Step up to ‘Japanese walking’

NEW YORK - Going for a walk is one of the simplest workouts, but it can have powerful health impacts.

- Danielle Friedman

"Japanese walking", or interval walking training, involves alternating between fast and slow walking.

(PHOTO: NICHOLAS SANSONE/ NYTIMES)

Walking has been linked to improved mental and cardiovascular health, and it can be effective for managing back pain.

But not all walking is equally effective. A method nicknamed “Japanese walking” on social media - also known as interval walking training — seems to offer greater advantages than a simple stroll, or even than walking at a moderate pace for 8,000 or more steps a day.

The strategy was first introduced two decades ago in a study led by Dr Hiroshi Nose, an exercise physiologist at Shinshu University Graduate School of Medicine in Matsumoto, Japan.

The country has one of the world’s oldest populations, and Dr Nose hoped that, by applying interval-training techniques used by elite athletes to its senior community, he could improve older people’s health and reduce the country’s medical costs, he told The New York Times in an email. After seeing promising early results, he and his collaborator, Dr Shizue Masuki, continued to study the method in depth.

While this type of exercise is not new, it has been a trend on TikTok this summer. Here is what the science says about the benefits of interval walking and how to get started.