Guest Author - Deborah Crawford

Walking pace or speed varies quite a bit, depending on stride length, terrain or walking surface, and even one’s own physical condition, age and sex. Be sure to remember that your own personal situation will affect your speed. But if you want to know what pace is “average”, here are some guidelines:

On average, women walk at 3 miles per hour. That is 20 minutes per mile, on reasonably flat terrain for the average woman. At this pace, the average woman should be able to easily carry on a conversation, but be breathing a bit heavier than when strolling.

For the average man, the speed is a little quicker at 3.5 miles per hour, mainly due to their longer legs and thus longer stride length. Also, men typically have more muscle mass, which increases speed because it is muscles which do the work to move the body.

If you walk regularly (three times a week for 30 minutes or more), you will gradually increase your personal average speed because you will increase your cardiovascular endurance and you will build strength (or muscle) particularly in your legs. Both of these factors will lead to walking faster.

If you want to increase your walking speed, do so gradually. Try to walk your regular walk just one minute faster this week, and then try to cut a minute off your time every couple of weeks until you are walking briskly (3.5 to 4.5 mph) but still within your target heart rate zone.

After brisk walking for awhile (several months), you might try powerwalking or speedwalking, which is walking at 4.5 to 5.5 miles per hour. These speeds are about equivalent to jogging or slow running, but of course walking has much less impact and is easier on joints.

The next level is racewalking, which is quite a bit different in that it is a competitive Olympic sport and has specific rules: one foot must stay in contact with the ground and that leg must straighten (not bend at the knee). This technique might look odd, but it’s the only way to actually walk at those speeds. Running is actually easier than walking at speeds of five miles an hour or more.

Tracking speed and distance is quite fun and motivating, but if you are walking three times a week fast enough to get your heart rate up for at least twenty to thirty minutes, then speed really does not matter from a fitness perspective. If you want to increase your endurance, lose weight, or just cover more distance in less time, then, walking faster can help.

The Omron Digital Pedometer will tell you your walking speed so you don’t have to do the math! Read my Review of this pedometer for all its features.