The benefits of going for a walk are numerous. For example, walking around the neighborhood once a day can aid in weight loss and various fitness goals. However, what about staying put? Is walking in place good exercise? The good news is that it can be an excellent exercise that makes sense for many people.

3 Reasons Why Walking in Place Is Good Exercise

Walking in place gives you many of the same benefits that going for a regular walk outdoors does. The benefits can be even more noticeable when you are a fitness newbie.

1. Convenience

You can walk in place anywhere and at any time. That is not always true for other types of exercise, such as outdoor running or cycling. You can walk in place as you talk on the phone at home, fold laundry, watch TV, or do countless other things. Common exercise barriers, such as the weather, shouldn't hold you back. Walking in place is also convenient for these reasons:

• It is free and easy.
• You can adapt it to fit any type of schedule, even the busiest ones.
• You don’t need extra gear or equipment (other than walking shoes if you’re walking for more than a few minutes at a time).

Walking in place need not get boring, either. You can add variety, such as holding weights while you walk, doing situps or pushups in between walking-in-place sets, or facing different windows for different views. You can also walk to music.

2. Beginner-Friendly

Fitness newbies who wonder whether walking in place is good exercise often find out that it is perfect. For example, common concerns can keep beginners from heading outside or going to the gym. Maybe they are afraid other people will judge them, or they just want to ease into exercising.

Walking in place lets anyone get moving right away. It is flexible enough to do for even one minute at a time and see results if done often enough.

3. Aids in Meeting Goals 

Does walking in place burn calories? Absolutely, which is great since losing weight and managing weight are two common fitness goals. Walking in place can get the heart rate up, trim waistlines, and burn enough calories to meet either of these two goals.

The exact number of calories you burn depends on how intensely you walk in place, how long, how often, and your weight. In general, you can expect to burn 100 to 200 calories from 30 minutes of walking in place. If you are concerned that regular walking in place won’t burn enough calories for you, try a few tricks.

• Swing your arms while walking.
• Lift your legs to march in place.
• Walk quicker steps.
• Try to get within 50% to 60% of your maximum heart rate (but increase your intensity and heart rate as you become fitter over time).
• Set a goal or "gamify" the experience somehow, such as starting with 5,000 steps a day with the ultimate aim of reaching 10,000.

Is Walking in Place Good Exercise?

Wonder no longer whether walking in place is good exercise. It can be one of the best approaches to fitness, particularly for newbies. To track your progress, check out ZOZOFIT's body scanning app that provides you with the data you need so that you can see how walking in place is making an impact on your shape.