3 Minutes Fast, 4 Minutes Slow, Repeated 5 Times
About 30 Minutes of Exercise... Gaining Popularity on SNS
Recently, a type of interval training that alternates between high-intensity exercise and low-to-moderate intensity exercise called "Japanese-style walking" has become popular on overseas social networking services (SNS). On June 19 (local time), foreign media outlets such as the U.S. health magazine "Health" and Fortune introduced Japanese-style walking as a trending walking exercise on SNS. The principle of this exercise is simple: it involves alternating between fast walking and slow walking.
The workout typically takes about 30 minutes. For the first 3 minutes, you walk briskly at a pace that does not leave you out of breath, followed by 4 minutes of a relaxed, leisurely walk to recover. This cycle is repeated a total of 5 times. SNS users agree that Japanese-style walking helps build endurance and is beneficial for brain health. One fitness content creator claimed that just 30 minutes of Japanese-style walking can be ten times more effective than walking 10,000 steps in a day.
Recently, a type of interval training that alternates between high-intensity exercise and low-to-moderate intensity exercise called "Japanese-style walking" has become popular on overseas social networking services (SNS). Pixabay
Japanese-style walking originated from a 2007 study by Professor Hiroshi Nose's team at the Graduate School of Shinshu University in Japan. At that time, the researchers recruited 246 participants with an average age of 63 and divided them into three groups for a five-month walking training program. One group did not walk at all. Another group walked at a moderate pace, aiming for more than 8,000 steps per day, at least four days a week. The third group alternated between walking for 3 minutes at more than 70% of their maximum capacity and walking for 3 minutes at 40% of their maximum capacity, repeating this cycle for 30 minutes, at least four days a week.
The researchers found that participants in the third group experienced greater reductions in blood pressure and improvements in muscle strength and endurance compared to the other groups. In a 2018 follow-up study, participants who practiced Japanese-style walking for 10 years saw a 20% increase in leg muscle strength and a 40% improvement in maximum exercise capacity.
Notably, the researchers found that practicing Japanese-style walking for more than 10 years helped prevent age-related declines in muscle strength and physical fitness. Even those who stopped the exercise midway still experienced partial benefits. Experts say that interval walking exercises like "Japanese-style walking" are effective for improving muscle strength, endurance, and weight loss. However, they recommend that people who are not used to exercise should start by walking regularly first.
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