‘Japanese Walking’ Is a Fast Way to Boost Your Health

How to Try It How to Try Japanese Walking Interval walking is an accessible form of cardio, Dr. Darabant says. “It requires no equipment, can be done anywhere, and suits a wide range of fitness levels,” he says. Experts offer these tips for trying Japanese walking: Wear comfortable shoes. “I tell my patients I’m giving them permission to go shoe shopping when starting a walking program,” Capozza says. Find a time that works for you. Walk in the morning if you’re a morning person or in the evening if that’s best for you. Grab a buddy. Walking with someone else can help keep you accountable, Capozza suggests. Warm up. Jackson recommends starting any interval walking routine with five minutes of slow walking to prep your muscles and joints. Start slowly. If you’re not accustomed to physical activity, Arena suggests sticking with slower-paced walking for a while and then building up. Create a plan. Start with three minutes of fast walking where you’re slightly out of breath and three minutes of slow walking, Jackson says. Repeat these intervals four or five times, and walk three to five days a week. Track your progress. Use your phone or a fitness tracker to track your walking intensity and how often you do it, Darabant says. Then, gradually increase your intensity and duration. Hydrate . Drink plenty of water, especially if you’re walking outside in the heat, Arena says. Listen to your body. Stop walking if you feel any pain or become extra winded, and talk to your doctor before starting again, Jackson suggests.
The many health benefits of walking are well-established: enhanced heart health, stronger muscles and bones, and improved mood and memory, just to name a few.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976298d63be7f-b48d-423f-8792-68f290d7cb2d But there are many ways to get your steps in, including one method known as high-intensity interval walking or “Japanese walking.” Japanese walking “is an effective, time-efficient method of increasing cardiovascular fitness,” says Scott Capozza, PT , a spokesperson for the American Physical Therapy Association who’s based in New Haven, Connecticut. “In essence, increasing the intensity of your walking speed gives you more bang for your buck, which can improve your cardiovascular system,” he says.
Potential Benefits Potential Benefits of Japanese Walking Is it worth putting some extra effort into your daily walk around the block? Here’s what the research says about the health benefits of Japanese walking. May Support Heart Health The interval walking method “boosts cardiovascular fitness and burns more calories than steady-paced walking,” says Sergiu Darabant, MD , a cardiologist with Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida. “It can improve endurance and fitness capacity in a shorter amount of time.” Several recent studies back this up. A small study published in 2025 examining the impact of interval walking training in people ages 65 to 75 found that after five months, subjects had increased leg strength and improved blood pressure.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e5976297a37ad69-0054-4e8c-b1c8-2a79c99cb44c Research published in 2023 found that interval walking improved cholesterol and physical fitness in people with type 2 diabetes .e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629a1e1a04c-653d-494d-928b-7f7782da4857 Can Improve Strength and Flexibility In a study published in 2024, individuals 65 or older were randomly assigned to do interval walking or a moderate-intensity continuous walking regimen. After eight weeks, the interval walking group showed stronger endurance and flexibility, but both groups had improved body composition, emotional health, sleep quality, cognitive function, and quality of life.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e597629cb54c7bf-2d6f-47f6-8568-02019e9c4352 Alternating your walking pace also “keeps workouts dynamic,” Jackson says, adding that it reduces the monotony of steady walking. Could Boost Metabolic Health Incorporating faster-walking intervals enables you to “stretch your system,” Arena says, so your body has to work harder, which can increase your fitness levels, boost your metabolic health , and decrease your risk of disease. Arena notes that you’d likely also get heightened benefits from other interval workouts , such as those incorporating running or cycling, for example.
What Is Japanese Walking? What Is Japanese Walking? Japanese walking involves alternating three minutes of fast walking and three minutes of slower walking for 30 minutes, four days a week. A Japanese study of this technique, published in 2007, gave the method the “Japanese walking” moniker. It found that this higher-intensity workout was more effective for lowering blood pressure , strengthening leg muscles, and boosting aerobic health for middle-aged and older people than walking at a moderate pace.e60dc2a1-f33c-4a05-9b50-8e3e8e59762939e7ed34-431a-4696-81b4-8ddae5efadd5 “Fast walking” means moving at about 70 percent of your maximum effort, whereas slow walking is 40 percent effort, says Lindsy Jackson, DPT, PT , a physical therapist and owner of Movement Managed in Littleton, New Hampshire. You can measure this using a fitness tracker or heart rate monitor, says Ross Arena, PhD, PT , a professor and head of the physical therapy department at the University of Illinois Chicago. But if you don’t have a fitness tracker, there are other ways to ensure that you’re walking briskly. “When you walk fast, you should be breathing harder,” Dr. Arena says. “You shouldn’t be able to comfortably have a conversation with somebody during the fast pace.”
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Try It Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Try Japanese Walking? Anyone striving to increase their overall fitness level can benefit from interval walking, Capozza says. Darabant adds that it’s also good for those who want to lose weight or challenge themselves with a higher-intensity workout. “It’s especially useful for people who are short on time but want a more efficient form of exercise,” Darabant says. However, if you have a history of heart or lung problems or difficulty balancing, talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program, Capozza says. Also, avoid working out intensely (or check with a healthcare provider first) if you have an injury or had recent surgery, Jackson adds. People who don’t typically exercise should start slowly and ease into the fast-walking intervals, Arena says.