it is always a good idea to seek advice from those who have the right knowledge of the subject, and to avoid DIY.

How the arms are used in brisk walking

In brisk walking, the arms form a 90° angle and accompany the movement of the legs by moving forward and backward in a rhythmic, natural and contralateral manner (i.e. the right leg is brought forward at the same time as the left arm and vice versa).

How to place the foot in fast walking

The technique for walking correctly requires the foot to rest in order: 1. Heel of the foot, 2. Flat foot, 3. Toe (the motor gesture required of the foot to perform the fast walk is therefore as follows: 1. Thrust), in technical jargon this motor act is called rolling of the foot.

Where to practice brisk walking

Training with brisk walking can also be done on the treadmill indoors, in the gym or at home, although the ideal way to restore our psychophysical balance would be to practice this activity outdoors so as to gain maximum benefit from exposure to sunlight, the sight of nature around you (e.g. visual, auditory and olfactory stimuli), and oxygenation of the blood.

As much as one can practise brisk walking on the pavement in the city, it would always be preferable to locate green areas where one can carry out one’s physical activity or practice it at the weekend at the seaside, in the mountains or in the hills in order to enjoy the greater oxygenation that these less polluted or uncontaminated areas offer.

The best time to walk

That the best time of day to train with brisk walking or running is early in the morning is a false myth, as the sports doctor explains: statistically, if we look at the training tables, the best time to train is the second half of the day.

But if we look at everyone’s daily routine, we can say that there is no such thing as a better time than another, there is the time that manages to reconcile different needs and thus bring together everyone’s aptitudes, needs (commitments with family and work) and daily rhythms.

When you find this balance, it doesn’t matter what time it is, it only matters that you feel comfortable and so start exercising with serenity when you feel ready to do so.

It has also been proven that changing training time for an already trained person (not a beginner) serves to change habits, first psychologically and then also physically, receiving enormous benefits.

That wonderful machine that is our organism will adapt to respond positively to the new stimulus.

Not infrequently, we sports physicians have seen that modifying the training schedule of some sportsmen and women (non-competitive, occasional) and in athletes (professional and non-professional) leads to an improvement in performance, in technical jargon.

In the same way, modifying other variables, such as solo or group training and vice versa, leads to a personal improvement: the body is ‘surprised’ by the modification of the daily routine and benefits from it.

How to use the heart rate monitor

The wrist heart rate monitor found in some models of technological watches (those who use it regularly know that it is an instrument that monitors the heart rate at rest and during exercise) will be a valuable tool for brisk walking: during training, it is recommended to stay in the 70-85% range of the maximum heart rate.

The right shoe for fast walking

The ideal shoe for brisk walking is one that is light and leaves the ankle uncovered (not a high ankle shoe, i.e. not a basketball shoe), with a stiffer sole than the sole of a running shoe (usually very elastic as well as shock-absorbing for jumps and the movement required of the foot when running), with a reinforced toe, a solid and defined heel, and with a structure that supports the arch of the foot well and contains the foot without encumbering it.

In the absence of this support, one can remove the insole in the sneaker and insert a custom-made footbed made by a podiatrist, so that the arch of the foot is supported in every step of the roll of the foot, i.e. the technical movement required of the lower limb in the act of walking (and therefore in the practice of fast walking or fast walking on an incline) which involves the support of the heel, sole and toe.

How to boost your workout and get fit with brisk walking

With the warm weather just around the corner, the desire to get in shape and discover the body becomes ever greater, and the demand for information on which sport to practise in order to lose those extra kilos or reshape the hips, stomach and buttocks increases.

For those who would like to achieve greater results from brisk walking in terms of weight loss and/or muscle toning, it is also advisable to

increase the gradient of the terrain where the exercise is performed (without increasing the training time);
alternating brisk walking with some free-body exercises such as leg lunges, jumping jacks on the side or on the spot, etc.; and
switch from brisk walking to running or alternate between them (after the third or fourth week of brisk walking).

What to eat or drink before and after brisk walking

An example of a pre-workout breakfast includes both carbohydrates and protein, plenty of water and light, balanced meals.

Let’s see what the general dietary indications might be for a healthy man of about 40 years of age who is following the 1-month beginner’s fast walking training:

at breakfast prefer a small bowl of cereal with a small pot of yoghurt, fruit (1 seasonal fruit or dried fruit, e.g. 3 or 4 walnuts or almonds or a few teaspoons of peanut butter to spread on bread), 2 slices of toast (not too toasted, just slightly golden), coffee or tea;
at lunch, carbohydrates (quinoa, or white rice, or oatmeal, or whole-grain bread and pasta, or 1 banana) in combination with animal or vegetable protein (eggs, yoghurt, peanut butter) are recommended;
after training, the body needs, above all, to be rehydrated and replenished with minerals and vitamins: this can be achieved, in addition to drinking water or tea (green or black) or herbal teas or freshly squeezed seasonal fruit, also by eating fruit that will hydrate and quench the body’s thirst (strawberries, bananas, oranges) by supplying the trace elements lost during exercise. In addition, the muscles that have undergone the workout must be nourished, so it is preferable to choose a dish based on animal proteins (eggs, chicken, salmon, tuna, cottage cheese) or vegetable proteins (avocado, legumes).

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