How Many Minutes a Day Should You Walk for Maximum Results?

Walking can help you lose weight and improve your general fitness. But in order for the exercise to be effective, you need to walk briskly, making it a moderate-intensity exercise. You also need to walk enough to get the benefits you're looking for. In general, more is better. Talk to your doctor and use these general guidelines to maximize your fitness.

  1. The Minimum

    • According to the American College of Sports Medicine, you should aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise like walking per week. This works out to about 22 minutes if you walk on a daily basis. According to the ACSM walking for 150 to 250 minutes per week is a sufficient amount of exercise to prevent weight gain. It's also enough to provide weight loss, but at only a modest rate. This level of activity will also help prevent cardiovascular disease and other ailments, increase your chances of living longer and even improve your mental health and mood according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Maximizing Weight Loss

    • To maximize your weight loss results, the ACSM recommends walking for at least 250 minutes per week. That works out to an average of about 36 minutes per day. According to the ACSM, exceeding 250 weekly minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise provides "clinically significant weight loss." The ACSM also reports that meeting this level of activity will help prevent weight regain after losing weight.

    Maximizing General Health

    • If you're looking for general health benefits like disease prevention and increasing your chances of living longer, the CDC recommends walking for at least 300 minutes per week. The CDC website states that exceeding this level will provide "even more health benefits." Getting 300 minutes of walking per week means walking for an average of 43 minutes per day.

    Alternatives

    • Walking isn't your only option for moderate-intensity exercise. Other examples include cycling at a leisurely pace, playing doubles tennis or doing water aerobics. You can also do vigorous-intensity exercises like running, swimming laps or playing doubles tennis. According to the CDC, one minute of vigorous-intensity exercise is equal to two minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, so you can work out for half the time for the same benefits.