I recently moved to Bristol, a UK city notorious for its hills.
My hour-long morning walk now takes in around 250 feet of elevation, which is much more challenging than the flat route in my old city.
Despite the fact that I'm used to strength training and Pilates, this uphill walk left me feeling breathless at first.
However, after doing it for a few months, I can now tackle it with ease—a sure sign that my fitness has improved.
Only short parts of my usual walk are uphill, while the rest is flat, so I was curious whether this 10-minute climb had really made that much of a difference
To find out, I asked physical therapist and exercise physiologist Dr Milica McDowell.
According to her, even short bursts like this can have an impact."
“Adding just five to 10 minutes of uphill walking to a general walk is very beneficial,” she says.
Milica McDowell is a doctor of physical therapy, a certified exercise physiologist and co-author of Walk: Your Life Depends On It. She served for nine years as a member of the university faculty in health and human performance at Montana State University-Bozeman and is also a personal trainer, gym owner, 13-time Ironman finisher, 50km ultramarathon finisher and a CrossFit level 1 certified coach.
It certainly improved my cardiovascular fitness—but McDowell says that there are other benefits to gain from hill walking, too, particularly if you're new to fitness.
“Because of the angle change in your ankles, knees, hips and spine, you have to problem-solve how to be efficient when walking with the additional load of going uphill,” McDowell says.
Basically, it forces you to think about how to move your body better.
“Walking uphill challenges you to swing your arms more, rotate your torso more and work on your calf strength and endurance more than walking on flat ground,” says McDowell.
While I can't say I've noticed significant changes to my proprioception or muscular strength, I'll certainly stick with my new route so I can challenge my heart and lungs.
McDowell says that most people can copy my methods, too.
“If you already have an established walking habit and can walk for at least 10 to 15 minutes without stopping, incorporating some small inclines can create variety in your workout as well as more cardiovascular and musculoskeletal demand,” she explains.
However, it's best to incrementally build up and not do longer stretches of uphill walking too soon.
“Sustained walks uphill should be considered with caution because it does require increased range of motion at the lower extremity joint, such as your ankle in order to do it safely,” McDowell explains.