I tried this 20-minute Japanese walking workout and I felt less stressed afterwards

I love a good walk, but time and childcare restraints mean that I don’t get out in the fresh air as often as I’d like. So when I came across a short walking workout from one of my favorite fitness trainers, April from Yes2next, I decided to give it a try.

April’s Japanese walking workout is a version of the 3x3 interval walking workout, a routine that’s at the heart of an exercise plan devised for middle-aged and older adults by scientists in Japan. The original routine consists of five intervals of three minutes of brisk walking with three minutes of slow walking, performed four times a week, and a number of studies have shown a raft of health benefits.

April, who trains with her 84-year-old mum Aiko, has modified the workout, reducing the number of intervals performed to three and Aiko spends the recovery period taking steps while seated, so it’s a good option for anyone who struggles with balance or standing for too long.

Even though it was only 20 minutes, I found it surprisingly energizing. Here’s what else I discovered.

It got my heart pumping

I naively thought that just walking wouldn’t be enough to make me sweaty (or “dewy” as April puts it) but by the end of this 20-minute walking workout my heart was pumping. Walking is well known for boosting cardiovascular health, which is important for reducing our risk of heart-related diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

I felt less stressed afterwards

I feel like I’m always juggling a million things, so anything I can do to reduce stress levels and feel calm is a bonus. Not only do April and her mom Aiko have a lovely relationship, their sweet interactions and chats about New York life were a great distraction from the workout, making time speed up and my stress levels go down.

It helped me get some steps in

If I’m not sitting at my desk writing articles, I’m doing my other job as a personal trainer, so it can sometimes be a challenge to reach my goal of 10,000 steps a day.

Doing this workout is a good start, and I enjoyed the different pace of fast and slow walking as it was a more gentle style of training then I’m used to, so I felt I still had the energy to go after my target.