Brisk Walking Guide: How to Take a Power Walk
Medically reviewed by Mallory Christopherson DC, FMT, CSCS
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.
Photo composite by Tara Anand for Verywell Health; Getty Images
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 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.
For Calorie Burning and Weight Loss
While it varies from person to person, 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week can help maintain weight. To lose weight, most people need to increase the calories they burn by lengthening the time spent exercising and/or the intensity of exercise and reducing the calories from eating and drinking.
If you normally walk for exercise, brisk walking is a good way to increase the intensity of your workouts to 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?
The number of calories burned depends 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.
If you are new to brisk walking, try walking briskly for 10 minutes five times a week. You can warm up by walking at an easy pace, walk briskly for 10 minutes, and finish with a cooldown by walking at an easier pace. After a week, you can increase the amount of time you walk at a brisk pace to cover more distance.
To reduce the risk of injury, increase your weekly distance gradually, by no more than 10% to 15% per week. Once you become comfortable walking at a brisk pace and build your endurance, you can increase the time walking to reach 150 minutes a week.
Your distance goals may 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 Speed
How can you determine how far and how fast you are walking? Methods include:
Treadmills usually display both distance and speed.
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.
Benefits of Daily Brisk Walking
Walking has physical and mental benefits. Daily brisk walking has been shown to:
Decrease risk of heart disease
Improve cardiovascular health
Aid in weight loss
Decrease body fat
Lower blood pressure
Improve cognition and lower the risk of dementia
Have a positive effect on sleep duration and quality
Reduce risk of depression and improve mood
Increase creativity
Promote healthy aging and longevity
Brisk Walking vs. Other Low-Impact Activities
Walking not your speed? Other low-impact moderate-intensity activities like swimming, biking, or gardening can have the same benefits.
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:
Elbows bent at 90-degree angles
Hands loosely closed, not clenched
Elbows kept close to the body
Opposite arm to the forward foot comes straight forward, not diagonally and not raised above your breastbone
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.
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:
If balance is difficult, walking in place next to a wall or couch can provide something to grab onto to prevent falls. Fitness walking poles can also provide stability outdoors.
A home treadmill allows you to use the handrails when needed for stability. You can also adjust the pace and time to suit your abilities.
Chronic conditions that cause fatigue may make it hard to walk long distances. Walking briskly at home from room to room may be enough for the day.
People who are unable to stand can sit in a chair and move their arms and legs in a walking motion—lifting the opposite hand and opposite knee to mimic the swinging of the arms with each step.
Mobility aids such as walkers and canes can provide support to help you walk at home.
In general, doing your best to walk each day at an increased pace from where you began can help you reap the benefits of walking.
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.
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