Fitness

Could Japan’s ‘interval walking’ method improve your health?

You might have heard about Jeffing – a more accessible style of running, where people alternate between running and walking. But have you heard of the Japanese trend of interval walking?

The idea is pretty simple: you alternate between fast and slow walking (ideally for around half an hour in total). Specifically, it’s three minutes of fast walking – a pace quick enough that you wouldn’t feel super comfortable holding a conversation – followed by three minutes of slow walking, where you can get your heart rate down and recover.

“The walking intensity is greater during the fast intervals compared to if you do continuous walking at a steady pace,” says Dr Kristian Karstoft, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, who has studied the method.

“The idea is that the greater intensity confers greater improvements in health markers.”

Where does it come from?

The interval walking training (IWT) method has been around for decades, developed by two professors – Professor Hiroshi Nose and Associate Professor Shizue Masuki – at a university in Japan.

It was initially created as a public health initiative in the country, where they researched its effectiveness for middle-aged and older adults at the time. They found it was a sustainable and beneficial way for people to keep moving.

What are the benefits?

Prof. Karstoft’s study into the method found that interval walking was associated with “greater benefits than continuous walking” – even though the total energy used was the same.

“Several studies have shown considerable improvements with interval walking training compared to continuous walking training,” he says. “As such, interval walking training improves physical fitness, muscle strength, body composition and (for individuals with type 2 diabetes) blood glucose regulation, compared to continuous walking training.”

The method has specifically shown to be popular for those who are 60+ and don’t do regular exercise.

Another larger study in Japan found that interval walking could increase aerobic capacity, reduce blood pressure, and increase the strength of knee joints.

Not everyone likes high intensity interval training (and that’s okay!) – finding movement that works for you is what’s most important, and this is just another option helping people find something that they enjoy.

This article was written by The Body Coach content team.