The Benefits of Incline Walking
Because thereâs a lot more to walking uphill at pace than just walking up a hill at pace
If youâre struggling to make strides in your fitness and feel ready to flip the switch on your routine, there are plenty of ways to ensure youâre moving closer to your goals. Very few methods, however, are as tried-and-tested as incline walking.
From TikTokâs âFor Youâ page to fitness forums and health publications to scientific journals, everyoneâs talking about it. Whether youâre sweating it out on a treadmill or tackling your local rolling hills, incline walking provides the ideal one-two punch of both boosting fitness and burning fat. But does incline walking burn fat or build muscle? And how does incline walking for fat loss compare to running? Weâve broken it all down right here, because gassy 5K efforts can jog on.
What is incline walking?
As the name suggests, itâs walking up an incline. Any slope will do, be it the artificially endless hills of your treadmill or the less predictable type in the real world. Beyond that, options abound. You can vary your pace, your load, your intervals, and your incline to get different results, target different muscles, and maximize the benefits of walking at an incline.
What makes incline walking so effective?
âGenerally, you can split incline walks up into five percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent inclines,â explains Third Space Elite Trainer and Education Coordinator Tom Hall. âOnce weâre getting near 10 per cent, compared to the same speed [on a flat surface], youâre probably doubling the calories youâre burning during that session. Itâs also incredibly easy to maintain a heart rate because you havenât got to think, as the machine is doing the pace for you.â
For those wondering, *does incline walking burn fat?* The answer is yesâitâs an effective way to torch calories and support weight loss while also strengthening key muscle groups.
Is incline walking safe for my joints?
If youâre struggling with your running but want to keep cardio in your training split, incline walking is a safe way to shake things up without risking an injury. As Hall explains, âthe treadmill is a happy medium between walking on grass and walking on concrete. Instead of beating your knees and hips through a firm surface, itâs the best substitute for the consequences of walking up a hill for a long time.â
Similarly, the low-impact nature of incline walkingâas opposed to running, where âthereâs always weight on the ground,â says Hallâhelps you load your musculature instead of your tendons. Translation: lots of punishment to your cardiovascular system, very little punishment on your knees and back. This makes it a great alternative in the incline walking vs running debate, especially for those with joint concerns.
Sounds good, how do I start?
By not being a hero. âPick a five percent incline, walk for five minutes, then pick a 10 percent incline, walk for five minutes and then bring it down again,â says Hall. By gradually increasing time on the treadmill and recognizing the feelings of different inclines, youâll be steadily getting your body ready for the demands the exercise brings.
Once youâre there, there are a few ways to begin progressing your incline walking, but you have to stay consistent with these first steps. âGet your heart rate at 60 to 70 per cent, see what you can maintain for 20 minutes and progress from there, whether thatâs increasing speed, incline, or time.â
Assess your goals
Once youâre comfortable consistently walking at an incline for 20 minutes, youâll want to start making some changes in order to keep progressing. Now is the time to consider why you started. Was it to increase tendon strength? To burn fat? Just to feel fitter, perhaps?
If your goal is fat loss, incline walking for fat loss can be highly effective, particularly when combined with a balanced diet and strength training. If you want to build strength in your lower body, adjusting the slope will help target key muscles, while increasing speed will ramp up your calorie burn.
Similarly, âif youâre moving to a fitness-based goal,â says Hall, âmove to a higher incline, making sure it doesnât turn into a run.â
Donât make these mistakes
For something so simple, there are a surprising number of pitfalls to avoid during an incline walk (literally, if youâre doing it up an actual mountain). Before we get into the form of the exercise, Hall is keen to disprove one popular myth: incline walking will not increase your metabolismâit just burns more calories.
If youâre using a treadmill, Hall warns that heâs seen plenty of people âusing their hands to hold onto the treadmillâ and that theyâre âlosing the pointâ of the exercise. Rather than leaning forward, âyour torso angle should be perpendicular to the floor, not to the treadmill.â Also, Hall advises to âstrike with the ball of your foot and avoid any kind of valgus effectââthatâs your knees buckling inââkeeping a nice stride length.â Lastly, people tend to âgo too hard, too soon,â he says. âItâs a normal thing, but theyâll burn out after two minutes.â
Get these right, however, and youâll unlock a host of benefits of walking incline, including accessible fitness, a higher calorie burn, stronger cardiovascular fitness, and an effective warm-up routine. âItâs accessible to all,â says Hall. âIf running is sore on your joints and you want that kind of effect, itâs a great option.â
Words by Ed Cooper
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