I went for a 30-minute walk every day for a month - here are the surprising benefits I found

Walking 30 minutes a day may not seem like that much exercise. But trust me, when you create a consistent routine, it can be enough to stay fit and reap the mental health benefits of movement.

Often when we talk about exercise, it's all about doing more - more miles, reps, and sessions every week. No matter the reason behind the workout, many of us find that once we start doing something, we feel the need to do more. Stepping back and focusing on doing less can benefit our mental and physical health and encourage us to think differently about how we exercise for good. 

I'm equally as guilty of the 'more' mentality as anyone else. I enjoy working out and find myself in the gym, out running, or at spin class at least a few days a week - probably for the best, considering I'm also woman&home's digital health editor. However, recently, I've been looking for a change and something to revamp my routine for the lighter spring/summer mornings. 

I've taken on a whole host of fitness challenges over the years - from testing out pairs of the best walking shoes through muddy Lake District hikes to running every day - so I was very prepared to give myself a break from my regular cardio activities and swap in a half-hour session of walking as a workout. 

What are the benefits of walking 30 minutes a day? 

1. Walking is a great source of low-intensity cardio exercise

Starting with the basics, even though I wasn't going for my twice-weekly runs anymore, I was still getting in enough cardio exercise to keep my heart pumping, since walking is a type of low-intensity steady state (LISS) cardio exercise. As high-intensity interval training (HIIT)'s more relaxed twin, this exercise is about keeping your heartbeat at a relatively low level - around 40 to 50% of your maximum heart rate. Over time, research from the University of Wisconsin shows, this can have a majorly positive impact on your cardiovascular fitness.

What's more, rather than returning home tired in the evenings and needing to go to bed as I would after an evening run, I found I had more energy in the evenings. It's as if my short burst of cardio and fresh air perked me up after sitting at my desk most of the day. 

2. Walking for 30 minutes a day can be a great source of Zone 2 exercise

If you push the pace while walking and reach 60 to 70% of your maximum heart rate, you can enjoy the benefits of Zone 2 training. I did this a few times a week to change things up and prevent any monotony that might come with taking a stroll along the same route every day, but it has some serious associated health benefits. 

"Zone 2 training is exercise at a pace you can maintain for an extended period - at least 30 minutes, but potentially hours if you had to," says Jade Skillen, HYROX master trainer. "It uses fat and oxygen as fuel sources, so if you improve your body's ability to work within this lower heart rate zone without using carbohydrate stores, your capacity to exercise at a higher intensity but a lower heart rate increases." This, in turn, can help to improve heart function and make other, more intense types of exercise easier in the future. 

This was one of the biggest ways I changed up my routine when walking 30 minutes a day. Getting up to this required heart rate was tricky at the beginning as I had to walk very quickly but it became easy enough once I settled into a rhythm - and in the end, it was worth it. It changed up the routine and gave me the feeling of having had a good workout, without the pressure of running or going to the gym. 

Jade Skillen

Jade Skillen specialises in coaching people in HYROX, a heavily running-based type of fitness. She works with beginners and fitness novices right through to elite competitors, so is well-placed to provide advice for every level. 

3. Walking for 30-minutes a day pushes you to discover more places

I don't doubt that I experienced plenty of physical benefits of walking every day - and I actually found it helped me when I picked up my normal routine again when the two weeks were up, as it gave my muscles a welcome break from more high-intensity exercise while still keeping them moving. However, the mental health benefits were some of the most noticeable. 

The 30-minute cut-off time forced me to get adventurous. At the beginning of the month, I stuck to the same roads and paths I'd been down hundreds of times before - I only had half an hour, how far could I really go? But by the second week, I was finding new ways to walk.

The AllTrails app, which I discovered a couple of years ago, was a huge help here. I found new routes in my local area pretty quickly - unsurprising, considering the app has over 350,000 worldwide. Despite living in my area for almost four years, I found new places to explore and even new terrains, when I jumped on the train a couple of stops and walked from there. In the two weeks alone, I went over trails, canals, and heaths, all places I'd never been before - although I did admittedly walk for a little more than 30 minutes on these occasions. 

