Speed Matters When Walking for Fitness If you're walking for your health, a pace of about 3 miles per hour (or about 120 steps per minute) is about right. That's a 20-minute mile. To walk for weight loss, you'll have to pick up the pace to 4 miles per hour (or 135 steps per minute), a 15-minute mile.
A moderate to vigorous intensity is most effective. Moderate intensity, around 5-6 mph (8-9.7 km/h), allows conversation but slight breathlessness; this burns calories and improves fitness. Vigorous intensity, 6-8 mph (9.7-12.9 km/h), increases calorie burn and metabolic rate, effective for weight loss.
To lose 2 pounds in a week, you would need to burn an additional 500 calories per day, meaning you would need to walk on the treadmill for 1.5 to 5 hours per day, depending on the intensity and your personal calorie burn rate.
The best walking speed for fat loss is usually between 3 to 4 miles per hour. This pace is brisk enough to increase your heart rate and calorie burn, making it effective for fat loss.
The 30-30-30 diet is a popular weight-loss trend that calls for eating 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, followed by 30 minutes of low-intensity exercise.
This is where following the 40/30/30 rule comes in—and don't worry, it's pretty straightforward: “The idea is to aim for 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat per meal,” Quintero says. “It's based on an ideal balance of macronutrients.”
Walking for 30 minutes burns about 125 calories for a 150-pound person — and adding an incline will increase that calorie burn. So with healthy diet changes, the 12-3-30 workout has the potential to burn the calories needed for steady, gradual weight loss.
The 12-3-30 workout was coined by 24-year-old social media maven and YouTuber Lauren Giraldo. It consists of setting a treadmill to an incline of 12 and walking at 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes. Sounds easy enough. Well, according to hundreds of commenters, it's actually "a lot harder than it seems."
To lose weight, aim for 30 to 60 minutes of treadmill walking most days of the week. Start with at least 30 minutes of moderate walking and gradually increase to 45-60 minutes.
Aerobic exercise includes any activity that raises your heart rate such as walking, dancing, running or swimming. This can also include doing housework, gardening and playing with your children. Other types of exercise such as strength training, Pilates and yoga can also help you lose belly fat.
Walking on an incline increases workout intensity, helping you burn more calories. Begin with a low incline (1-5%) and gradually increase as your fitness improves. Intermediate inclines (6-10%) offer a balanced challenge for moderate fitness levels.
Running Faster Burns Calories More Efficiently
Since it's more efficient, you'll burn more calories per mile when you're going faster — even if it means you're running for a shorter amount of time. This can also lead to weight loss.
To lose weight effectively and safely, aiming to lose 1 to 2 pounds (lbs) per week may be best. This means that losing 20 lbs may take 10 to 20 weeks. To lose weight, people will likely need to follow a healthy diet and get regular exercise. Some popular diets are effective initially but challenging to maintain.
To walk for weight loss, you'll have to pick up the pace to 4 miles per hour (or 135 steps per minute), a 15-minute mile. Aerobic fitness comes at 4.5 miles per hour (you're moving along at 150 steps per minute).
The 12-3-30 workout is a low-impact cardio workout performed on a treadmill. Set the treadmill to a 12% incline and walk 3 miles per hour for 30 minutes. That's it. It really is that easy.
A brisk walk is about 3 miles an hour, which is faster than a stroll. You can tell you're walking briskly if you can still talk but cannot sing the words to a song.
If you want to lose 5 pounds in a week, you will need to reduce your food intake by 17,500 calories, which is a huge calorie deficit. If you weigh 250-pound, you will need to reduce your daily calorie intake to about 1,250 calories per day, an amount that is too low amounting to starvation.
Regular treadmill workouts can help you lose belly fat and lower your risk of serious health problems at the same time. Plus, your abs will become more visible as you lose weight.
Disadvantages to Using a Treadmill
The cushioned surface of the treadmill may still inflict too much of a jarring impact on the back or stress the hip, knee, and ankle joints. Testing the surface and rebound is critical. They can take up a lot of space.
Due to the higher level of posterior chain muscle engagement, high calorie burn, and high heart rate of incline walking workouts, they're some of the most effective ways to lose weight and increase your fitness level quickly.
You might start with five minutes a day the first week, and then increase your time by five minutes each week until you reach at least 30 minutes. For even more health benefits, aim for at least 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.