With winter very much still here, indoor walking workouts are having their time in the sun, thanks to the availability of walking pads and small treadmills. These workouts are a great way to get your steps in, boost your fitness, and help with weight loss.
"It's a great all-over workout, and the more you do, the better your cardiovascular fitness and endurance will become," promises Emma Simarro, award-winning PT and the founder of Building Body Confidence.
You can do cardio indoors without a walking pad or treadmill, but this article focuses on the 20-minute sessions you can do with one. So consider whether walking pads are worth it for you - and if not, take a look at our guide on low-impact cardio workouts instead.
This premium walking pad landed the top spot in our guide thanks to the great range of speed settings, nine incline levels, quiet motor, and smart app, where you can control most of the pad's settings from your phone.
What this budget-friendly walking pad lacks in incline settings, it more than makes up for in speed, with settings up to 9km/h. This makes the pad suitable for a gentle run as much as a walking out. A LED screen displays essential metrics like time, distance, and predicted calories burnt.
CitySports lead the way in budget-friendly walking pads. This one is unique in the bunch - it has various incline and speed settings, and a double-sided design. One side mirrors a classic treadmill, while the other mirrors a cobblestone path, offering a massage-like feel and more of a challenge for your balance.
3 indoor walking workouts to try
20-minute walking workout
- Warm-up (0 - 6 minutes): "Begin with a brisk walk, incorporating arm circles for a dynamic start," says Sacerdoti. This will help warm up your upper and lower body, both of which should be used during walking workouts.
- Increase your pace (6 to 16 minutes): "Increase your pace, focusing on your breath and allowing your arms to guide your momentum," she says. Work at a feeling of four to six out of ten. You should be breathing heavily and noticing you are more out of breath as the minutes tick by.
- Slow down (17 - 20 minutes): 17 minutes into your workout, begin to climb back down the intensity levels. "Gradually reduce speed to a steady pace, concluding your workout on a calm note," says Sacerdoti.
30-minute walking workout
- Warm up (3 to 5 minutes): Start walking by driving off your toes onto your back foot and landing on your heel, rolling through the sole of your foot before repeating on the other side. Swing your arms as you walk on the spot, activating your upper body, says Simarro.
- Intervals (x 5): Walk at a high speed for 60 seconds, then take the same time to recover at an easy pace. Push yourself during the working intervals and get your heart rate up, then reduce your speed during the rest periods to recover, says the PT.
- Cool down (25 to 30 minutes): Gradually reduce your pace, slowly bringing yourself to a stop as the minutes tick by.
Walking circuit workout
- High knee marches (40s on, 20s off): Start by lifting one knee as high as you can above your hips whilst driving your opposite arm forward simultaneously, before alternating sides. The higher your knees and more powerful your arm drive, the more demanding this move will be, challenging your core, increasing your heart rate and activating your upper body, says Simarro.
- Side steps (40s on, 20s off): It's important to move in different planes of motion, so a side step is a great exercise to incorporate into a home walking workout. Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, step one foot out to the side and step your other foot to join it, before repeating in the opposite direction. Keep your stride wide and tempo moderate to high to increase your heart rate, she says.
- Side step squats (40s on, 20s off): Now I want you to add a little squat movement to build strength in the quads, hamstrings and glutes. Starting with feet at hip width - take a step out to the side with your right foot (roughly shoulder width) and lower into a squat before standing and returning to your starting position. Alternate sides for the 40 seconds. By adding the squat movement pattern, we are building strength in the lower body, improving hip mobility and core stability, she says.
- Stepbacks (40s on, 20s off): Now to work balance and stability with a step back! Sit back into the bottom in a semi-squat position with your hands on your hips and take a step back, tapping your toe on the floor before returning to your starting position and repeating on the other side.
- Heel 'bum' kicks (40s on, 20s off): Standing with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, stand tall with your core engaged. Draw one heel up and back up to your bum before repeating on the other side. Transfer your weight between legs, lengthening your quads and hip flexors (which may feel tight from a day at your desk!) and activating the hamstrings.
Benefits of indoor walking workouts
1. Improved heart health
The benefits of walking outdoors extend to inside the house as well. "Firstly, walking promotes better heart health, which is important as our risk of cardiovascular disease matches that of men after menopause due to the loss of oestrogen," says Emma Simarro, award-winning PT and the founder of Building Body Confidence.
"As few as 4,000 steps a day can decrease your risk but the more the better," she says, pointing to research linked to the Medical University of Lodz that suggests even just doing 500 more steps a day can lower the risk of heart disease by 7%.
"It's a great all-over workout and the more you do, the better your cardiovascular fitness and endurance will become."
2. Improves flexibility
While getting into a good stretching routine will undoubtedly be the best way to improve your flexibility, indoor walking workouts can help too as a form of strength training for women.
"Embrace flexible joints and bid farewell to stiffness with the help of walking," says Sacerdoti. "Boost the strength of muscles surrounding your joints as well, reducing the risk of arthritis and ensuring optimal support, and help your body produce synovial fluid through walking. This keeps the joints well-lubricated and injury-free for improved mobility."
3. Helps alleviate menopause symptoms
Research has shown many times that cardio exercise is an effective way to reduce many disruptive symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, and mood swings. This includes walking.
Sacerdoti says walking workouts can also help regulate crucial hormones like cortisol - the stress hormone - which may impact symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats, low mood, and brain fog. "It's also excellent for safeguarding your muscle mass during menopause when combined with strength training," she says. In menopause, when hormone levels decline, so does muscle and bone mass. This can put us at risk of conditions like osteoporosis.
However, combining indoor walking workouts with weight training is essential in this life stage. "That's what strengthens your bones," says Aroosha Nekonam, a certified personal trainer and strength specialist working with Ultimate Performance. "When you weight train, it helps to increase bone density. You don't get that from walking, and you don't get that from Pilates and yoga."
4. Boosts mental health
Never underestimate the power of a good walking workout to boost your mood. While the outdoors has the benefit of fresh air and green space, the weather or your schedule might make this hard to achieve. Indoor walking - especially an early morning walk - can offer the same boost, says Simarro.
"Walking gives us a much-needed break from our busy lives, improves our mood, reduces anxiety and stress, improves sleep and gives us more energy - all things we need in spades! It makes our brains more receptive to neurotransmitters such as serotonin and increases the production of endorphins, boosting our mood and well-being," she says.
Do indoor walking workouts work for weight loss?
Yes, if you want to lose weight, walking can help as it's one of the "most effective ways to increase our energy expenditure [burn calories]," says Simarro. "Fat loss is all about energy balance, so mindful nutrition is essential, but activity also plays an important role. Walking daily is more beneficial than doing a couple of boot camp classes when it comes to energy expenditure! It burns calories but also helps preserve muscle and improve muscular endurance, which is essential as we age and naturally lose muscle mass."
To lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit, which means burning more calories than you eat. "And walking burns more calories than you might think! In fact, it is estimated that the average person burns around 500 calories for every 10,000 steps, representing roughly the calorie deficit we need to create each day to lose one pound of fat per week," says Nekonam.
“That doesn’t mean you need to walk 10,000 steps in one go, every day. Short walks spread out across the day are just as effective [also known as exercise snacking]. If you were to take 10, five-minute walks every day, which equates to nearly an hour across your day, you might find yourself burning between 180 and 300 calories."
