Hiking and Walking for Quick Weight Loss

We are often asked how effective is walking as an exercise. Walking is an effective form of exercise, and it has certain advantages over other exercises in that it is easy to do – it is low-impact, and does not require a significant amount of investment. It is possible to start today, and even such small changes in activity level add up over a period of time. In addition, it is extremely easy to vary the exercise routine to avoid getting bored – simple changes such as location, pace, walking style, or by going for a hike. There is also some scientific evidence that suggests that by incorporating some additional tools, effectiveness of walking as an exercise could be increased by as much as 20%, without becoming more tiring. Because most people live a sedentary life style, simply adding an hour to walk around the block in the evening adds a significant amount of needed physical activity. Talk to your doctor, do some planning, start easy, gauge yourself, and get going!

Starting a Walking Routine

A lot of people are tripped up by unrealistic weight loss goals. They want to look like a super model, right now. So, losing extra weight quickly becomes an important goal for them. Unfortunately, setting unrealistic goals is an easy way to fail.

To lose weight, start exercising slowly. It took a while to accumulate the extra weight, so it is not reasonable to set overly aggressive weight loss targets for yourself. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Diving headlong into a hard exercise routine will likely frustrate the long term goal of a successful, healthy, and permanent weight loss. Three keys to a successful start:

1. Start by visiting your doctor, and get a physical – especially if you have not exercised routinely (or at all).
2. With your doctor, and ideally with a personal trainer, formulate a workout routine. An experienced personal trainer can help to calibrate the exercise routine for the the long term.
3. Also with your doctor, and possibly a dietician, formulate a diet that will support your goals. Get ideas from our Nutrition for Weight Loss category posts, and discuss them with your doctor or dietician. What is important is to develop a net calorie deficit that can be followed over an extended period of time, and support the energy requirements of the exercise routine.

Start by incorporating walking into the exercise routine slowly, perhaps with a 20-30 minute walk. If that feels like too much, start with less. Simple walks around the block or through a park are sufficient to start. Gauge your progress, and as you are able, increase your effort. For example, increase your time to the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day that is needed for weight loss (reference: National Institute of Health), or by considering the following suggestions.

How to Improve Walking Effectiveness

Improving walking as an exercise is easy, and does not require a lot. In the below, we consider a person that weights 170 pounds changing their walking routine.

Walking Faster Increases the Calories Burned

Example: strolling at 2 mph for 30 minutes on level ground burns about 70 calories. The same person walking 30 minutes at 3 mph burns almost two times the calories – 120. At a brisk 4 mph, it is about 180 calories. Over the course of the week, 120 calories per day, 6 days per week amounts to 720 calories. Over a course of a month, this is enough to lose ~.8 pounds, presuming that nothing else changes like diet or other forms of exercise.

Increase Difficulty with Stairs, Inclines, or Weights

The same person, carrying small weights @ 3 mph burns almost 150 calories. Stairs require as much as 50% more effort and burn as many more calories – about 225 calories. Because stairs are a straining exercise, it is very important to determine the duration and intensity of the exercise set that can be done safely. Hiking on uneven terrain for 30 minutes is also about 220 calories. Hiking or doing stairs for 30 minutes per day, six days per week, for a month, this person will burn 5,400 calories, or enough to work off ~1.5 pounds.

Use your Arms During Walking to Increase Exercise Intensity

Simply swinging your arms up and down in stride will increase effort required; but as it turns out, there is a way to incorporate this increase of effort while not feeling more exhausted.

Using walking poles (the so-called Scandinavian Walking) a group of women between 50 – 60 years old increased their calorie burn by about 20% (Kukkonen-Harjula. et al. “Self-guided Brisk Walking Training With or Without Poles,” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports 2007). The authors note that while there is little concrete evidence of it, the people in the study reported the exercise less to be straining than what would otherwise be expected for the additional calories.

A 2008 study by Saunders, et al. entitled “Trekking Poles Increase Physiological Responses to Hiking Without Increased Perceived Exertion” echoed the measurements of intensity of exercise (as measured by heart rate, V̇O₂, and Ventilatory Efficiency) has increased, but levels of perceived exertion did not. The Saunders study specifically concentrated on recreational hikers on varied terrain.

Hiking Temescal Gateway Park

Hiking is a great exercise, because of several reasons. It allows you to be outside in the fresh air, it can vary your workouts to prevent boredom. If you like the outdoors, it could be very rewarding personally. For example, even in the perpetual summer of Southern California, it is possible to see a little bit of the leaves changing color in the fall.

There are many regional parks with hiking trails to take advantage of. If you live in the Los Angeles region, one of our favorites is the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy’s Temescal Gateway Park, which is located on West Sunset Boulevard at the top of Temescal Canyon in Pacific Palisades, CA. The park has miles of relatively easy trails and it is possible to walk to Topanga and to Will Rogers State Parks. Aside from breathtakingly scenic hiking trails, the park amenities include picnic grounds and an ability to host parties and events such as weddings.

Within the park, elevations range from 190’ to about 250’ above sea level, and the trails, while definitely sloped, are not extraordinarily steep. There are quite a few people walking their dogs in the park, which is allowed (dogs are not allowed in the Topanga State Park, which connects to Temescal Gateway).

Conclusions

Walking is a great exercise to start because of several reasons – it is easy to start and vary. If done consistently, it will provide for a steady amount of physical activity that we need. With progress, it is possible to add to the exercise routine by going for a hike, doing stairs, or using the Nordic Walking technique (using the walking or trekking poles). The most important thing is to talk to your doctor, and to get going.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

-Lao Tsu

Additional Resources

Nordic Walking Products Related to this Article

Please note that prices are set by separate companies, not 20BMI.com, and may change at any time. Disclosure: 20BMI.com may be compensated by the below vendor(s).

Improve walking exercise effectiveness by using Nordic Walking Poles from Amazon.com; prices range from approximately $30+, depending on the style and type. According to scientific studies, using walking or trekking poles can improve calorie burn by about 20%, provide a fuller workout, while being less exhausting.

Resources on 20BMI.com

Exercise to Lose Weight category on 20BMI.com

Nutrition for Weight Loss category on 20BMI.com

Works Cited

Klem, M. L., Wing, R. R., McGuire, M. T. Seagle, H. M., Hill, J. O., A descriptive Study of Individuals Successful at Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Am J Clin Nutr 1997;66:239-46

Kukkonen-Harjula, K., Hiilloskorpi, H., Manttari, A., Pasanen, M., Parkkari, J., Suni, J., Fogelholm, M., Laukkanen, R., Self-guided Brisk Walking Training With or Without Poles: A Randomized-Controlled Trial in Middle-Aged Women. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, Scand J Med Sci Sports 2007:17:316-323 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2006.00586.x

Saunders, M.J., Hipp, G.R., Wenos, D.L., and Deaton, M.L., Trekking poles increase physiological responses to hiking without increased perceived exertion. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, J Strength Cond Res 22(5): 1468-1474, 2008 DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31817bd4e8

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