Japanese walking instead of 10,000 steps is the 'secret to staying fit' without going to the gym

Whether it's Ozempic, eating clean, or vowing to stick to reformer pilates (even though you said that the last three times), the world is never not looking for new and exciting ways to stay in shape.

And while your local juice bar may be a little closer to home, there's a new global fitness phenomenon on the approach that no one can seem to get enough of: Japanese walking.

Ok, so you don't need to go to Japan to do it, but as its name suggests, it originated almost 18 years ago in Japan, and was also known as Nihon Aruki.

It's tipped to be more effective, and frankly, more mentally stimulating than doing 10,000 steps a day, and you don't need any fancy equipment or a gym membership to get started.

What is Japanese walking?

Japanese walking was developed by Professor Hiroshi Nose and Associate Professor Shizue Masuki at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan, and has been studied since around 2007.

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This interval training-based approach to walking sees you speed up and slow down in three minute increments for 30 minutes, and in time, you could see improved cardiovascular health, lowering blood pressure, and increasing mobility and metabolism.

Alternating your pace can also help to strengthen your leg muscles and core, improve balance and coordination, and support bone density.

In early studies, which saw Japanese walking participants pitted against lower-intensity walkers, those who followed the trend experienced notable reductions in body weight. Blood pressure also dropped, more so than in those following the lower-intensity continuous walking routine.

The walking method has been championed by plenty on Tiktok, too.

Is Japanese walking hard?

Don't get it twisted; this isn't an easy way out of going to the gym, because when you're at your faster pace, you need to be reaching up to 80 per cent of your maximum heart rate, and putting in maximum effort. For context, if you can still easily hold a conversation, you've not quite reached your potential.

The slower speed should be a "light" level, where you can still hold a conversation, but also feel like you're putting in effort moving your body.

For the best results, you should get your strut on at least four times per week.

What are people saying about it?

It would appear that the trend is catching on too, with hundreds of videos posted onto TikTok of fitness lovers trying it out at time of writing. Many said they'd even ditched the gym entirely in favour of the walk.

Now, even more scientific research is coming through on its benefits.

A study from Proceedings of the Royal Society B showed that by varying the speed at which you walk nudges your heart to work a little harder as you accelerate.

Thomas Yates, a professor who studies lifestyle and chronic disease at the University of Leicester, went as far as to say that a lifetime of brisk walking can even reduce your biological age by 16 years.

“An inactive 60-year-old woman or man was modeled to gain around an additional year of life expectancy through simply introducing a 10-minute brisk walk into their daily routine", he says.

Could this be the end of expensive gym memberships?

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