THEThe perfect training for the lazy is the Japanese walk, which alternates three minutes with a very quick step with three minutes of walking. It was conceived twenty years ago by Hiroshi Nose of the University of Matsumotoa city alpine 200 kilometers from Tokyo, just to entice sedentaries with an exercise that did not seem too punitive. Over time it has become popular, jumping in recent months between Tiktok trends to drop in weight.
Japanese researchers had developed a program that was based on walking, because it is the most natural activity, “because it puts us in the world”, as Bruce Chatwin said, because it is the most practical for many at a certain point in life.
So they had decided to test a high intensity march of half an hour, in order to obtain greater health benefits than the traditional walk. However, none of the participants had managed to complete the program, considering it too demanding. «With Dr. Nose we then created theWalking Training intervalthinking that it was more affordable than the marching in a manner sent throughout the time »he told the Washington Post Shizue Masuki, professor at the Department of Sports Medicine at the University of Matsumoto. At three minutes “rather tiring”, to the point of having difficulty supporting a conversation, three others followed at a quiet pace and forward like this.
Down the fat mass
In their experiment, the results of which were published in 2007 (on Mayo Clinic Proceedings), a group of volunteers between 44 and 78 years of age completed a five -month cycle, divided into 30 minutes of walking at intervals at least three times a week. It emerged from the analyzes that the aerobic capacity, the strength of the legs and the values of blood pressure had significantly improved. Other investigations have been made in the following years. A study from 2018 (on The Phaseb Journal) showed that this physical activity, practiced for ten years, was associated with a lower decline in muscle power, while a revision of 2024 (on Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism) highlighted a reduction in the body mass index and fat mass.
How to make Japanese walk
In summary, for those who want to try: the scientific literature suggests Alternate the two types of walk for half an hour, also divided into three sessions of ten minutesfor example after breakfast, lunch and dinner. The ideal, if you want to follow the recommendations for everyone of the World Health Organization regarding moderate aerobic activity, would be to practice the Japanese Walking for four to five times a week. Finally, advice on the pace: for the three fast minutes, we certify around 6 or 7 on a scale of effort from 1 to 10 (around 4 for the older ones), doing longer steps and bending his arms to the elbows at each step to make the exercise more demanding. Decelerating by about 40 percent, then you get left with the other three minutes.
They burn more calories
The trick is to increase the heart rate, start recovering and then accelerating it again, as in any training at high intensity intervals (HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training). It is proven that such a session in time leads to Burn more calories than other forms of exercise. It happens because it promotes better metabolic flexibility, that is, the body’s ability to quickly pass from one energy source to another, a capacity for change that is often not good in conditions such as obesity, insulin-resistance or type 2 diabetes. Japanese Walking get used to consuming glucose in the high intensity minutes and fats during the slow pace phaseavoiding the risk of metabolic rigidity, which forces the body to use a type of fuel even if unsuitable for circumstances.
Jeffing method for the race
Similar results are obtained with a technique that is experiencing a new season of popularity: Jeffing, whose name derives from the expression “running according to Jeff method”. Or Jeff Galloway, the American marathon runner who invented the alternation of running and walking in 1973. His idea of combining the effort and recovery was born to make the resistance race more accessible to a large audience. The effects are on the heart and metabolism. “During the walking periods, the body restores the levels of oxygenation in the blood and tissues, preserves the basic stocks and uses fats as a greater extent as an energy source, allowing to maintain its own weight more easily” explained to Corriere della Sera Gianfranco Beltrami, vice president of the Italian sports medical federation.
Roadmap
To practice Jeffing, you can follow a precise table, starting for example with one or two minutes of walking to be avoided as many running. “As training progresses you can gradually increase the running times and reduce walking ones” Continue Beltrami. “Those who, on the other hand, prefer a less rigid scheme, can increase walking time when you feel more tired and that of running in the moments when you feel more fit.” Jeffing is practiced by jogging neophytes, marathon runners and professional riders over 40.
It is a sort of upgrade of the Japanese walk, But the basic principles are the same. In both cases, for beginners it will be better at the beginning to alternate short high intensity phases with longer periods of light exercise. For example, a very quick walking walk for a minute, then slowed down for three minutes, repeating the cycle five more times. When you become more trained, you can follow the 3+3 standard. The important thing, as always, is to get up from the sofa and go. “A thousand miles journey begins with a single step” as the Chinese essay Lao Tzi said.
The winning interval
The method of Japan always comes from JapanTabata trainingwhich alternates in seconds intensity and rest. The beauty? It applies to many types of exercise. In Japan, a training at high intensity intervals was developed that takes its name from the researcher who created it, Izumi Tabata. Tabata training foresees 20 seconds and recovery intervals of 10 secondsperformed eight times in a series of four minutes.
The protocol of the Japanese physiologist was published in 1996 in the magazine Medicine & Science in Sports & Exerciseshowing that it improved both anaerobic and aerobic ability more than other traditional methods. Moderate training It can be applied to any type of activity, such as walking, running or cycling.
Tabata lessons in the gym often include more rounds of different exercises, such as jumping jacks, which consist in jumping by opening and simultaneously closing legs and arms, or mountain climbers to tone the abdominals. The instructors combine different variants of the four -minute series to create workouts that can last from half an hour to an hour, with programs designed to make all the main muscle groups work.
Eliana Liotta (photo by Carlo Vangeri Gilbert).
Eliana Liotta is a journalist, writer and scientific popularizer. On Iodonna.it and on the main platforms (Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast) you will find its podcast series The good I want to.