Step Up, Step Down

A form of interval walking where your speed increases to a peak and then levels off forming a shape of a pyramid is the latest buzz on the fitness bandwagon

- By BINDU GOPAL RAO

Anita Shah, a 35-year-old homemaker from Delhi, didn’t sign up for a transformation challenge. She didn’t download an élite coaching app or commit to 5 am bootcamps. She simply walked—strategically. In just three months, she lost six kilos. “Pyramid walking helped me lose weight and de-stress. It even helped me reduce blood pressure and sleep better,” she shares.

Pyramid walking is, at first glance, deceptively simple: start slow, build up intensity, reach a brisk peak, then taper down—forming, quite literally, a pyramid of pace. But beneath its simplicity lies a method grounded in metabolic science and cardiovascular optimisation.

“The key difference between pyramid walking and traditional walking is the intensity changes,” explains Kushal Pal Singh, Fitness and Performance Expert at Anytime Fitness India. “For example, you will start slow walking for two minutes, then every two minutes, increase the speed of your walk. When your walk becomes brisk, then systematically work back down to slow once again.”