How to Start a New Walking Program for Beginners Menu Verywell Fit Nutrition Weight Management Nutrition Facts Nutrition Basics Diets Meal Plans Meal Delivery Services View All News Fitness and Nutrition What to Buy How We Test Products Fitness Gear Nutrition Products Tools Recipe Nutrition Calculator Weight Loss Calorie Goal BMI Calculator Body Fat Percentage Calculator Calories Burned by Activity Daily Calories Burned Pace Calculator About Us Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Search Walking Beginners Walking for Weight Management Guide Walking for Weight Management Guide Prepare to Walk What to Wear Find the Right Shoes Determine Your Walking Speed How Long to Walk Make a Schedule Perfect Your Technique Eat Well Consider Intervals Avoid Common Mistakes Work Through Plateaus Track Your Walks Stay Motivated How to Start a New Walking Program for Beginners By Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events. Learn about our editorial process Updated on August 03, 2022 Print Verywell / Ryan Kelly Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Walking vs. Running Before Getting Started When to Get a Check-Up Variety Expectations Next in Walking for Weight Management Guide 15 Things You Need for Walking If you've decided it is time to start walking for health, fitness, and weight loss, you've already taken a great first step. Walking is an effective, natural way to achieve the daily physical activity amount recommended for weight management and good health. Walking is a great way to achieve the physical activity guidelines recommended by the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. The recommendation is at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week. Generally, for a 160-pound person, walking for 30 minutes will burn about 125 calories. Best of all, it's budget-friendly—no expensive gym membership needed—and it can be done anywhere. Combined with a balanced diet, you can start achieving your goals. If you're just getting started, take some time to familiarize yourself with the basics. Once you get going you can work your way up to walking comfortably for 30 minutes to an hour, the level of physical activity recommended to reduce risks of heart disease and other chronic diseases. Is Walking Better Than Running It may feel like walking is too low-impact to have a meaningful effect on your weight, but that's not true. Especially if you're just starting out, running may be too much too fast, and too high impact. Ultimately, it comes down to your situation and needs. Know that a walking program is an effective exercise and can lead to weight loss with proper calorie balance, so you shouldn't feel like you're not doing enough. In fact, it may be easier to stick to a walking plan instead of a running plan. Walking Is the Most Popular Form of Exercise, Here's Why Before You Get Started Verywell / Joshua Seong There are a few things to consider when starting a walking program: Preparing to walk: Learn what you need to do before you begin a walking program. This may include getting medical advice, investing in basic walking gear like shoes and clothing, and more. Walking Technique: Next, you will learn good walking technique, focusing on proper posture, use of arms, and leg motion. Walking Schedule: Determine how often to walk, how fast, different types of walking, and how far to build up to the level of 30-60 minutes per day. Staying Motivated: Explore techniques for keeping yourself walking and avoiding common mistakes. All of the advice included is good for walking either indoors or outdoors. To begin, we'll see if your body has any special needs before starting an exercise program. Then it's on to gear-up with clothing and shoes. When to Get a Medical Check-Up Before Starting a Walking Program Contact a healthcare provider for a check-up or consultation before you begin your walking program if any of these apply to you: You have been sedentary for a year or moreYou don't currently exercise and are over age 65You have been diagnosed with heart troubleYou're pregnantYou have high blood pressureYou have diabetesYou have chest pain, especially when exerting yourself.You often feel faint or have severe dizzy spellsYou have other medical conditions that may make it challenging to walk Incorporating Variety Once you're more advanced you may want to incorporate jogging or interval training to add some variety. Additionally, you might want to add a stretching and strength routine to your weekly workout regime. Strength training can help build muscle, boost bone density, and imrpove balance. As you get more comfortable with your walking routine, consider adding a day of weightlifting to reap the benefits. Alternatively, try walking with weights, but make sure you do it right. Setting Realistic Expectations The important thing to remember is to be realistic. Don't be harsh on yourself if you can't go long distances right away — you'll work up to them. Especially if you're new to exercise, focus on starting slow and consistency. You'll notice your body getting stronger as time goes. One helpful technique is setting SMART goals. These are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals that will help you structure your walking and give you something to work towards. Also, modify as you go based on how you feel and what results you're seeing. If your plan isn't working, regroup and evaluate. Once you have the go-ahead from your doctor (if needed), you should start exploring gear and technique. Start small. A few basics will be enough at first and then you can invest in more down the line. 15 Things You Need for Walking 3 Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Rippe JM, Ward A, Porcari JP, Freedson PS. Walking for health and fitness. JAMA. 1988;259(18):2720-2724. Hart PD, Buck DJ. The effect of resistance training on health-related quality of life in older adults: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Promot Perspect. 2019;9(1):1-12. doi:10.15171/hpp.2019.01 By Wendy Bumgardner Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Related Articles Can You Walk Too Much? What's the Ideal Pace for Brisk Walking? How Beginners Can Kick Off Their Walking Schedules Keep Moving When You Have Arthritis and Other Types of Knee Pain Starting an Exercise Program When You Have Extra Weight to Lose What Is Moderate-Intensity Exercise and How Much Do You Need? How to Burn More Calories With Speed Walking Slim and Tone Your Legs by Adding Walking to Your Workout Why You Aren't Losing Weight With Walking 30-Minute Walks Could Kickstart a New Love of Exercise, Here’s Why How Many Calories Can You Burn While Walking? 10 Easy Workouts for Health and Weight Loss 5 Benefits of Speed Walking How Many Walking Calories You Burn Per Minute Do You Lose More Weight Running or Walking? 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