How to Calculate Walking Velocity

Walking is a beneficial way to burn calories without having to slave away in the gym. As long as you are walking at a good speed, you should see results in your weight loss efforts. The trouble that people have with this is that they don't walk fast enough for ample calories to be burned. By walking at three or four miles per hour for just ten minutes you can burn up to 62 calories. This may not seem like much, but over time, it can add up to help you lose weight and tone your muscles.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Pedometer
  • Stopwatch
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place a tape measure on the floor and stand so that the middle of your foot is located next to the end. Take a few steps (five should be enough) and note the distance on the tape measure located in the center of the foot you just placed on the floor. Divide this distance by the number of steps you took to get your stride length.

    • 2

      Attach a pedometer to your belt. The pedometer counts how many steps you take as you are taking them.

    • 3

      Start the stopwatch every time you start walking and stop it when you are done. Make a note of how many steps you took and how long it took you to take them. Continue this process for a day or so so you have a good overall average of your walking habits.

    • 4

      Multiply the total number of steps by the stride length for the total distance you walked. Add together all of the time measurements to get the total time walked. Convert the time to hours by dividing the numbers of seconds by 60 to get minutes and the numbers of minutes by 60 to get hours.

    • 5

      Divide the total distance by the total number of hours to get your miles per hour figure.