4. Walking for 30-minutes a day is fully adaptable

Naturally, as I live in the UK, it rained a few times during my two weeks of walking 30 minutes a day and there's nothing quite like it to stop even the most avid strollers in their tracks. However, I do have a gym membership and at my gym, there is a treadmill. That's the great thing about walking - you can do it anywhere at any time. 

I did start to get very bored just walking on the treadmill though, so I picked up the 12-3-30 workout about a week into the month. One of the more famous HIIT treadmill workouts, this program is very popular for its simple approach to exercise:

• Step onto the treadmill and set the incline level to 12
• Set the speed to 3mph
• Walk for 30 minutes uninterrupted 

I kept to my regular walking pattern of a moderate pace for the other days of the week, but anytime I went into a strength training session that was more upper body-focused rather than legs, I incorporated this treadmill session in somewhere. 

Walking 30 minutes a day is also adaptable as you can do it any time. While I mainly stuck to walking before and after work, there are proven benefits to walking after dinner for better digestion, so it's worth giving this a try too.

5. It's a great way to get from one place to another

Living in a city like London where the hustle and bustle of public transport can make getting from A to B difficult at times makes walking one of the best modes of transport. Over the last month, I've switched my 10-minute tube ride for a 30-minute walk and reaped the benefits of personal space - alongside more exercise, fresh air, and quiet. 

Being able to do this also kept me consistent on days when I really didn't feel like walking. As much as the idea of walking in windy and wet weather is unappealing, I'll always take it over a rush hour bus. 

6. Improvements in my mental health

While mountainous treks and hikes in leafy surroundings might seem more beneficial to the mind than 30 minutes of walking down a city road, I was surprised by how much of a positive impact this routine had on my mental health in two short weeks. Just a few days into the month, I felt brighter in the morning and including a slightly longer walk as part of my Sunday reset routine changed the game at the end of the week, giving me space to work out my pre-Monday anxieties and lower my cortisol levels. 

While walking is no replacement for professional mental health help, there are plenty of studies that confirm taking time out to exercise can do wonders for our mental health. Two such studies, from the University of Iseigaoka and Boston University respectively, even found it has some serious long-term benefits, including lessening the risk of depression, insomnia, and anxiety over time. While I can't speak to the longer-term benefits of this walking routine, I intend to keep it up to find out. 

Is walking 30 minutes a day enough?

If you're looking to know how much exercise you should do per week, then rest assured that 30 minutes of walking every day will cover you under NHS guidelines. The health institution recommends two and a half hours of moderate exercise per week, or one hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity. 

Over seven days, walking for half an hour a day at a good pace will mean you do three and a half hours of moderate exercise every week, which is one hour more than the minimum recommended amount. If you want to pick up the pace though, you could also try running 30 minutes a day and see how it goes.

Tips for making the most out of your walk

• Take music or a podcast with you: Unless you're in a hurry or practicing walking meditation, it can be tricky to focus on your walk and all the benefits of being outside. I found that plugging into music or a podcast helped the time pass quicker, whether I was walking outside or at the gym. 
• Take a friend with you: In lockdown days, going for a walk with a friend was the highlight of many of our weeks but we're not doing it as much now. Taking a friend with you on your 30-minute walk is a great way to fit socialising around your workout schedule, without getting too out of breath. 
• Stay safe: Walking has so many benefits but depending on the number of cars and people around you, it has the potential to throw up some problems. I always make sure I carry something high-vis in my bag for evening walks and when I'm walking at night, I either wear my Shokz headphones where I can still hear everything that's going on around me or only listen through one earphone. 
• Count your steps: Using one of the best Fitbits or another one of the best fitness trackers, count your steps over your 30 minutes and check your insights to see if they change over the month as your fitness and routine improve.
• Plan bigger walks for the weekend: If you don't have time to trek out of your local area for a 30-minute walk during the week, plan a longer route for the weekend. I found doing this gave me something to look forward to and provided a change of scenery.