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If you find running intimidating, know that there is another way to get some fresh air while doing a reasonably intense workout. It’s called interval walking training (IWT), or sometimes “Japanese walking” or “3×3 walking.” It’s a form of HIIT, but it won’t end in you collapsing on the floor, hating your life. Here’s how to do it.
How to do the 3×3 “Japanese walking” workout
The original protocol for this exercise, as published here in 2007 by Hiroshi Nose’s team at Shinshu University in Japan, used a lab test to help people determine how fast they should walk during the workout. Since that’s not practical for most of us, a common substitute is to use perceived effort. During the high intensity portions, you walk a strong, fast pace—about as fast as you can without jogging, and without getting too tired. For the low intensity portions, you walk normally.
So here’s the protocol. It’s simple, and it doesn’t require a warmup, so you can just jump right in:
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Walk for three minutes at a normal speed.
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Walk for three minutes at high intensity (as fast as you reasonably can).
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Repeat those two steps for 30 minutes or more.
To time those intervals, you can program any smartwatch to beep at three-minute intervals, or just use your phone. I like the free Intervals Pro app on my iPhone; try Interval Timer on Android.
In the 2007 study, older adults who did this workout four or more times per week, for five months, ended the study with better aerobic fitness and leg strength than when they started. If you’ve ever wondered whether walking counts as exercise, this certainly does.
Why interval walking is the new HIIT
Interval walking is starting to become more popular. Garmin’s latest lifestyle watch, the Vivoactive 6, comes with walking workouts, which include intervals similar to the ones in the 3×3 workout. You can see examples of Garmin’s walking workouts in my review of the watch here.
Why the love for walking? I see a few forces at work here. First, there’s a lot of over-the-top, go-get-em attitudes in the fitness world, especially on social media. If you’ve been through a few rounds of HIIT hype, you may be sick of trying to push yourself harder and harder (or you were so intimidated by the idea that you never tried.)
The backlash to high intensity fitness can go a bit too far the other way, telling people (often women who have been told to worry about their cortisol) that they don’t need to lift weights or work hard in the gym; they can just go for walks and do some gentle yoga or Pilates. Take that advice seriously enough, and you won’t end up getting much exercise at all.
Interval walking occupies a place in the middle—harder than a hot girl walk or cozy cardio, but easier (and more fun!) than a 12-3-30 treadmill trudge. Interval walking is especially accessible to people who don’t have a gym membership or fitnessy clothes: All you need is a pair of shoes that are comfortable to walk in.
And here’s where I think the real magic of walking comes in: It stops you from overthinking your fitness routine, and lets you just get started. You won’t be tempted to overthink about running shoes or fitness watches—you just get out there and walk.
