I developed back issues after being a long-distance runner for ages (womp), so I’m all about low-impact workouts nowadays. My every-other-day workout is walking three miles, fast, on a high incline on the treadmill—often times with hand weights too. Let me tell you: I’m a puddle of sweat by the end, even though I joke it’s a total granny workout.
For years, cardio lovers have been fed the idea that running or jogging is always a better burn than walking. But not so fast: Walking workouts have gotten *a lot* of attention lately, thanks to their approachability and joint friendliness. And, walking with this one little tweak can actually be a more effective workout than jogging: adding incline.
Tonyael Miller, CPT, is also a huge fan of walking on an incline due to the way it forces your heart rate up quicker and recruits more muscle than jogging on a flat road for the same amount of time.
“Walking is a great total-body cardiovascular exercise,” adds Neel Anand, MD, orthopedic spine surgeon and director of the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles.
Ahead, learn all the potential benefits of incline walking versus flat jogging. Join me, will ya?
Meet the experts: Tonyael Miller, CPT, is a Chicago-based certified trainer and member of the Women’s Health/Men’s Health Strength in Diversity class of 2024. Neel Anand, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon and director of the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center in Los Angeles. Bert Mandelbaum, MD, is a sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute and co-director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
You may burn more calories walking uphill versus jogging on a flat road.
How many calories can you burn with incline walking compared to flat jogging? This question doesn’t have a hard-and-fast answer, as it ultimately depends on your genetics, size, build, and workout duration. But let’s imagine we’re comparing two people of very similar statures and physical ability, one of whom walks uphill for 30 minutes, and the other who jogs on a flat road for the same amount of time.
A 150-pound person who jogs for 30 minutes will burn around 238 calories, according to the American Council on Exercise fitness calculator. When I tested out this experiment firsthand, I burned 400 calories on an 11 percent incline in 30 minutes.
If you were to try an advanced incline walking workout at a 12 percent incline, three miles per hour, for 30 minutes (The viral TikTok 12-3-30 workout), you can but anywhere from 300 to 800 calories (depending on the factors mentioned above), as WH previously reported.
Remember, incline and walking speed are going to make a difference in how your calorie burn compares. Miller confirms that, as long as you make sure your incline walk is still challenging for you, incline walking generally “requires more energy than a regular jog and can elevate your heart rate more.”
You can build more muscle strength and definition.
Hey, workouts are about so much more than calories, right? Let’s talk muscle gains. “You can work more muscles with walking on an incline,” Miller says. You’ll work “your glutes, hamstrings, and calves” more intensely walking on an incline [compared to] a flat jog, she says.
In one older study that compared the metabolic burn and muscle activations of incline walking at 0 percent, 5 percent, and 10 percent in a small group of people, more muscle activity occurred when the subjects walked up a larger incline.
Incline walking is also more joint-friendly.
Walking on an incline wins in this realm too, Miller says. “Walking on an incline is generally a lower-impact exercise compared to jogging or running,” she says, which is why it’s her preferred cardio method. Low-impact workouts tend to lower the risk of injury and be better for people with pre-existing joint issues, such as knee problems and pain.
To wit: When researchers had a small group of volunteers walk on a treadmill at various inclines, they found that walking on an incline lessened stress on the knee joint while still strengthening muscles in the legs simultaneously, per the study in Gait & Posture. In a separate study, walking on an incline reduced knee pain and promoted strength in older adults who walked on an incline of at least 10 percent.
Walking can also be great for people with a history of back issues, because it’s less impact and force on your spine, Dr. Anand adds.
Here’s how to make the most of an incline walking workout.
Miller suggests starting on an incline of 8 to 10 and walking at a pace that’s “intense, but not so intense that you’re hunched over and holding onto the rail.” (Clinging onto the rail means you’re not working as hard or effectively as you should, as your placing some of your body weight in your upper body as opposed to your core and lower body, and also isn’t great form, Miller says.) Aim to log 30 minutes, if you can, but Miller also says it’s fine to start smaller and work your way up.
“Walk straight, with your back up,” Miller says. She suggests starting at a pace of 2.5 miles per hour and upping your speed from there as you get stronger.
If you want to kick things up a notch, Miller suggests increasing the incline and/or your speed. You can check in with yourself every 5 to 10 minutes to see if it’s time to ramp things up. You can even add in hand weights to do weighted walking intervals once you get this workout down, she says.
Just be sure to stretch after you walk, says Bert Mandelbaum, MD, sports medicine specialist and orthopedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute and Co-Director of the Regenerative Orthobiologic Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. “Stretching helps to elongate the muscles and can aid in pain prevention down the road,” he says.
Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.
