Beware of a small rant to start things off
I’m not on the ‘TikTok’, but I see a thing or two from them being posted on other platforms. Can I ask, why is everything posted on there taken as gospel truth? Seriously, someone needs to enlighten me because I don’t see why we trust random videos of people to know all the right things when it comes to fitness. Same can be said for any niche on the platform; one video of someone saying they made a bunch of money doing this or lost 100 lbs from this meal, the clip goes viral and we think we can mimic what they did and achieve the exact same results. It’s all hearsay based on personal experiences, little research, and minimal evidence to prove it’s true. We have to bring it upon ourselves to take a step further into learning the facts. Don’t worry, that’s what I’m here for!
Okay, rant over. Let’s talk about the treadmill workout that ‘cracks the code to weight loss’ using 12% incline on speed 3.0 for 30 minutes. Someone who undoubtedly hates running but knows cardio is good for you figured out this is a solid low intensity form of cardio, meaning it’s not such vigorous exercise but it does raise your heart rate to a calorie burning state.
This is what real experts have to say about incline walking:
Why it’s good for us
- It’s great if you can’t do high impact cardio like running and jumping that can put excessive strain on your knees, hips, and back.
- Walking at a brisk pace in general strengthens bones and muscles, boosts balance and coordination, prevents heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes.
- It activates your glute, hamstring, and calf muscles with extra force, making your heart automatically work harder, hence– cardio challenge.
Avoid these mistakes
- Leaning practically your whole body onto the front railing
- gripping the side railings for dear life
Both cancel out the effects of the incline. You do that, you’re better off walking on flat ground.
What the Videos don’t tell us
A comment was made in the article I was reading that your heart rate goes up more walking on an incline than running on a flat surface. This is not entirely true: based on a study, running uphill will increase your peak heart rate more than running on flat ground, yes. The study mentions nothing about walking on an incline burning more calories than running on flat ground. If you’ve seen that on TikTok then take note that it’s more likely inaccurate.
These were my numbers from walking at a 12% incline versus running at a 0% incline:
| Time (min) | 12% Incline Walk Heart Rate (bpm) | 0% Incline Run bpm |
| 5 | 143 | 150 |
| 10 | 151 | 155 |
| 15 | 150 | 178 |
| 30 | 155 | 196 |
These numbers won’t be the exact same for you, since it all depends on running speed and how hard you push yourself. You can tell from my numbers that running tends to raise your heart rate quicker to a higher point. Even if I wasn’t tracking my heart rate, I would be able to tell how much harder I have to work based on my sweat level. I broke a sweat walking uphill, but was drenched from running. This hardly applies to everyone because plenty of people out there don’t sweat at all (you crazy people…I’m jealous of you).
I combat my jealousy by telling myself…
I was actually very pleased with my calorie burn and heart rate increase from incline walking– much closer to the effects of running than I thought they were going to be!
As it pertains to weight loss, a single workout is not the only factor to shedding pounds. Burning more calories than are consumed is the main factor, and this exercise is one of many that can be done to burn those calories.
Incline walking should not be our only form of exercise. For total growth, we need to develop other muscle groups with moderate lifting, band exercises, and calisthenics (bodyweight movements). Comment below or message me if you’d be interested in learning more about lifting or bodyweight workouts! You can check out my other fitness content here!
Back to the positives
None of these downsides are meant to discourage you from incline walking; it is absolutely a great option for a healthy weight loss routine or to get in some cardio. I do want to encourage you however, if you don’t love it, to try the plenty of other forms of cardio out there! I’m sure you’ll find one you enjoy, whether that’s dance classes, boxing, HIIT workouts, bicycling, swimming, playing sports, or simply playing around with your dog at the park, anything to just be active and get your heart rate up!
Start tracking your fitness routine and map out your regimen with my Fitness & Nutrition Planner. I hope you take this thought nugget into figuring out how you most enjoy nourishing your body to stay active and healthy!