A Ritual That Beats 10,000 Steps Per Head: The "Japanese Walk" Could Change Your Life

Tired of obsessively clocking in 10,000 steps a day just to keep your smartwatch happy? Well, TikTok and Instagram have just unleashed a new player on the wellness scene. It’s the “Japanese Walk.”

With such advanced apps that know our habits better than many a therapist, it’s increasingly difficult to surprise healthy lifestyle enthusiasts . And yet – the new TikTok and Instagram hit is all the rage. Paradoxically, it’s about something we did before treadmills and spinning bikes came along: walking . Except with an interesting twist.

Supporters of " Japanese walking " claim that it brings up to ten times more benefits than taking the magic 10,000 steps every day .

Symbol of running on the sidewalk / Unsplash, Marsha Reid

" Japanese Interval Walking" , or Japanese interval walking, is a method based on alternating walking. The scheme is trivially simple and brilliant at the same time: 3 minutes of fast walking, 3 minutes of slow walking. And so on for half an hour. Simple? How so! And in addition, without a yoga mat, without dumbbells, without a gym.

A 2018 study showed that people who practiced Japanese walking for a decade (!) increased their leg strength by 20 percent and their body efficiency by 40 percent.

The creator of the method is Japanese professor Hiroshi Nose , who not only described it in research, but also demonstrated that regular use can:

• improve aerobic capacity,
• strengthen the leg muscles,
• lower blood pressure.

Okay, so who is this workout for? Anyone with legs and a modicum of determination.

In contrast to a steady walk, Japanese walking provides the heart with rhythmic stimuli that can be compared to a gentle cardio workout. What's more, intervals not only activate the body, but also improve mood and can slow down the cellular aging process. Is this the secret to eternal youth ?

And what about the famous 10,000 steps a day? Health dogma, as it turns out, doesn't have to be the only way to get fit. Yes, walking is good, but it doesn't bring that much benefit. Why? It's too... slow. So if you can do it faster, more effectively and - let's be honest - more interestingly, why not?