Walking is one of the best ways to lose weight, as it is accessible and free – but in order to torch calories you need to hit something called the ‘fat burning zone’
We all know walking is a great way to keep in shape – but did you know a specific technique can help you lose weight?
Walking is simple, free and ‘one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier,’ according to the NHS. But there’s a big difference between a stroll a brisk walk – which is going to help you shift excess weight.
The NHS recommends exercising for 150 minutes weekly in order to stay active – but if your goal is to lose, and not just maintain weight, you’re going to need to up the pace – and enter something known as the ‘fat-burning zone’.
Taking to TikTok, personal trainer Yasmine Arida explained: “I always say to my clients, walking can really help you lose weight, especially fat.” However, the Dubai-based influencer wanted to “clear up a few things” about walking, which need to be in place in order to actually lose weight.
“There’s a big difference between walking at a fast pace and walking at a leisure pace. So when you’re walking at a slow pace you’re helping your metabolism, you’re helping your mental health [sic] but you’re not really helping a zone of training that will really help you lose weight.”
According to the personal trainer, in order to lose weight, you have to hit ‘zone two’, which is when “your body will use fat as its primary fuel source, rather than carbs”. Yasmine added: “When you hit your zone two cardio, this is when your body is going to start to burn fat. So to be able to use walking as cardio you need to be power walking and not walking for leisure.”
Yasmine recommended imagining you’re really late for an appointment, and need to walk fast enough to get there on time – or around 3-4mph on a treadmill. In response to someone asking how long you should walk for, she replied: “Maybe 20 minutes minimum. 40 minutes is enough, maximum,” per day.
To make sure you hit the fat burning zone you can also use heart rate apps on your phone, or pulse monitors. Some experts believe you have to reach an intensity which is 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.
The easiest way to work out your maximum heart rate is to take your age away from 220. For example, if you’re 30 years old your maximum heart rate would be 190.
According to the NHS, a brisk walk is about three miles per hour. To do this, you should still be able to talk, but not sing the words to a song. The health body also recommends using the free Active 10 app on your smartphone, which will tell you if you’re walking fast enough.
