When we visit the doctor, we’re accustomed to having our vital signs like blood pressure, body temperature, and heart rate checked. But we may be less familiar with another critical indicator of our health: walking speed.
Research has found that because of its ability to predict a large constellation of other health factors like cognitive function and physical health, walking speed is a more accurate predictor of life expectancy than just age or gender.
If you’re looking for a simple, effective way to improve your health—both right now and in the long term—upping your walking speed is the way to go. Here are a few benefits of a brisk walking speed, along with some suggestions for how best to pick up the pace.
Walking quickly puts positive work stress on our bodies, meaning it pushes our bodies in a supportive way, helping us to adapt and get stronger. When done correctly, brisk walking can make you stronger, more limber, and more coordinated, increasing your cardiovascular strength and improving other health metrics. For example, people who walk faster have been shown to have lower body mass index, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels and better gum health.
In addition to improving health and fitness, increasing your walking speed can improve your brain functioning. Those who walk slower have been shown to have a thinner brain cortex, the area of the brain responsible for learning, problem-solving, and other conscious thinking. They perform worse on tests of memory, processing speed, reasoning, and other cognitive functions. Slower walkers also tend to have more white matter, which can be a sign of vascular disease and a risk factor for stroke and dementia.
Once you’re ready for a challenge, try including some hills on your walking route or increasing the incline on the treadmill. You can also introduce intervals, increasing your pace or incline intermittently, followed by periods of a slightly slower pace. Include light hand weights or a weighted exercise belt for an additional challenge.
Ease into your walking workout with a warm-up. This could mean starting your walk at a slower pace and then building up to briskness. To cool down, you can slow your pace again, allowing your heart rate to return to normal while you’re still in motion. Concluding with a few gentle, dynamic stretches can help your muscles recover and improve range of motion.
Our movement tells a far more complex and multifaceted story than simply our capacity to be physically active. How we walk—how far, how long, how frequently, and, importantly, how quickly— provides insight into what is happening inside our bodies and minds, and predicts how healthy we may be in the future.
If you’re looking for a simple, effective way to improve your health—both right now and in the long term—upping your walking speed is the way to go.
Supination and its opposite, pronation, are terms that describe where someone puts most of their weight when they walk or run.
Over time, physical predispositions can develop into movement preferences or habits, and this is often how pronation arises.
Walking symmetry refers to the bilateral coordination of our legs and feet; in other words, how our right and left legs work together when we walk.
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