The #1 Tip to Gain Muscle While Walking, According to Experts

Walking is an excellent way to reduce your risk of chronic disease, get better sleep and keep your mind sharp, but you might wonder whether walking can also help you build muscle. Fitness experts agree—it sure can! There are a few adjustments you can make to your walks to reap this added benefit, but experts’ top tip is to add weights. Weighted vests are all the rage now, and they’re a great option, but you can also hold weights or use ankle weights to add resistance. Learn more about how adding weights can help you build muscle while walking, plus other tips to level up your walks!

Weight Adds Resistance

To build muscle, resistance training is a must. In fact, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend a combination of aerobic activity and resistance training to keep your body healthy and your muscles strong. Walking alone, particularly on a flat surface, doesn’t provide enough resistance to experience significant muscle gain. However, by adding weights to your walks, you’re getting cardio and strength training in one.

“Adding external load with a loaded backpack (rucking) or weighted vest while walking increases the resistance, making it even more challenging for your muscles,” says Umo Callins, M.S., RDN, CSSD, CPT. “Adding resistance helps walkers gain muscle by increasing muscle tension, which is necessary in order to build muscle,” says Jordan Langhough M.S., RD, CPT. This tension creates muscle tears and triggers protein synthesis—the precursors to building bigger, stronger muscles. “My best recommendation is to start with low weight and increase as you feel more comfortable and confident in this form of resistance training,” Langhough says. Think 2.5- to 5-pound dumbbells or 1- to 2.5-pound ankle weights. If you’re using a weighted vest, Callins recommends starting with 10 to 15 pounds. “This amount of weight will be noticeable but still allow for good posture and movement,” she shares.

Adding Weight Helps Build Muscular Endurance

“Adding resistance can also improve muscular endurance when you walk for a longer period of time,” says Langhough. Research suggests that the best way to build muscular endurance is lifting a lighter load for a longer time. Walking with weights is a great example of how to do this, since you won’t be carrying weights that max out the limits of your strength. The longer you walk and the more weight you add, the more muscular endurance and strength you build.

“If you’re able to maintain good posture throughout the duration of the walk, you’re able to keep a steady breath and you finish your workout feeling like you have energy left in the tank, those are good signs that you’re ready to increase your weight,” says Langhough. She recommends increasing slowly—about 1 to 2 pounds at a time—to build your muscular endurance without putting too much stress on your muscles and joints. For a weighted vest, you may be able to increase 5 pounds at a time, according to Callins.

It Helps Strengthen Your Bones

Adding weights to your walks doesn’t just help build stronger muscles—it also helps build stronger bones! Brisk walking in and of itself can improve bone density by putting force on your bones, but adding weights increases the stress on your bones, making them work harder and grow stronger. One study found that three 30-minute brisk walks per week helped improve bone density in premenopausal women—a group at increased risk for osteoporosis. Consistency is key—it can take two years or more to see these benefits!

Other Strategies to Get the Most Out of Your Walk

Adding weights is just one of many ways you can boost the benefits of your walks. Whether you walk on a treadmill or outdoors, Callins and Langhough shared a plethora of ideas with us. Now we’re passing them onto you:

• Add intervals. Switching between slower and faster walking speeds helps with physical fitness, diabetes management and muscle strength. “Over time, this increased effort helps recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers that contribute to muscle growth,” says Callins. So alternate between brisk walking and leisurely walking to up the benefits. “Start with a slow five-minute walk to warm up the body, then go one minute fast walking, followed by two minutes of slow walking. Repeat for at least 3-5 rounds or more,” recommends Langhough.
• Walk on an incline. If you typically walk on a flat surface, start going for incline walks for added benefits. “Walking on an incline or on hills works your hamstrings, glutes, quads and calves harder,” says Callins. So if you’re an outdoor walker, seek out routes with hills. If you use a treadmill, up the incline.
• Mix up your stride. You’re probably used to walking forward, but mixing in lateral or backward walking works different muscles without any extra equipment. “When you walk forward, you’re engaging your glutes, thighs and calves. When you shift to a lateral walk or side stepping, you’re engaging your outer hips, inner thighs and your oblique muscles which are at the sides of your core. Walking backward puts more focus on the quadricep muscles and can really challenge balance,” says Langhough.
• Change up your walking surface. “Changing the surface you walk on, such as sand or uneven surfaces, challenges the stabilizer muscles, making them work harder,” says Callins. So if you typically walk on a solid surface, you may want to try hiking on trails, walking on gravel paths or taking a stroll on the beach.
• Work in calisthenics. Another way to build muscle while walking is to pause for calisthenics, or bodyweight movements. “This approach turns a regular walk into a cardio and strength workout which can increase muscle engagement without needing to step into a gym,” says Langhough. For example, she suggests pausing every quarter mile to do 10 bodyweight squats.

Our Expert Take

If walking is your jam, you don’t have to switch up your mode of movement just to build muscle. A few simple tweaks to your walking routine can help you gain muscle and build stronger bones! Our experts’ top tip is to add weights to your walk using a weighted vest, weighted pack, hand weights or ankle weights. This adds resistance to build muscle strength and endurance. For more muscular benefits, try switching up the terrain, speed and incline of your walks; walk backwards and laterally; and work calisthenics like squats or pushups into your walks. Happy walking!