Japanese interval Walking: the viral exercise trend that could put a spring in your step | Aptitude

If the idea of pumping iron or holding a board does not take a spring in your step, maybe the latest exercise trend to dominate social media: Japanese interval march.

The idea is simple: alternate between three minutes of fasting and three minutes of slow walking, ideally for 30 minutes at a time.

“The fast walking pace is generally fast [enough] That you are unable to speak in long sentences, “said Dr. Kristian Karstoft, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, who studied the method.” And then the slow intervals are so slow that you can recover. He added that people could often find it difficult to walk quite slowly during these intervals.

By approaching the test, I hit the area around King’s Cross in center of London.

I started to go out, as late for a train. Three minutes later, my watch was bipt and I slowed down, putting as if if he were looking for a falling earring. Another beep and I accelerated once again, my arms swing.

I was slightly worried what passers -by could think of my erratic pace – I suspect that I seemed to need the toilets but that I did not dare to risk jog. I already regretted trying this without my two retrievers with flat coating: if they were at the trailer, I could at least have blamed my intervals which are unleashed on their sniffing of the lamp.

After 30 minutes, I felt hot, but not exactly puffed.

Karstoft said that the approach was particularly suitable for people prone to racing injuries, because walking is less difficult for joints, or adults of middle ages or the elderly who do not do a lot of regular training. People who were already in good shape, he said, should jog or run for intervals to benefit from the similar advantages.

The diet is similar to training at high intensity intervals (HIIT). Dr. Shaun Phillips, lecturer in physiology of sport and exercise at the University of Edinburgh, said: “The exercise of high intensity can offer advantages similar to the moderate intensity exercise but within a shorter period [or] With a lower exercise volume. The use of high intensity places a larger stimulus on the body to adapt. »»

But not everyone can keep up with a furious rhythm, even while walking. Phillips said that less active or fit people should start with normal walking to enter the swing, then try the interval step.

“A way to maximize your ability to follow high intensity training is to do so with alternating intensities, which means training based on the intervals,” said Karstoft.

While high intensity interval march has recently become popular on Tiktok, where enthusiasts share videos of themselves who seriously swing in city parks, the idea dates back to more than 20 years when Japan scientists began to study it in adults of middle and older age.

According to a Japanese study, involving data analysis of 139 healthy participants with an average age of 63 years, people who have made high intensity intervals walking over four days or week over a period of five months increased their maximum aerobic capacity, indicating an improvement in physical form. In addition, these improvements were larger than for participants who had undertaken a continuous and moderate intensity scheme or which did not do any foot training.

The study also suggested that high intensity interval walking can reduce blood pressure and increase the strength of the knee joint.

A small control trial randomized by Karstoft and his colleagues found that the approach could also benefit people with type 2 diabetes, including by improving their glycemic control.

Four months of high intensity intervals were associated with greater advantages than walking continues, even if the overall energy expenditure and the average training intensity were the same.

“As a rule, with a walk at the interval, we have seen a physical level gain of about 15% to 20% compared to insignificant improvements or without improving fitness levels when the subjects are walking continuously [or no walking]”Said Karstoft.” We have seen improvements in body composition with average weight loss for four to six months of formation of approximately three to five kilograms, mainly due to fat. “

A review on the subject published by Karstoft and his colleagues last year concluded that walking in the Japanese interval was an achievable and effective training regime for older and fragile people. “This considerably improves physical form, muscle strength and health markers,” they wrote.

But, recognized Phillips, while some people like the challenge of more intensity periods, others hate it.

“We are certainly never going to arrive at the ideal exercise protocol that everyone loves,” he said. “It is a question of trying to give as many options feasible and beneficial as possible that people can choose.”