In the mid-1960s, a a Japanese watch company called Yamasa Clock debuted a pedometer called “Manpo-kei,” which translated to “10,000 steps meter.” Something about the number sounded right because it was big enough to feel ambitious but small enough to feel achievable. But Yamasa’s primary motive was even less scientific than that — the Japanese character for 10,000 somewhat resembles a gentleman out for a brisk stroll: 万.
In the years since, researchers have more or less debunked the idea that 10,000 steps is some sort of daily non-negotiable. A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in 2023 found that just 3,900 steps a day (that’s less than two miles!) was enough to reduce all-cause mortality. The study also found that adults reduced their risk of death from heart disease with each 500-step dose they added to their total. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that walking 10,000 steps would turn you into some sort of longevity demigod.
A Nation of Walkers
Still, it’s fitting that the most common walking goal out there is associated with Japan because the nation happens to be preternaturally good at it. Compared to the United States, Japan doesn’t really have gym culture, but it also has a reduced rate of car ownership. The Japanese make use of a lightning-quick public transportation system and integrate movement into their lifestyle, even practicing a daily, nationwide calisthenics routine called “radio taisō.” The country touts a robust network of designated walking trails, which local groups put to good use even in winter.
Part of this is by design. Japan has been the world’s oldest country since the 1990s. By the mid-aughts, in an effort to meet the needs of the silver wave, experts in exercise medicine began encouraging Japan’s oldest to walk more — and, sometimes, to walk faster.
The Workout
A 2007 study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings by a team of Japanese researchers vouched for “high-intensity interval walking training.” Observing hundreds of retirement-aged men and women during a five-month span, the authors concluded that the walking style “may protect against age-associated increases in blood pressure and decreases in thigh muscle strength and peak aerobic capacity.”
How do you do it? The training group was tasked with alternating efforts: three minutes of low-intensity walking (50% of one’s aerobic capacity), followed by three minutes of high-intensity walking (up it to 70%). Five rounds, good for 30 minutes total, practiced at least four days a week. As part of the study, they also used pedometers to prove they’d reached 8,000 steps on those four walking days, another sign that 10,000 is not the gold standard but a suggestion that getting closer to it is a good idea.
Why Do People Love It?
TikTok is now a huge fan of “Japanese walking,” or simply “IWT,” as some have dubbed it. The trend has millions of impressions, demonstrating a massive appetite for walking, and specifically walking as workout. In certain cities, walking troupes now gather like run clubs. Top brands are making walking-specific shoes. Rucking is taking off.
Walking is accessible, affordable and easier on the joints than running. It’s also now closely associated with mental health benefits. I’m not surprised at all that people of all ages are elevating it from a pedestrian activity to a core tenet of their workout regimen.
If you’re intrigued, know you don’t have to follow the exact protocol laid out by the Japanese researchers. They found that a variance in the routine (continuous walks versus multiple walks throughout the day) won’t yield different results. What’s really important, however you pepper your day with walks, is that you really honor those three-minute bursts. Look to lengthen your stride, pump the arms and reach a point where conversation would be uncomfortable. If you want to challenge your lungs or balance, look to integrate a local hill or uneven terrain.
Does a power walk look a little silly? It certainly wouldn’t in a city, where someone is always late for something. But I wouldn’t sweat it, wherever you live. Take your routine to the track or a park. Interval walking is well worth it, a not-so-secret weapon that’ll strengthen your heart, thighs and lungs for the long road ahead.
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