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<\/p>\nAt first there was yoga. Then, there was pilates. Now, social media fitness fanatics have turned to a new exercise trend: Japanese walking. <\/p>\n
The simple workout, also known as Nihon Aruki in its homeland, boasts a range of health benefits, according to researchers. <\/p>\n
The exercise involves interval-style bursts of fast and slow walking, alternating between walking at a higher intensity for three minutes and a lower intensity for the next three. <\/p>\n
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It was devised to help elderly people get the health benefits experienced by athletes undertaking high-intensity interval training<\/p>\n
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The researchers capped the fast intervals at three minutes because that was the point at which many older volunteers started to feel tired.<\/p>\n
During the fast intervals, people should aim to take longer strides than during the slow intervals. Engaging the arms by bending them at the elbows and swinging them with each step is recommended as a way to help maintain proper form during longer strides.<\/p>\n
It was developed by Professor Hiroshi Nose and Associate Professor Shizue Masuki at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan, as a way to help elderly citizens get the health benefits experienced by athletes undertaking high-intensity interval training. <\/p>\n
According to the researchers, the high-intensity walking should be undertaken at a speed where holding a normal conversation is slightly difficult. The lower intensity pace should be light, and normal conversation should be possible. <\/p>\n
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It is tipped to be more effective and more mentally stimulating than doing 10,000 steps a day<\/p>\n
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Their initial research, conducted in 2007, compared \u201cJapanese walking\u201d with normal walking at a continuous speed, for 8,000 steps per day. Those who participated in the study found that those walking at varying speeds experienced weight loss and lower blood pressure. <\/p>\n
\u2022 Am I fit for my age? Exercises for your 30s to your 70s<\/a><\/p>\n Both leg strength and physical fitness also improved for those undertaking the Japanese walking programme. <\/p>\n A later study, conducted by the same researchers in 2018, found that, over a ten-year period, those who did interval walking reported fewer age-related declines in their muscle power and aerobic capacity. <\/p>\n Some experts have, however, said that simply walking more<\/a>, and at more rigorous speeds could boost health, and that this specific walking regime may therefore not have any particular benefits. <\/p>\n \u201cAchieving a certain number of steps per day has also been shown to help people live longer,\u201d Sean Pymer, an Academic Clinical Exercise Physiologist at the University of Hull wrote in The Conversation. <\/p>\n \u2022 How to hit peak fitness over 40: the midlife rules<\/a><\/p>\n
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