For years, fitness culture pushed intense workouts as the only path to real gains. Now, low-impact activities like walking are gaining traction—and for good reason. It’s not just about feeling good; walking offers genuine health benefits and can complement any fitness routine.
A 2023 study in GeroScience found that walking improves aerobic fitness, reduces body fat, and lowers blood pressure in sedentary adults. The habits of people in Blue Zones—regions with exceptional longevity—also show a reliance on regular, low-impact movement like walking.
However, building muscle requires more than just putting one foot in front of the other. Here’s what fitness experts say about whether walking alone can truly build muscle, which muscles it works, and how to optimize your routine for strength gains.
Can Walking Build Muscle? The Science
While walking develops muscular endurance—your muscles’ ability to sustain activity—it’s not the most effective way to build mass. According to exercise physiologist Grace Horan, muscle growth requires progressive overload : continuously challenging your body with increasing resistance or volume. Walking alone often doesn’t provide enough resistance for significant muscle hypertrophy.
The key is muscle fiber types. Walking primarily activates slow-twitch fibers, which excel at endurance but don’t build bulk. Fast-twitch fibers—stimulated by lifting weights, sprinting, or jumping—are what drive muscle growth. As personal trainer Lindsey Bomgren explains, “You can increase intensity with inclines or weights, but ultimately, greater external stress is needed.”
That said, some research suggests that aerobic exercise can help prevent muscle loss in older adults or those who are sedentary. A 2024 study in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity confirms this. However, for serious strength gains, weight training remains superior.
The Muscles Walking Works
Walking engages several muscle groups:
- Quadriceps: Extend your knees with each step.
- Hamstrings: Bend your knees and pull your legs back.
- Glutes: Stabilize your pelvis and drive forward movement.
- Calves: Push off the ground to propel you forward.
- Core & Lower Back: Maintain posture and stability.
These muscles get stronger over time, but to maximize gains, you need to add intensity.
5 Ways to Optimize Walking for Muscle Building
Walking alone won’t transform you, but these tips can help:
- Walk Uphill: Inclines engage glutes, hamstrings, and core more effectively. The 12-3-30 treadmill workout (30 minutes at 3 mph with a 12% incline) or the 25-7-2 Stairmaster routine are good options.
- Add Weight: Rucking (wearing a weighted vest or ankle weights) increases the load, recruiting more muscles. Start with lighter weights and gradually increase resistance to avoid injury.
- Incorporate Strength Exercises: Stop every 5-10 minutes for squats, lunges, or push-ups. “Exercise snacks”—brief bursts of activity—can benefit muscle growth, especially for sedentary individuals, according to 2024 research in Sports Medicine and Health Science.
- Try HIIT: Alternate fast-paced walking (1 minute) with slower recovery periods (5 minutes). Increase the high-intensity intervals as you improve.
- Vary Terrain: Walk on beaches or trails to challenge ankle and leg muscles differently.
The Bottom Line
Walking can contribute to overall fitness, but it isn’t a shortcut to muscle building. To maximize gains, combine walking with resistance training at least twice a week. Walking can boost endurance, prevent muscle loss, and provide a low-impact base for a stronger body, but for real strength gains, you need to lift weights.
