Brisk walking is one of the easiest forms of cardio exercise you can do. You don’t need special equipment to get started – if you have a good pair of sneakers, you’re practically ready to begin.
What is Brisk Walking?
The term “brisk” may seem a bit vague since there’s really no way of determining whether you’re walking briskly or not. That’s why we need to look at the “brisk zone” to see whether we’re doing this easy cardio exercise correctly.
How many beats per minute
One way of indicating whether we’re walking at an acceptable brisk pace is checking out heart rate. For this, we need to determine our maximum heart rate.
Maximum heart rate is 220 bpm minus your age (years), so a 25-year-old person would have a maximum heart rate of 195 bpm (220 – 25). With this, we can determine our low-end and high-end target heart rate.
The same 25-year-old would have a low-end target heart rate of 50% of their maximum heart rate (195 x 50% = 97 bpm) Their high-end target is 85% of the maximum heart rate (195 x 85% = 165 bpm). Therefore, the ideal heart rate range for a 25-year-old while brisk walking is anywhere between 97 and 165 bpm.
How many steps per minute
The ideal bpm range should be achieved while walking at least 100 steps per minute. An article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that 100 steps per minute will help you reap the most substantial benefits of walking.
The talk test
The third way of indicating whether you’re brisk walking at the correct pace doesn’t require any math. Instead, measure your pace by talking while walking.
You should be able to speak comfortably with a bit of shortness of breath. If you’re completely out of breath, take the pace down several notches. If you’re able to sing while walking, pick up the pace.
Benefits of brisk walking
The health benefits of brisk walking are similar to those of regular physical exercise.
First of all, you can shed pounds by burning more calories and building muscle mass.
Second, your heart will thank you for getting up and being physically active. Walking 5 days per week can significantly lower your risk for cardiovascular disease by reducing LDL cholesterol levels.
Third, regular cardio exercise can reduce blood pressure and sugar levels by making your muscle cells better able to use insulin and draw energy from glucose reserves.
Finally, your mental health can be saved by improving sleep quality, brain power, and much, much more.
Get out and brisk walk!