The Benefits of Indoor Walking Workouts
Lindsay Knake
| 3 min read
It can be more difficult to get enough exercise in the cold winter months. Walking indoors can help reduce the risk of chronic conditions and help reduce stress.
Here are the benefits of indoor walking and a few tips to add fun challenges to your workouts.
The benefits of indoor walking
Walking is a low-impact exercise with a lot of health benefits and low risk compared to more intense forms of exercise. Brisk walking for about 30 minutes a day, five days a week meets the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, people who walk about 30 minutes a day tend to have:
- Lower blood pressure
- Fewer heart attacks
- Fewer strokes
- Higher levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol
- Reduced risk of heart disease
- Lower blood sugar levels
- Lower risk of Type 2 diabetes
- Stronger immune system
- Healthier joints
- Reduced cancer risk
- Better sleep
- Lower risk of depression
- Improved mood
Walking can ease joint pain by strengthening muscles that support the joints, according to Harvard Health. This gentle exercise can also help prevent osteoarthritis with only five to six miles per week.
Increased safety
When sidewalks, roads and paths are covered in ice or snow, outdoor exercise can be too risky. Indoor walking, whether on a treadmill or in a shopping mall, provides a consistent, safe surface for walking. This can be especially helpful for those who have difficulty with balance or physical conditions such as arthritis.
The increased darkness of winter months adds another level of risk. Indoor walking allows you to exercise even when it’s dark outside without the risk of traffic or outdoor trip hazards.
How to get an indoor walking workout
While treadmills can work at home or the gym, there are many places you can walk indoors during the winter, including:
- Indoor track at a gym, college or university
- Shopping mall
- Large box store
- Museum
Here are a few tips to make your indoor walking workout a little more challenging:
Faster intervals
Whether walking indoors or on a treadmill, add in faster intervals of 30 to 60 seconds to increase the intensity of the workout. Take an easy walking rest of two or three times the duration of the interval.
A fun way to do this, either alone or with friends, is to make it unstructured. At random, pick a spot ahead or an amount time to increase your pace, then resume an easier pace for rest. You can swap choosing the faster interval with a walking buddy if you have one.
Walk hills or stairs
If you have access to stairs, going up and down them a few times can help you build strength.
On a treadmill, use the incline. You can increase the incline on the treadmill to add “hills” to your walk. Try adding in both long, gradual climbs and shorter, steeper climbs to increase the difficulty and get your heart rate up. Level out the treadmill in between to give yourself a break.
Add strength exercises
During your walk, stop to do body-weight exercises such as squats or lunges. Strength training is an important part of overall fitness and can decrease the risk of cardiac deaths and help with fall prevention as you age.
With any increase in intensity or duration, take it slow. Add in hill or speed intervals slowly and start with shorter reps to allow your body to get stronger without adding risk of injury. Before starting a new exercise routine or increasing the intensity of your current one, talk to your primary care provider.
Image: Getty Images
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