You don’t need us to tell you that walking is good for you. From negating the damage of sitting down all day to greater longevity and improved heart health, it feels like there’s a new study on the benefits of this low-impact exercise every week. And as such, many of us spend our days chasing that much-lauded 10,000-step goal.

However, if you really want to reap the benefits from your daily walk, you might need to rethink where you’re placing your focus. According to a new international study led by the University of Granada, paying attention to your pace could be just as important as your overall step count – with the optimal number of steps per day actually sitting below 10,000.

The study, published in Journal Of The American College Of Cardiology, was based on analysis of 12 studies involving more than 110,000 participants. It not only found that taking 8,000 steps per day can significantly reduce the risk of premature death, but that faster walking is associated with a reduced risk of mortality regardless of the total steps taken.  

These results echo those of a previous study carried out by the University of Sydney, where researchers monitored 78,500 adults with wearable fitness trackers. They found that, while achieving 10,000 steps was linked to a lower risk of dementia and heart disease, a faster walking pace showed even more benefits. 

“The take-home message here is that for protective health benefits people could not only ideally aim for 10,000 steps a day but also aim to walk faster,” said co-lead author Dr Matthew Ahmadi, research fellow at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and Faculty of Medicine and Health.

“Step count is easily understood and widely used by the public to track activity levels thanks to the growing popularity of fitness trackers and apps, but rarely do people think about the pace of their steps,” said senior author Emmanuel Stamatakis, professor of Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Population Health at the University of Sydney.

But even the smallest amount of walking can offer huge benefits. Co-lead author associate professor Borja del Pozo Cruz from the University of Southern Denmark went on to say that as few as 3,800 steps a day can cut the risk of dementia by 25%. Walking faster, however, accentuates the benefits. 

A quick walk around the block won’t have our hearts racing or our legs aching quite like a 5k powerwalk.

So, how fast do we need to walk to make the most of the benefits? We put the question to Nanette Mutrie, director of physical activity for health research at the University of Edinburgh and Sally Davies, senior physiotherapist at Bupa Health Clinics, to find out how, and why, we should check our walking pace.

An average walking pace is around 100 steps per minute, which translates to one kilometre in 10 mins or 20 minutes per mile, but ‘normal’ will also vary from person to person. As for a fast walking pace? That would look more like 15-minute miles.

However, we can measure our walking pace based on personal feeling rather than number too. “Normal walking pace should feel like you are breathing a little faster than normal and feeling a little warmer as a result of moving,” explains Mutrie. “You should still be able to talk to a buddy who might be walking along with you,” she adds.

Get faster than that and you can begin to class your walk as ‘moderate intensity’ activity. “That means your heart rate increases, you become slightly breathless and you feel warm,” says Davies. 

Current NHS guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, so you can make your walk count towards that goal. 

“There are benefits to more vigorous walking, and they are mostly physiological,” Mutrie explains. Most obviously, there are cardiovascular benefits from increasing your heart rate. 

According to a study published in the British Medical Journal, a faster walking pace is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Another study from New Zealand found that walking speed could be directly associated with brain health, too, suggesting that those who walked faster had a lower risk of cognitive decline. 

“As with other forms of cardio, brisk walking can lower your risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol, manage diabetes and strengthen your muscles and bones,” adds Davies. 

“Walking faster is not always best,” says Mutrie. “My own view is that the mental health benefits are the most important and the evidence suggests that this does not need to be focused too much on pace or what your heart rate is doing.”

Walking, regardless of speed, has been shown to be a big mental health booster, particularly when out in nature. But it can also benefit the body, even if you aren’t quick-stepping: a study from 2019 shows that physical activity of any intensity, whether light, moderate or vigorous, is linked with reduced risk of early death. 

Mutrie says that walking should about finding a pace, location and company you enjoy in order to make it sustainable and regular activity, as the research shows that frequency, rather than pace, is associated with benefits. 

“You can adjust your walking pace to best suit your needs and goals,” says Davies. “A higher intensity level of walking may not be possible for everyone. For example, if you experience muscle or joint pain, but going on regular walks at a faster pace is more likely to see results such as increased fitness levels at a faster rate.”

However, as with everything, if you want to get a faster pace, you have to keep doing it. But consistency makes the rest easy: “If you are regularly walking, the comfortable pace will continue to increase as you get fitter. You won’t have to think too hard about it – it will happen automatically,” says Mutrie.

“The goal of walking for health should be to find a pace that you can do without feeling exhausted or as if you do not want to do it again the next day – it has to be sustainable.”

Images: Getty