Two quick ways to boost walks
Researchers led by Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis say two simple changes — walking uphill and increasing your pace — make daily walks more beneficial for health. (independent.co.uk) Those adjustments add intensity without extra time or equipment, offering a practical nudge for everyday activity. (independent.co.uk)
A daily walk gets more out of the same minutes when it includes a hill or a faster pace, according to research led by University of Sydney professor Emmanuel Stamatakis. (independent.co.uk) Walking intensity means how hard your body has to work, and uphill sections or brisk walking raise heart rate more than an easy flat stroll. The University of Sydney said even simple activities such as uphill walking or stair-climbing can help blood pressure control when they add enough effort. (sydney.edu.au) In one 2024 study, researchers analyzed data from more than 14,000 volunteers in the ProPASS consortium and found that adding about five minutes of exercise that raises heart rate was linked to lower blood pressure. The examples highlighted by the researchers included uphill walking and stair climbing. (sydney.edu.au) In a separate study published on October 28, 2025, Stamatakis and colleagues reported that longer continuous walks were more beneficial for cardiovascular health than the same number of steps spread across shorter bursts. The analysis focused on people logging 8,000 steps a day or fewer. (sydney.edu.au) That study, published in *Annals of Internal Medicine*, examined whether step patterns mattered, not just total steps. PubMed’s abstract says the researchers looked at step accumulation patterns and cardiovascular disease risk in people who were not highly active. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) The pace finding is older but points in the same direction. A 2018 study of 50,225 walkers found that self-reported brisk or fast walking pace was associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality than slow walking. (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Stamatakis’ broader research program has focused on “incidental” activity, meaning short efforts built into ordinary life rather than formal workouts. The University of Sydney said his team has led work on brief bursts of movement, wearable-device data, and the ProPASS consortium’s studies of physical activity, sitting, and sleep. (sydney.edu.au) The thread running through those studies is that walking advice is shifting from a single step target toward how the steps are done. For people who already walk, the evidence Stamatakis points to is simple: make part of it steeper, or make part of it quicker. (independent.co.uk)
