Walking for Weight Loss After 40: Strategic Guide for Women

When it comes to losing weight, many believe walking isn’t enough for weight loss. A common misconception is that walking isn’t enough weight loss, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

While it lacks the intensity, requires more time, and is often weather dependent, its low-intensity, low-impact means it can be performed for longer, making it highly effective for weight loss women over 40.

In this article, we explore walking for weight loss after 40. We cover walking for weight loss, techniques for maximum results, and how to structure your plan for successful weight loss.

Why Walking is Ideal Cardio for Women Over 40

Walking is a gentle, low-impact form of exercise which makes it ideal for women over 40. Below, we highlight how its community-friendly approach improves sustainability, offers cardiovascular benefits with overtraining, and how it can realistically be added to your schedule.

Joint-Friendly and Sustainable Long-Term

One of the best things about walking is that it is joint-friendly, which makes it accessible if you have joint injuries and sustainable long-term.

Research explains that walking is an ideal for adults with arthritis as it is inexpensive, safe, convenient, low-impact, and adaptable to different fitness levels. This allows them to gain benefits including reduced pain, disability, and functional limitations, making it sustainable long-term.

Cardiovascular Benefits Without Overtraining

This allows you to improve cardiovascular health without the risk of overtraining. Studies show that overtraining occurs due to excessive training, impacting the ability to recover, resulting in inflammation, depressed mood, fatigue, and exhaustion.

Research shows that walking provides benefits including improved blood pressure, lipid profile and the reduced risk of coronary heart disease, coronary events, and mortality.

The low-moderate intensity approach of walking dramatically reduces the chances of overtraining. Allow you to gain cardiovascular benefits without any adverse effects.

Realistic for Busy Schedules

Walking is excellent for women over 40 as it can be performed even if you have a busy schedule. While many other forms of exercise require larger blocks of time to complete, walking can be done in smaller blocks and even incidentally allowing you to increase energy, which is vital for weight loss.

Walking for Weight Loss: What Actually Works

Effective weight loss requires you to be in a calorie deficit, which is consuming fewer calories than your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). When this happens the body must burn stored fat for energy, leading to weight loss.

Research explains that TDEE is made up of resting metabolic rate, thermic effect of food, non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), and exercise. Below we provide a brief explanation of each and the amount of energy they consume each day.

• Resting Metabolic Rate (60–70%): The amount of energy your body burns at rest to support life function.
• Thermic Effect of Meals (10%): Energy the body burns to digits, absorbs, and processes food and nutrients.
• Exercise/NEAT (20–30%): Exercise is planned exercise, including resistance training, walking, yoga etc. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis is the energy the body burns doing daily tasks including walking, standing, and fidgeting.

Consuming fewer calories is the most effective means of weight loss as it will allow you to burn fat at a resting state. This is because your resting metabolic rate accounts for 60–70% of daily energy expenditure.

The reason walking is so effective is it increases the calorie deficit when performed as scheduled exercise or incidentally.

Intensity Matters More Than Duration

When it comes to walking for weight loss, intensity matters more than duration.

Research indicates that physical activity guidelines recommend 150–300 min moderate physical activity or 75–150 min of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week.

Walking is assigned to the exercise or physical activity category. This means that walking at greater intensity is as effective as walking at a lower intensity for a longer duration.

Understanding Your Walking Zones

The walking zone model is used as a guide for training intensity. Categorized into five zones based on the percentage of your maximum heart. These are used to quantify exercise effort and tailoring specific training goals.

Here is a list of the five zones:

• Zone 1 (50–60% Max HR): Very light intensity such as warm-ups, cool-downs, and recovery.
• Zone 2 (60–70% Max HR): Light to moderate intensity focusing on endurance, fat-burning and improving cardiovascular fitness.
• Zone 3 (70–80% Max HR): Moderate to high intensity cardio used to improve aerobic fitness.
• Zone 4 (80–90% MHR): High intensity (Hard), lactate threshold, used to build speed and power.
• Zone 5 (90–100% Max HR): Very high intensity, anaerobic (3 minutes or less).

Walking is typically performed at zone 1 and zone 2. Top effective match your heart rate to these zones you must determine your max HR with the following formula:

Determine Your Max Heart Rate

• Subtract your age from 220
• 220 - 40 = 180 bpm

Calculate Heart Rate Zones

• Zone 1 (50–60%) =0.5 or 0.6 x 180 = 90 –108 bpm
• Zone 2 (60–70%) = 0.6 or 0.7 x 180 = 108 – 126 bpm

How Much Walking for Weight Loss Results

The amount of walking required for weight loss depends on your nutrition plan and calorie deficit.

To do this you should determine your TDEE and then apply a calorie deficit through nutrition. This begins with calculating your BMR (basal metabolic rate), followed by multiplying it by your activity level.

Below, we use the example of a 45 years old woman, 70 kg, 165 cm tall, who is lightly active.

