Burn calories fast with this 20-minute low-impact walking workout

Stay active and burn calories at home with this 3,000 step walking routine

Man and woman doing a step-based workout at home
(Image credit: Getty)

Low-impact workouts aren't less effective at keeping your body fit and healthy, plus, the many benefits of walking as a form of exercise stand testament to this. Walking every day can help manage weight, improve cardiovascular health, strengthen your bones and muscles as well as assist in warding off serious health conditions such as heart disease or diabetes. This walking routine contributes to this and you don't even need to leave the house to complete it.

You may be more outdoorsy and enjoy lacing up some of the best shoes for walking to get outside and moving. However, sometimes the weather has other ideas, or your schedule might limit the time you have to get out and enjoy exercising in daylight. Instead, sometimes a step-based workout that can be completed from your living room or bedroom could be more convenient.

Fortunately, you can get a cardio session in, and burn calories all the while going easy on your joints with this 20-minute walking workout from certified aerobics instructor, YanaFit. If you suffer from achy joints lower-impact movement is recommended and you should consider taking one of the best supplements for joints to help reduce inflammation and pain.

After completing this short session you will have clocked up to 3,000 steps, nicely contributing to your daily step count if this is something you enjoy tracking on your fitness tracker. Yana says that depending on individual weight, body composition, and the intensity at which you move for this workout you can burn an average of 100-200 calories. 

Wondering; can you lose weight by walking? The answer is yes and making a daily habit of it is especially important. Yana's workout below is a great way to make walking more fun as you alternate between 30 seconds of a step-based exercise and 30 seconds of walking.

YanaFit's Low-Impact Walking Workout

Much of the science behind weight loss and exercise often points toward higher intensity exercise as being more effective. One commonly asked question is; which is better for weight loss, walking or running? The answer being running and it's also why HIIT is so often used for weight loss transformations. But not everyone enjoys this exercise or has the fitness abilities to take part in high-intensity training.

Thankfully, on the contrary, there is also research that suggests people who walk briskly for 30 minutes, five times a week, are more likely to have a lower body mass index (BMI) than those who are less active. 

The main thing is consistency and if you want to tone and define your body as well as drop fat then you should aim to add two or three weight training sessions into your week. Your own body weight can act as a useful force to work against when training muscle or if you want faster more noticeable results adding in some of the best kettlebells to your workouts is a good idea and you can still go easy on your joints with the addition of this weight.

Jessica Downey

Jessica is an experienced fitness writer with a passion for running. Her career in journalism began in local news and she holds a Masters in journalism. Jessica has previously written for Runners World, penning news and features on fitness, sportswear and nutrition. 

When she isn't writing up news and features for Fit&Well covering topics ranging from muscle building, to yoga, to female health and so on, she will be outdoors somewhere, testing out the latest fitness equipment and accessories to help others find top products for their own fitness journeys. Her testing pairs up nicely with her love for running. She recently branched out to running 10Ks and is trying to improve her time before moving on to larger races. Jessica also enjoys building on her strength in the gym and is a believer in health and wellness beginning in the kitchen. She shares all of this on her running Instagram account @jessrunshere which she uses for accountability and for connecting with like-minded fitness lovers.