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Fit&Well has published a 20-minute speed-walking workout built around four one-minute brisk intervals, each followed by two minutes of easy walking. Personal trainer Nelly Flaque recommends starting three times a week on non-consecutive days, keeping the effort controlled and checking with a doctor before faster intervals if you have heart, joint or balance issues.
Fit&Well has published a 20-minute speed-walking plan that alternates short brisk intervals with slower recovery walking, offering a structured way to make a routine walk more demanding. The workout, shared by NASM-certified personal trainer Nelly Flaque, includes a four-minute warm-up, 12 minutes of intervals and a four-minute cool-down.
The central set lasts 12 minutes: walk briskly for one minute, then slow down for two minutes, and repeat the sequence four times. Fit&Well presents the plan as beginner-friendly and says Flaque advises trying it three times a week on non-consecutive days, with easier walks on the days between sessions.
Flaque’s effort guide distinguishes the two paces by how they feel. During recovery, walkers should be able to hold a full conversation; during faster intervals, they should manage only a few words at a time. She suggests an effort of about four out of 10 for easy walking and seven or eight out of 10 for the faster stretches, while keeping the pace manageable enough to finish all four rounds.
The plan starts with four minutes of easy walking and ends with another four minutes at an easy pace. Flaque recommends supportive shoes and water, and says people with heart, joint or balance issues should check with a doctor before adding faster intervals. Optional calf and hip-flexor stretches can follow the walk.
A More Structured Everyday Walk
The routine gives readers a defined way to vary the pace of a walk without requiring a gym or special equipment. Its work-and-recovery format may help people control effort: the faster sections are short, and slower intervals provide time to recover before the next one. Flaque says faster walking raises heart rate and makes the legs and glutes work harder, but those are her exercise explanations rather than a guarantee of a particular result for every walker.
The source also points to research on walking speed. It describes a study of 64,743 people, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which found that a faster stepping pace was associated with a lower risk of death, including among participants taking fewer than 5,000 steps a day. That reported association does not establish that walking faster caused the difference, and the article does not provide the study’s full methods or effect sizes.
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How the Interval Plan Is Built
Fit&Well frames brisk intervals as a simple adjustment to a daily walk rather than a separate, longer exercise session. The workout’s full duration is 20 minutes: four minutes of warm-up, four rounds of one minute fast and two minutes easy, then four minutes of cool-down. The interval block therefore pairs each brief push with twice as much recovery time.
For technique, Flaque advises bending the elbows to about 90 degrees and swinging the arms forward and back, not across the body. She recommends taking quicker steps rather than longer strides, saying that reaching the front foot too far ahead can act like a brake and stress the shins and knees. Her other cues are to look ahead, keep the shoulders relaxed, stand tall and roll through the foot from heel to toe.
Progression is not part of the starting prescription. Once the workout feels comfortable, Flaque suggests changing one variable at a time: reducing recovery from two minutes to one, lengthening brisk intervals from one minute to two, or adding rounds to build toward a 30-minute session. She also suggests trying a gentle hill for the faster intervals.
“During your easier stretches of walking, you should be able to hold a full conversation. During your fast intervals, you should only be able to get out a few words at a time.”
— Nelly Flaque, as quoted by Fit&Well
supportive walking shoes for women
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Limits of the Guidance and Evidence
The published plan does not specify a target speed, distance, heart-rate range or route, so the brisk pace is defined by perceived effort and the talk test. It also does not report outcomes from people who followed this particular 20-minute routine; its expected benefits are presented through Flaque’s comments and the separate study summary.
The source’s account of the study gives its participant count, journal and broad finding, but not the study date, methods, precise risk estimates or details about how walking pace was measured. The reported link is an association, not proof of cause and effect. Individual suitability may vary, and the article does not set out a tailored plan for people with medical conditions.
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How Walkers Can Build Gradually
Fit&Well’s guidance is to begin with the four-round version, use non-consecutive workout days and keep the faster stretches controlled rather than treating them as all-out sprints. Walkers can stay with the same routine until it feels comfortable, then adjust only one element at a time, such as recovery length, interval duration or the number of rounds. The article gives no timetable for when to progress, so it leaves that decision to how manageable the sessions feel.
For anyone with heart, joint or balance concerns, Flaque advises consulting a doctor before adding faster intervals. The source does not announce a follow-up study, test of the plan or new medical guidance; it is an exercise feature with a workout and general safety cautions.
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Key Questions
How long is the speed-walking workout?
The routine totals 20 minutes: four minutes of easy warm-up walking, 12 minutes of intervals and four minutes of easy cool-down walking.
How are the intervals structured?
Repeat four rounds of one minute brisk and two minutes easy. The brisk interval should feel challenging but manageable, while the recovery pace should allow a full conversation.
How often does the plan recommend doing the workout?
Flaque recommends starting with three sessions a week on non-consecutive days, keeping regular easy walks on the days between them.
How can someone make the workout harder?
After the routine feels comfortable, Flaque suggests changing one thing at a time: shorten recovery, extend the brisk intervals, add rounds toward a 30-minute session, or use a gentle hill for the faster portions.
Who should seek medical advice before trying faster intervals?
Flaque advises people with heart, joint or balance issues to check with a doctor before adding faster walking intervals. The article does not provide individualized medical advice.
Source: rss
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