Walking on Incline Intervals for the Lower Body

Walking incline intervals is where you alternate bursts of higher incline and speed with periods of less intense, lower-inclined walking. Increasing the incline helps you use and strengthen the muscles in your lower body including the abdominals, buttocks, thighs and lower legs. For best results, perform walking intervals every other day. Your muscles require a 24-hour break in between workouts to grow and repair themselves.

  1. Why Incline Intervals?

    • When you walk at an incline you must move up and forward at the same time. This forces your body to work harder against gravity and uses more lower-body muscles than when walking on flat terrain. Incline intervals also increase your caloric burn, add variety to your workout and improve your aerobic capacity so you’ll be able to exercise for longer lengths of time or at a greater intensity.

    Example

    • Set your treadmill incline to 1 percent and warm up for two to three minutes at about 3.5 mph. Increase the incline to 5 percent and walk at 4 mph for six minutes. You should be able to speak, but your sentences should be breathy. Adjust the incline to 10 percent and walk for two minutes at 3.8 mph. You will know you are working at the right intensity if you find it difficult to speak and you start to sweat. Repeat the entire sequence -- minus the warm-up -- for at least 30 minutes.

    Exercise Variations

    • If you don’t have access to a treadmill or prefer not to use one, you can also work your lower body by doing incline intervals on a stair stepper, staircase or wheelchair ramp. If you prefer to exercise outdoors, perform your incline intervals on school bleachers, hills or steep trails. To really target your inner and outer thighs, lower your speed to about 3 mph and walk sideways or backward while on an incline.

    Considerations

    • Mix and match the length of your intervals to keep your muscles growing and guessing. Always work at your own pace and fitness level. Adjust the incline and speed as necessary if you find your pace or incline too fast or slow. Be sure to use the handrails to prevent falling. For best results, pump your arms, keep your step springy and tighten all of your lower-body muscles as you perform incline intervals.