Forget hours in the gym. From sustainable weight loss and better sleep to all-day energy, doctors, trainers and wellness experts reveal the fast, easy walking upgrades that work.  

Walking: it’s the humble hero of the fitness world that’s gotten us from A to B since the dawn of time. It’s also a beloved pastime Down Under, with Roy Morgan research revealing that walking for exercise is the most popular sport in Australia. But despite its ease, accessibility and the fact it doesn’t cost a cent, the powerful potential of this simple act is often underrated, thanks to the misconception it’s necessary to torture yourself with gruelling workouts – or hit the gym for hours at a time – to see results.

But what if we told you a simple evolution could optimise your daily walk and deliver instant health and wellness benefits? Don’t just take our word for it, though. It’s all there in the data. A new study published in Journal of Sport and Health Science found just 10 minutes of walking a day (at a Kel and Kath Day-Knight pace) is enough to extend your life by 

up to one and a half years. And that’ll be time spent enjoying its other major perks, like better sleep, stronger bones, lower body fat, increased fitness, enhanced mood, less pain and better health. Phew. 

There’s no doubt walking works hard for your health, but the upsides don’t end there. Just by adding a few easy, evidence-based tweaks, it’s possible to take your daily stroll from satisfactory to supercharged. Step right this way for five genius ways to take your daily walk to the next level. Think foolproof tips from doctors, trainers, health experts and more.

If you want to slash stress: 

Pause that podcast – your daily walk is a prime opportunity to focus on the present moment, and all it takes is one technique: mindfulness. This simple science-backed practice is proven to outsmart stress, support mental health and dial down feelings of overwhelm.

Want to find some Zen while hitting the footpath? Mindfulness expert and author of Everyday Enlightenment, Luke McLeod, says all it takes is a shift in focus. “I call them curious walks,” the former corporate high-flyer turned meditation teacher says. “Using a term like curiosity is more understandable and it’s a lot more practical, as well.” He recommends taking note of three things you’ve never noticed before on each walk: “It could be a bird chirping… the breeze on your skin… take your shoes and feel the ground underneath you. When you’re taking in everything around you, that’s when you’re really connected with the here and now.” 

That connection means more time seeing the world through rose-coloured Ray-Bans and less brain space to dwell on a stressful meeting or endless to-do list. “Just observing rather than trying to process information, that’s incredibly refreshing and restoring for the brain,” adds McLeod. Boost the benefits of your mindful walk by swapping city streets for the great outdoors. A 2023 systematic review (ie gold-standard research) found that nature-based walks increase mood, optimism and mental well-being while mitigating stress and anxiety. Yep, it’s one powerful wellness prescription.

If you want to shift kilos and up cardio fitness:

Good fitness news: a few sweat-inducing, heart-pumping, heavy-puffing tweaks can help you reap bigger cardio-driven rewards from your next walk. A 2022 study of 78,500 people found those who walked at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes each day had a 25 per cent lower chance of developing heart disease or cancer and a 30 per cent lower risk of developing dementia, compared with those who walked the same steps at a slower pace. On top of these already impressive health gains, dialling up the intensity of your walk regularly can help to build lean muscle, boost metabolism and decrease body fat percentage.

“Pushing the pace ever so slightly from a casual stroll to more of a brisk walk can have an incredible impact,” says Sweat trainer, strength expert and marathon devotee, Kate Martin.

So, how can you stay on top of your stride? If you’ve got a tracker, “Anything under 11 minutes per kilometre is a good pace to aim for,” she says. The talk test can also measure your exertion – you should be able to chat comfortably with a bit of puffing, but if you can belt out Taylor Swift’s latest hit, it’s time to amp it up. You can ease into effort in intervals, pushing yourself for a short stretch (like, 30 seconds or until you hit the next street corner), slowing down to recover, then repeating. “Change up the incline on your walk, incorporating some hills; it’s a fantastic way to spike your heart rate,” adds Martin. 

Picking a playlist with high-tempo tracks (opt for 125 to 140 beats per minute) can also help keep your pace up – a 2023 meta-analysis showed listening to music can improve endurance and make exercise feel easier. But your biggest goal, according to Martin, should be consistency: “One hot day doesn’t make it summer – try to walk consistently, three to four times a week at a minimum, working up to every day.” You’ll soon see – and feel – the wellness rewards.

