If you’re looking for an accessible and effective way to increase your fitness, walking workouts are a great place to start. You don’t need any equipment, and they can be done anywhere and anytime you have a few minutes to spare and space to stand.
Walking workouts are an effective way to raise your heart rate and get your metabolism firing, so you’ll get fitter and burn calories, and they are easy on the joints if you’re worried about the impact of going for a run.
If you’re also working towards a step goal set by one of the best fitness trackers each day, they’re also a fantastic way to accelerate your progress towards it. This walking workout from Rick Bhullar from the Get Fit with Rick channel on YouTube will help you hit 5,000 steps in just 30 minutes, ensuring you’re on track to smash your steps target that day.
Watch Rick Bhullar’s 30-minute walking workout
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Once you hit play on the video, be ready to work for 30 minutes straight, because Rick goes pretty much straight into it and you’ll be on your feet for the next half hour, racking up those steps.
Throughout the workout the total steps count is shown on screen so if you’re following Rick’s pace you’ll know precisely how many steps you’ve done — it’s a good way to test how accurate the pedometer on your fitness tracker actually is.
Rick does each move with you and there are also video demonstrations of the upcoming exercise shown on the screen so you can go straight into the next movement without pausing and losing out on valuable steps.
The bulk of the workout involves marching on the spot, but Rick shows an admirable level of creativity in also bringing in a wide variety of other step-based movements. Many of these involve the upper body as well to increase the muscles used, and throughout the whole workout, you’ll be stepping at a fast pace to ensure you hit that 5,000-step goal.
Rick used to be a dancer, which definitely shows in the way he can flow through some of the more creative movements, but rest assured you can move with a less impressive natural rhythm and still hit your fitness targets with the session.
The walking workout is suitable for all levels of fitness and can be done indoors or outside, if you have somewhere you’re comfortable walking on the spot for 30 minutes with a video playing.
While the classic 10,000 steps a day goal is not one that works for everyone, it’s certainly a good way to improve your health and fitness and speed-walking workouts can help you hit that goal on days where you might not have time to get out for an outdoor walk.
