VoltraJapanese walking: what the interval walking studies found
Japanese walking is interval walking training, developed by a team in Japan [2]: 3 minutes of fast walking at 70% or more of your peak aerobic capacity, then 3 minutes slow at about 40%, repeated at least 5 times a day, on at least 4 days a week [1]. In the first trial, 246 people with a mean age of 63 who did it for 5 months gained more leg strength and aerobic capacity than people who walked continuously [1]. Later studies are mixed, and most were in older Japanese adults.
How it's done
- Fast: 3 minutes at 70% or more of your peak aerobic capacity for walking [1] [2].
- Slow: 3 minutes at about 40% [1].
- Repeat at least 5 times a day, on at least 4 days a week [1]: 30 minutes a session and 60 minutes of fast walking a week (calculated).
In the trials the fast pace was set from each person's measured fitness and checked with an activity monitor [1] [6]. What seems to matter is the fast part: benefits rose with fast-walking time up to about 50 minutes a week and then levelled off, while slow or total walking time didn't predict them [3].
What the studies found
| Study | Who | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Nemoto 2007, randomised | 246 adults, mean age 63 | Knee strength up 13–17% and aerobic capacity 8–9%, more than continuous walking [1] |
| Karstoft 2013, randomised | 32 people with type 2 diabetes | Aerobic capacity up 16%, 4.3 kg lost; no change with continuous walking [4] |
| Kanatani 2025, no control group | 48 adults, mean age 70 | Knee strength and aerobic capacity up, systolic blood pressure down [6] |
| Tsuda 2023, with controls | 155 adults, mean age 75 | No difference in blood pressure against controls [7] |
| Ichihara 2025, randomised | 50 people with diabetes and weak legs | Knee strength no better than continuous walking; faster walking speed [8] |
In the first trial (Nemoto 2007), the interval group's knee extension strength rose 13%, knee flexion 17%, and peak aerobic capacity 8% on a bike and 9% walking, all significantly more than in the continuous-walking group, and its resting systolic blood pressure fell more [1]. The same team later reported that 5 months of it improved fitness and markers of lifestyle-related disease by 10 to 20% on average [2].
The "2025 study" in Arabic news coverage [13] is Kanatani 2025: 60 older adults enrolled and 48 were analysed. Their peak aerobic capacity rose from 20.0 to 21.3 ml/kg/min, knee extension strength from 20.6 to 27.2 kgf (about 32%, calculated), and systolic blood pressure fell from 138.0 to 132.1 mmHg [6]. It had no control group, and strength gains levelled off after a few months [6].
Where the evidence falls short
- In 155 adults with a mean age of 75, blood pressure changes over 5 months didn't differ from a control group [7].
- In a 2025 randomised trial in 50 people with diabetes and weak legs, knee strength improved no more than with continuous walking, though walking speed and physical quality of life did [8].
- The method's developers wrote in 2024 that long-term, real-world studies are still needed to show its effect on hard outcomes, and that keeping people going long term is a challenge [11].
- Two of the co-authors of the 2009 paper list Kissei Comtec [2], the company that makes the activity monitor used in the programme [6].
Does it help you lose weight?
Some Arabic coverage says the original trial found weight loss [14]; that trial's abstract doesn't report body weight [1]. In a larger study without a control group, 666 people who did 4 months of it lost weight, BMI and body fat [5]. The strongest evidence is small: in 32 adults with type 2 diabetes who walked 5 times a week for an hour, the interval group lost 4.3 kg of body weight, 3.1 kg of it fat, over 4 months, while the continuous group, burning the same energy, didn't change significantly [4]. For fat loss, what you eat still matters most; see our cutting guide.
Walking in Gulf heat
Heat cut people's walking even in Japan: in a summer with peak daily temperatures around 26 °C, students did it about 2 days a week on holiday against 4 in winter, and the benefits shrank [10]. Gulf summers are far hotter, so walk early or late, or indoors. Saudi Arabia's health ministry opened walking tracks in seven malls in summer to avoid the outdoor heat [12]. People who kept going got more out of it: over 22 months, higher adherence went with bigger gains in fitness [9].