If you want to boost productivity:

“There’s this saying that our brains evolved on foot,” says neuroscientist and author, Dr Sarah McKay. “A lot of the changes that happen in terms of brain evolution and us becoming much more cognitively adept was because we moved.” And walking is still having a critical impact on our brain power – helping to prevent dementia, protect mental health and increase creative output. 

Want to give your noggin a helping hand? “From a neuroscience perspective, if we get sunlight exposure in roughly 60 minutes of waking up, it provides an extra spike in cortisol,” says Dr Kristy Goodwin, who uses neuroscience to help power high performers. And don’t believe the cortisol haters – we want that flood of essential hormone in the AM to hit ‘go’ on internal processes that regulate our body clock. “[It will] put us in an alert state,” she adds.

That sunrise alarm might seem counterintuitive to all-day energy, but a morning walk can keep you sharp, as well as improve mood, memory and sleep quality. Struggling with the 3pm slump? Steps can help there, too. “Before you reach for a caffeinated drink, go outside first because sunlight exposure puts you in that focused state.”

In yet another win, walking can also boost productivity. A small Australian study published in Occupational and Environmental Medicine found breaking up long periods of sitting behind a desk with a light walk can make you feel less tired, while a Stanford University study found creative output jumped 60 per cent when participants were upping their step count.

“Walking helps ideas germinate and solve complex problems because it shifts the brain into what neuroscientists call the ‘default mode network’,” says Dr Goodwin. The reason that matters? People with more connectivity in that part of the brain tend to be better at planning, strategising and multitasking. Pay rise, incoming!

If you want to build strength:

While walking won’t match the gains you’ll get via the squat rack, there are ways to build strength by adding resistance during your stroll. Firstly, location is key for challenging muscles. “Add in some stairs,” suggests master trainer and strength specialist, Tanya Poppett. “Walking up and down stairs is a great way to strengthen the legs.” And the descent isn’t only critical for catching your breath – a small study on women aged 60 and over found that walking downstairs was better for increasing strength and balance than up them. 

Ready to step it up a notch? “Take some inspiration from our defence force and add a heavy (but supportive) backpack or weighted vest and do your own ‘pack march’, building strength and endurance in your core, upper and lower body,” says Poppet. When adding weight to your walk, start light and build up. Ankle and wrist weights are best left in the Pilates studio – they’re generally not recommended while walking as they can change the body’s mechanics. Pack a resistance band or pick a park bench to do some simple exercises en route, like squats, lunges and glute bridges. 

Help stabilise and strengthen your core on autopilot by focusing on your posture while walking. “A few great cues or reminders are to keep tall and think about pulling your ribs over hips,” advises Poppet. More lean muscle, with the added bonus of a stronger body and mind? Count us in.

If you want to optimise your metabolic health:

It feels like everyone is talking about tracking blood sugar (and adjusting your eating accordingly) ATM – it’s become somewhat of a health trend du jour. While the science is slim, around two million Aussies have pre-diabetes (when blood sugar levels are higher than normal), so there’s still a huge need to understand metabolic health and the habits that can help it.

“When it comes to blood sugar, the timing of a walk can be beneficial,” reveals exercise physiologist and diabetes educator, Drew Harrisberg. As you eat, your blood sugar naturally spikes and your body releases insulin, which pushes that sugar into your cells and brings the level of sugar in your blood down. (That’s a big tick.)

Walking can help open the gateways in your muscles to capture that blood sugar more effectively. (Another tick.) That’s why studies have shown the perks of a post-meal stroll for flattening that spike, especially after a carb-heavy dish. Want another mind-blowing stat? In a randomised control trial of people with type 2 diabetes, just a 10-minute walk after every main meal was more effective than 30 minutes at any other time of day.

“Even if you don’t have diabetes, you’re going to see a flattening of the curve,” says Harrisberg. “And you come back down to normal [blood sugar levels] a bit quicker.” Now they’re what we call some sweet health results.