If you take up walking to lose weight, you may be surprised to learn that making small changes to your routine can actually get you better results. According to a new study, short walks can give your metabolism more of a workout than walking the same distance without breaks.

Researchers in Italy say that walking activates the muscles of your arms, chest, back, abdomen, pelvis and legs, and it also gives your brain a good portion of exercise. The classic 10,000 steps you aim to complete per day can be accomplished in a way that allows you to get the most from the workout.

This study, conducted by pathophysiologists at the University of Milan, shows that not all stages are created equal.

How to increase metabolism while walking?

According to the study, which was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society BEnergy expenditure for short bouts can be substantially reduced by using steady-state running to calculate energy consumption. This impacts not only those who try to burn more of their energy, but also those who are trying to conserve it.

“Exercise programs based on short walks are used for the treatment and rehabilitation of many clinical conditions, including obesity and stroke,” first author Francesco Luciano and colleagues report in their published paper. “It is important to understand the cost of shorter bouts for tailoring (exercise programs), especially for those with lower aerobic fitness and increased time to reach metabolic steady state,” the team wrote.

How was the study conducted?

According to this small study, only ten healthy participants were listed, including five men and five women – all aged around 27 years, so the results may not be representative of the wider population.

Each participant climbed stairs for bouts of 10, 30, 60, 90 and 240 seconds and, in a separate experiment, walked for the same bouts on a treadmill. The research team measured how much oxygen the participants used, on average, while they were resting before the experiment and again after running.

For 240-second bouts, they measured oxygen intake four times during the walk to assess the effects of steady-state walking – which is when the metabolism has to adjust to a particular type of movement for a long time. Changes. “Our findings suggest that time-averaged oxygen uptake and metabolic costs are higher for shorter periods than longer periods,” the researchers said.

Thirty-two second breaks make running more effective

During the 30-second bouts, participants consumed 20-60 percent more oxygen than the standard estimate of walking exercise, which is based on long and sustained walking, during which the body becomes more efficient.

Oxygen consumption is often used to measure how much energy is being used during exercise, which is why this study shows that when it comes to calculating calories burned by walking , then the duration of the walk can make a huge difference.

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