In Voltra
In the Train tab, the Cardio page has an Intervals timer: set Work to 180 seconds for the fast part, Rest to 180 seconds for the slow part, and Rounds to 5, then press Start; it counts down 10 seconds first. When it finishes, Voltra logs it as a HIIT session and estimates calories at 12 a minute, a figure meant for harder intervals, so treat that number as high for walking. To log a walk as walking instead, use Log a session and pick Walking.
Frequently asked
What is Japanese walking?
Interval walking training: 3 minutes fast (70% or more of your peak aerobic capacity) and 3 minutes slow, repeated at least 5 times, on at least 4 days a week.
Is Japanese walking better than walking 10,000 steps?
In the first trial, it built more leg strength and aerobic capacity than continuous walking with a goal of 8,000 steps or more a day. Later trials in older people and people with diabetes were mixed.
Does Japanese walking burn belly fat?
One small trial in people with type 2 diabetes found less visceral fat after 4 months of hour-long interval walks, 5 days a week. There's no strong evidence beyond that.
Can I do it in summer?
Heat cut adherence and benefits even in Japan. In the Gulf, walk early, late or indoors; Saudi Arabia's health ministry has opened walking tracks in malls in summer.
Sources
- Nemoto K, Gen-no H, Masuki S, Okazaki K, Nose H (2007). Effects of high-intensity interval walking training on physical fitness and blood pressure in middle-aged and older people. Mayo Clin Proc 82(7):803–11. Abstract.
- Nose H, Morikawa M, Yamazaki T, et al. (2009). Beyond epidemiology: field studies and the physiology laboratory as the whole world. J Physiol 587(23):5569–75. Abstract and author affiliations.
- Masuki S, Morikawa M, Nose H (2019). High-intensity walking time is a key determinant to increase physical fitness and improve health outcomes after interval walking training. Mayo Clin Proc 94(12). Abstract. 679 adults.
- Karstoft K, Winding K, Knudsen SH, et al. (2013). The effects of free-living interval-walking training on glycemic control, body composition, and physical fitness in type 2 diabetic patients: a randomized, controlled trial. Diabetes Care. Results; 4 months.
- Morikawa M, Okazaki K, Masuki S, et al. (2011). Physical fitness and indices of lifestyle-related diseases before and after interval walking training in middle-aged and older males and females. Br J Sports Med 45(3):216–24. Abstract. No control group.
- Kanatani K, Oda S, Hayashi T, Kawabata T (2025). Effects of five months of interval walking on lower limb muscle strength in community-dwelling older people. Nihon Ronen Igakkai Zasshi 62(2):206–211. In Japanese; English abstract on page 211. No control group.
- Tsuda K, Hayashi E, Kamiya K, et al. (2023). Effects of interval-walking training on blood pressure in community-dwelling Japanese older adults. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 63(3):492–502. Abstract.
- Ichihara Y, Mori H, Kamada M, et al. (2025). Effects of high-intensity interval walking training on muscle strength, walking ability, and health-related quality of life in people with diabetes: a randomized controlled trial. J Diabetes Investig. Abstract.
- Masuki S, Mori M, Tabara Y, et al. (2015). The factors affecting adherence to a long-term interval walking training program in middle-aged and older people. J Appl Physiol 118. Abstract. 696 adults.
- Tanabe A, Masuki S, Nemoto KI, Nose H (2018). Seasonal influence on adherence to and effects of an interval walking training program on sedentary female college students in Japan. Int J Biometeorol 62(4):643–654. Abstract.
- Karstoft K, Thorsen IK, Nielsen JS, et al. (2024). Health benefits of interval walking training. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 49(7):1002–1007. Abstract and conflict-of-interest statement.
- وكالة الأنباء السعودية (واس) (٢٠٢٣). وزير الصحة يُطلق النسخة الرابعة من مبادرة "امش 30" لعام 2023. In Arabic. Saudi Press Agency on the MoH's Walk 30 initiative.
- CNN بالعربية (٢٠٢٥). "المشي الياباني"..ما هو؟ وكيف يعزز اللياقة البدنية؟. In Arabic. A news report.
- الجزيرة نت (٢٠٢٥). المشي الياباني.. فوائد صحية كبيرة بأقل قدر من الوقت. In Arabic. A news report.
Sources checked on 30 September 2026.
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