BMR Formula

• BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age) - 161
• BMR = (10 x 70 kg) + (6.25 x 165 cm) - (5 x 45) - 161
• BMR = 700 + 1031.25 - 225 - 161
• BMR = 1345.25 kcal

TDEE Example

The BMR must then be multiplied by the activity factor from the list below.

TDEE Formula

• TDEE = BMR x Activity Factor
• TDEE = 1345.25 kcal x 1.375
• TDEE = 1849.71 kcal/day

Once you have determined this figure you can apply a calorie deficit of between 200–300 kcal per day. This allows for sustainable weight loss.

Performing three to five, 30-minute walking sessions per week at a light to moderate intensity will help you maintain TDEE. When combined with a calorie deficit, you will be effective for achieving weight loss.

Different Walking Approaches for Different Goals

Different goals require different approaches. Below, we explore different styles of walking including steady state, intervals, and inclined walking to help you achieve specific results.

Steady-State Walking: Building Aerobic Base

Steady-state walking is performed at a low to moderate intensity for an extended duration. Performed at zone 1 and zone 2 (50–65%), it allows you to walk for extended durations, helping to improve aerobic capacity and burn energy.

Additionally, its low to moderate intensity makes it easier to adhere to compared to high intensity styles of walking. This results in less soreness, smoother recovery, and a lower risk of overtraining.

Interval Walking: Maximizing Calorie Burn

Sources explain that interval walking is for cardio training involving alternating fast (zone 3) and slow (zone 1–2) walking cycles. This form of walking is shown to improve fitness, muscle strength, and reduce the risk of lifestyle-related diseases (heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cancer).

Being a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) means that it can be used to maximize calorie burn. Research shows that interval training boosts post-exercise calorie burn and fat loss.

Incline Walking: Strength and Cardio Combo

Studies indicate that incline walking may promote lower body strength and cardiovascular ability, while being friendly to knees joints. Meanwhile, further research highlights that it can be advantageous for individuals aiming to increase fat utilization.

Performed at zone 2, it is classified as a form of steady-state cardio. This means that it can be performed for extended durations, making it great for developing aerobic fitness, and burning fat.

Proper Walking Technique for Maximum Benefit

Using the correct walking technique is a powerful way to maximize your training adaptations. Below, we explore form elements to increase effectiveness, common mistakes, and how to use arm and core engagement.

Form Elements That Increase Effectiveness

Like all forms of exercise, effective walking requires correct technique. Here is a list of technique cues to ensure you are performing at your best and getting the most out of your training.

• Posture: Maintain an upright posture, keeping your spine elongated.
• Eyes Forward: Keep eyes forward, focus on the path three to five meters ahead. This will help you avoid slouching.
• Relaxed Shoulder: Keep your shoulder blades gently engaged back and down. This will help improve posture.
• Core Engagement: Focus on breathing, contracting your abdominal muscles, and drawing your belly button to the spine. This will engage the transverse abdominus, helping to keep the spine aligned and maintain correct posture.
• Perform Relaxed Arm Swing: Relax the arms with a slight bend at the elbow, and allow them to swing from the shoulders. This will create a natural rhythm.
• Roll Heel Toe: Heel strike, then roll through the mid foot to balls of your feet and toes, then push away with your toes.
• Shorter Lighter Steps: Perform smaller, more frequent steps that allow little steps, reducing joint stress.

Common Technique Mistakes

Here is a list of common technique mistakes that can impact efficiency and lead to injury.

• Poor Posture: Slouch posture, leaning forward and no core engagement can place stress on the back and neck, and impact movement efficiency.
• Long Strides: This can place additional stress on joints.
• Heavy Impact: Striking heavily or a flat foot can be jarring unwanted stress of the feet, ankles, knees,and spine.
• Locked Knees: Walking with locked out joints places additional stress on the knees and back.
• Distractions: Walking while using a device can be distracting and lead to injuries or poor technique.

Using Arms and Core Engagement

Walking is a dynamic full body movement that requires the coordination of the upper and lower body to move efficiently.

Research shows that arms swing  is an integral part of the energy economy of human gait. While it is easy to achieve it can reduce ground reaction moment requirements and decrease overall energy expenditure.

Meanwhile, effective core engagement can keep the spine aligned, while providing balance and stability. These factors help to not only improve movement efficiency, but to also reduce the occurrence of injury.

Structuring Your Weekly Walking Plan

Creating a walking program and weekly schedule can help you achieve your weight loss goals. Below we have created a sample training program. Weekly schedule, walking combined with strength training, and progressive walking plan to help you lose weight, increase strength, and improve cardiovascular health.

Sample Weekly Walking Schedule

Walking at a low to moderate intensity for your sessions means you can perform sessions back to back without the risk of overtraining. This can also be mitigated by changing up your walking styles, alternating more intense walking such as incline and interval walking days with low-intensity steady-state days.

Here is an example of a four day per week walking schedule, where we alternate lighter sessions with higher intensity sessions.

