{"id":181688,"date":"2025-10-06T12:48:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T12:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/181688\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T12:48:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T12:48:05","slug":"i-tried-this-20-minute-japanese-walking-workout-and-i-felt-less-stressed-afterwards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/181688\/","title":{"rendered":"I tried this 20-minute Japanese walking workout and I felt less stressed afterwards"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love a good walk, but time and childcare restraints mean that I don\u2019t get out in the fresh air as often as I\u2019d like. So when I came across a short walking workout<\/a> from one of my favorite fitness trainers, April from Yes2next<\/a>, I decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n

April\u2019s Japanese walking workout is a version of the 3×3 interval walking workout<\/a>, a routine that\u2019s at the heart of an exercise plan devised for middle-aged and older adults by scientists in Japan. The original routine consists of five intervals of three minutes of brisk walking with three minutes of slow walking, performed four times a week, and a number of studies<\/a> have shown a raft of health benefits.<\/p>\n

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April, who trains with her 84-year-old mum Aiko, has modified the workout, reducing the number of intervals performed to three and Aiko spends the recovery period taking steps while seated, so it\u2019s a good option for anyone who struggles with balance or standing for too long.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

Even though it was only 20 minutes, I found it surprisingly energizing. Here\u2019s what else I discovered.<\/p>\n

It got my heart pumping<\/p>\n

I naively thought that just walking wouldn\u2019t be enough to make me sweaty (or \u201cdewy\u201d as April puts it) but by the end of this 20-minute walking workout<\/a> my heart was pumping. Walking is well known for boosting cardiovascular health, which is important for reducing our risk of heart-related diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.<\/p>\n

I felt less stressed afterwards<\/p>\n

I feel like I\u2019m always juggling a million things, so anything I can do to reduce stress levels and feel calm is a bonus. Not only do April and her mom Aiko have a lovely relationship, their sweet interactions and chats about New York life were a great distraction from the workout, making time speed up and my stress levels go down.<\/p>\n

It helped me get some steps in<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m not sitting at my desk writing articles, I\u2019m doing my other job as a personal trainer, so it can sometimes be a challenge to reach my goal of 10,000 steps a day.<\/p>\n

Start your week with achievable workout ideas, health tips and wellbeing advice in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Doing this workout is a good start, and I enjoyed the different pace of fast and slow walking as it was a more gentle style of training then I\u2019m used to, so I felt I still had the energy to go after my target.<\/p>\n