What’s more, the National Institutes of Health reports that when it comes to using walking to increase your life span and overall health, getting in your steps is actually more important than the overall intensity with which you achieve them.
Yet there is research showing that changing your pace to vary your intensity, and, consequently, your heart rate, throughout your walk can increase your metabolic rate by 6% to 20% more than remaining at a steady pace throughout the duration of your walk. To get the most calorie-burning benefits, then, it would seem that walking at a consistently brisk pace that keeps your heart pumping would make the most sense. Walking, however, is a moderate-intensity form of exercise, not a high-intensity style of exercise that you do in short bursts, such as boxing or high-intensity interval training (HIIT). You burn more calories in a shorter amount of time with higher-intensity exercise that pushes you into a higher heart rate. So how do you get an accurate idea of your calorie-burning potential when walking?
Important note: Before beginning any new exercise program, consult your doctor. In 97% of cases examined, too few calories burned were reported, researchers revealed. In fact, most people are actually burning more than generally reported by fitness monitoring tools, one study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found. However, they are not entirely accurate, research has shown. There are a lot of different wearables and online calculators to assess how many calories are burned walking.