Combining With Strength Training

Strength training and walking are often paired as walking helps to reduce body fat and improve cardiovascular fitness.

These two forms of training can be performed on the same day or on alternating days, depending on your preference and current schedule.

Here is an example of a week containing a three day per week resistance training program which contains 30 minutes of treadmill walking after each session.

• Monday: Full-Body Workout + 30 Minute Cardio
• Tuesday: Rest
• Wednesday: Full-Body Workout + 30 Minute Cardio
• Thursday: Rest
• Friday: Full-Body Workout + 30 Minutes Cardio
• Saturday: Rest
• Sunday: 30 Minutes Cardio

Progressive Walking Plan (4-12 Weeks)

The following plan is designed to help support weight loss, and increase your aerobic capacity and muscular endurance.

This plan contains three, four-week training schedules detailing the type of walking, durations, and intensity with the aim of gradual progression.

Here is a list of types, including the corresponding heart rate zones

• Steady-State Walking (Zone 1 & 2): 30–45 minutes.
• Incline Walking (Zone 2): Incline 7, 30–45 minutes
• Interval Walking (Zone 1 & 2): Alternate zone 2 (brisk pace) 3 minutes, (zone 1) 1 minute. 30–45 minutes.
• Rest Days: Complete rest with light stretching.

Weeks 1–4

The first four weeks of your walking plan introduces walking with weeks 1 and 2 following a three day per week plan, combining steady-state walking and incline walking.

After this, week 3 and 4 increase this to four days per week, adding an interval walking session.

Weeks 5–8

Weeks five to eight increase walking to five sessions each week, while maintaining a similar intensity. This four week block aims to continue developing your endurance and support weight loss, while gradually increasing intensity.

Weeks 9–12

The final four weeks maintain the five day walking schedule, but increase the intensity by adding more incline walking sessions.

Making Walking Sustainable and Interesting

Consistency is essential for weight loss and long-term success. Below, we highlight how to make walking sustainable, including how to prevent boredom, navigate the weather, and how to use social walking to keep you motivated.

Preventing Boredom and Maintaining Motivation

Like all forms of exercise, performing the same type of movement can become stale. This can lead to boredom and impact motivation.

To remedy this, we recommend following a schedule, tracking your progress, and changing your walking plan.

Following a schedule helps you establish a routine, helping you develop discipline, helping to push you through when motivation is lower. Tracking progress of your training and weight loss provides you with data of your achievements, which can provide a boost of motivation when you feel like giving up.

Meanwhile, changing up your plan, and the types of walking, including walking outdoors can keep things fresh and interesting, preventing boredom.

Weather and Season Adaptations

Bad weather and colder seasons can make it difficult to maintain your walking schedule. The simplest thing to do is to join a gym. This not only gives you access to treadmills, which are great for all types of walking, it gives you access to weights for resistance training.

This doesn’t mean you can’t walk outdoors, as you can still venture out on nicer days, but it will help you maintain your routine regardless of the weather.

During the colder months, you can also increase your daily step count by aiming to walk more incidentally throughout the day. While this doesn’t seem like a good trade-off, done consistently it can make a major difference to your physical health and weight loss.

Social Walking Strategies

One of the best things you can do for preventing boredom and maintaining motivation with your walking is to do it with a friend or social group.

Research shows that exercising with others resulted in greater enjoyment, energy levels, and performance.

Furthermore, walking improves accountability, as committing to a friend or group means it will be more difficult to skip workouts.

Tracking Walking and Measuring Progress

Tracking your walking and measuring your progress is vital for weight loss. Below, we explore how to track including, measuring meaning metrics, using heart rate for intensity, and realistic timelines for results.

Beyond Step Counts: Meaningful Metrics

Step counts are undoubtedly an incredible metric for performance and progress, however, other metrics such as clothing size, energy levels, and mood all paint a greater picture of your overall health.

For example, make a note on your program before and after each session of your energy levels and mood, and how they change during your walking training. Improvement in these areas illustrate that your training is on track, and any negative effects may mean you need to reassess your training and focus on recovery.

Using Heart Rate for Intensity

Heart rate is an excellent guide for your work rate and intensity. Using the heart rate zones, you can aim to increase or decrease your intensity to meet your goals for the session.

Monitoring your heart rate will also display improvements to performance. In those early sessions, incline and interval walking at zone 2 require a higher heart rate, however, after a couple of weeks you may notice it lowering as your heart becomes more efficient.

To monitor your heart rate, you can use the hand-held monitors on the treadmill or a smart device.

Realistic Timeline for Results

During your walking for weight loss plan, it is important to manage your expectations. There are several variables that influence weight loss, so it is important to be patient and stick to your plan. In those times where weight plateaus for weeks, then you should reassess your nutrition and exercise plan.

Weight loss is about the long game. The longer you stick with it, the better your chances for establishing sustainable and healthy habits.