Walking on a regular basis has a wide range of benefits, from improving mental health to boosting metabolism, weight management and more.
But if you're looking specifically to address your heart health, do you need to walk more? What about faster or longer?
TODAY.com previously spoke with cardiologists Dr. Marc Eisenberg, associate professor of medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, and Dr. Nieca Goldberg, clinical associate professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, about their go-to habits to maintain their heart health, and they shared that walking is an important part of their routines.
Cardiologist tip of the day: Walk at least 5 days a week
Cardio exercises tend to have the most benefits for heart health, so your goal on your walks should be to move quickly, according to the cardiologists.
“I get my heart rate up when I walk because I walk pretty fast,” Goldberg says. “It’s important for people to do exercises that are natural to them and easy for them to do.”
Eisenberg advises walking fast 40-50 minutes a day for at least five days a week.
Why it matters
Heart disease can creep up on you. In fact, it's the leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Strength training may be trendier than cardio at the moment, and while it has plenty of health benefits, "when you go to the gym and you don’t do any cardiovascular (exercise), you’re not really doing much for your heart,” Eisenberg says.
Walking just 11 minutes every day can reduce the risk of developing heart disease by 17%, a 2023 study found.
How to get started
For people new to exercising, a 40-minute walk can sound intimidating. You can always try breaking it up into several shorter walks throughout the day.
Try walking to work, or if that's not realistic, go for a walk on your lunch break. Or just try to incorporate walking into your day-to-day life, such as parking far away from the grocery store entrance.
If walking isn't for you, biking, swimming, an elliptical or jogging can all provide heart health benefits, as well.
TODAY’s Expert Tip of the Day series is all about simple strategies to make life a little easier. Every Monday through Friday, different qualified experts share their best advice on diet, fitness, heart health, mental wellness and more.
Tomorrow’s expert tip will reveal the most effective breathing exercise to get you to sleep fast — check it out in the morning at TODAY.com!
