Walking as exercise: when it counts, and how

A brisk walk counts as exercise. It counts toward the recommendation for cardio fitness, it needs no equipment, and it's easier to fit into an ordinary day than almost any other exercise. But it only counts if the pace is right, and how many steps you need is a different question than most people think. Here's what the research says about steps, four ways to walk, and how to make your walk harder without making it longer.

What 57 studies say about step counts

Ten thousand steps a day has long been the target that step counters and phones suggest. In 2025, Ding and colleagues pooled 57 studies in The Lancet Public Health, covering 35 groups of adults followed over time, with steps measured by a device rather than just estimated.

For the risk of dying during follow-up, and for cardiovascular disease, dementia and falls, the curve leveled off at around 5,000 to 7,000 steps a day. Compared with 2,000 steps, 7,000 was linked to almost half the risk of dying during the study period. For other outcomes, including type 2 diabetes and depressive symptoms, more steps kept being linked to lower risk without a clear cutoff. The researchers write that ten thousand is still a good target for people who already move more, but that seven thousand may be a more realistic target for some.

Two things are worth knowing. These are studies that follow people over time, not trials where someone was randomly assigned to walk more, so they show associations, not proven cause. And they say nothing about pace. Steps count the same whether you take them on the way to the bus or on a brisk walk, and it's the pace that turns a walk into cardio training.

The talk test shows if your walk counts

A leisurely stroll is good for a lot of things, but it isn't the same as a brisk walk. The difference is intensity, and the simplest gauge is your own voice.

Walk so fast that you can talk, but not sing. If you can sing a verse without running out of breath, you're walking too slowly for it to count as moderate intensity. If you can't talk in full sentences, you're going faster than you need to, which is fine sometimes but hard to keep up for half an hour.

The talk test works because it measures how hard your body is working, for you. The same pace can be a calm stroll for one person and a hard workout for another. The WHO recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes a week at moderate intensity, which is five brisk half-hour walks. How that fits with the rest of your training is in the guide to starting to exercise.

Four ways to walk

No single way is best for everyone. Choose based on what you want to get out of it and how much time you have.

More everyday steps. For you if you sit a lot and don't want to work out, just move more. The goal is to work your way toward seven thousand without thinking about pace. Get off one stop early, take the stairs, take calls on your feet. First step: look at your phone's step counter for the past week and add a ten-minute walk after lunch.

The brisk walk. For you if you want to meet the recommendation for cardio fitness with something you already know how to do. Twenty to thirty minutes at talk-test pace, most days of the week. First step: walk for twenty minutes this evening, and halfway through, try saying a full sentence out loud.

Interval walking. For you if you want to get more out of the same time. The method comes from researchers at Shinshu University in Japan and in recent years has spread as "Japanese walking." In a study published in 2007, Nemoto and colleagues randomly assigned 246 people, average age 63, to no training, steady walking or interval walking for five months. The interval group walked three minutes at a hard pace and three minutes easy, at least five rounds a day, at least four days a week. They got stronger thighs, better fitness and a bigger drop in blood pressure than those who walked at a steady pace. The participants were middle-aged and older, so the finding applies most reliably to them. First step: set a three-minute timer and walk five rounds of fast and easy, thirty minutes in total.

Hills and a loaded pack. For you if you want something more demanding without taking up running. A loop with a real hill makes the same time harder, and a backpack with a few pounds in it makes every step heavier. Add weight slowly, and stop if your back, knees or hips complain. First step: pick a loop with a hill and walk uphill at a hard pace, downhill easy.

Make it harder, one thing at a time

A walk that's always the same gets easier over time, which is a sign your fitness is improving. That's when it's time to make it harder, one thing at a time: first the pace, then the hills, then the length. If you already do interval walking, you can lengthen the fast minutes or put them on a hill.

Walking also does more than work your legs. Some research suggests that walks in green surroundings can help attention recover, although the results are mixed. What the studies actually show is in mental recovery. Choose a park or a tree-lined street when you can.

Walking isn't enough for everything

Walking is cardio, not strength. The WHO recommendation includes both: on top of the minutes of heart-raising movement, you need muscle-strengthening training for the body's major muscle groups at least two days a week. So a balanced week can be walks on most days and two short strength sessions. Ten minutes of squats, push-ups, lunges and planks is a start you can do at home.

If you have an illness or joint pain when you walk, or get chest pain, dizziness or shortness of breath that doesn't go away when you slow down, talk to a doctor before you step it up. If it's an emergency, call your local emergency number.

A first step today: take a brisk twenty-minute walk, using the talk test as your gauge. Leave your phone in your pocket.

If you're walking because you want to lose weight, read the next part of the series on exercise and weight loss before you start counting steps.

This is the understanding and a first walk. Atlas is where it becomes a habit. The brisk walk is there as a ready-made suggestion to make your own: twenty minutes with the same talk test, and a timer that keeps track of the time. You log every time and see the weeks fill up, not just a single good day. Try Atlas free for 7 days, and cancel whenever you want.