Tag: Fitness Tools
How Long To Walk A Mile Calculator
Walking is one of the best things you can do for your general health. It’s so easy and accessible that you can walk several times a day, making it the ideal form of exercise for building basic fitness, fat burning, and weight control. In addition, walking is good for your mental health.
Clock up about 10,000 steps/five miles of walking per day, and you’ll soon discover just how powerful daily walking can be!
However, many people believe they don’t have time to walk, assuming it’s far too time-consuming, especially compared to shorter, more intense workouts like HIIT. That’s probably because they don’t know how long it actually takes to walk a mile.
Use our calculator to find out how long it will take to walk a mile (or any other distance for that matter) to see how easy it is to fit walking into your daily schedule.
How Long to Walk A Mile Calculator
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Related: Calories Burned While Walking Calculator
What Is the How Long to Walk A Mile Calculator?
The How Long to Walk A Mile Calculator is an easy-to-use tool for determining how long it will take to walk a predetermined distance at your chosen pace, e.g., one mile, three miles, or even 10k. You can then use this information to plan your walk and ensure you have sufficient time to complete it.
For example, if you want to walk two miles during your lunch break, you can use this calculator to make sure you’re back at work when you’re supposed to be and don’t end up being late.
You can also use this calculator to see how adjusting your walking speed affects the time you’ll need to cover the same distance.
How to Use the How Long to Walk A Mile Calculator
The How Long to Walk A Mile Calculator is very straightforward. Just follow these step-by-step instructions to estimate how long it will take you to walk a predetermined distance.
Select your walking pace, choosing between slow, casual, brisk, and fast.
Select the distance you plan on walking, choosing between kilometers, miles, or steps.
Enter your proposed distance.
Hit “Calculate” and read off your results.
Interpreting your Results
The How Long to Walk A Mile Calculator result shows how long it will take to cover your inputted distance at your proposed pace, expressed in hours and minutes.
The average speed for walking a mile is 15-20 minutes. However, some people walk faster than others, and your pace will probably vary according to how far you walk. Most people can walk faster over short distances and slower over longer distances.
For example, if you walk two miles at a casual pace, it’ll take you approximately 40 minutes to cover the distance. However, if you pick up your speed and walk at a fast pace, that same distance will only take you about 30 minutes to complete.
Factors Affecting Your Results
Walking speed is highly individual, and people tend to walk at a pace that feels comfortable and natural. What factors determine walking speed? Let’s take a look!
Aerobic fitness
Walking is an aerobic activity, meaning your body produces and utilizes energy in the presence of oxygen. The primary source of fuel during walking is stored body fat. The higher your aerobic fitness, the faster you’ll be able to walk without getting out of breath. People with a good fitness level tend to walk more quickly than those that are less fit.
Muscular strength and endurance
While walking does not require as much strength as lifting heavy weights, you still need sufficient muscle strength to support your body weight on one leg and propel yourself forward.
Deconditioned individuals with below-average levels of strength will not be able to walk as quickly as those with better-developed muscles. This is even more true when walking up steep hills, or uneven terrain, when strength is even more important.
Similarly, low levels of muscular endurance will limit how far you can walk and how long you can maintain a brisk pace.
Muscular strength and endurance tend to peak during your third decade and naturally decrease thereafter. They also tend to decrease with lack of use. However, training at any age can help preserve or restore strength and endurance.
Fatigue
You’ll probably walk slower if your legs are tired. This may because you’ve walked a long way already, and you’re starting to slow down as fatigue sets in, or because of something you did before you started walking, e.g., an intense leg workout.
Regardless of why, you won’t be able to walk as far or as fast as usual if your leg muscles are in need of some extra rest and recovery.
Age
Walking speed tends to decrease with advancing age. This is because of a natural decrease in muscle strength and aerobic fitness. However, you can preserve your walking speed as you get older by doing plenty of walking and strength training. Increased walking speed is linked to longevity and a better quality of life (1).
Height and stride length
Taller people usually have longer legs and, therefore, take longer steps while walking. This allows them to cover the ground faster, and they need to take fewer steps than a shorter person. Stride length is also affected by hip mobility.
While there is nothing you can do about your height or leg length, you can optimize stride length by stretching your hips flexors and adopting a fuller, more purposeful stride.
Mental and emotional state
Your mental and emotional state can have a significant impact on your walking speed. You will probably walk faster if you feel happy, positive, energetic, or motivated. You may also walk faster if you are stressed or in a hurry.
In contrast, if you feel out of sorts, depressed, or sad, you may not walk as fast. You may even dawdle if you aren’t enjoying your walk, or are walking toward something you don’t enjoy, such as a meeting with bank advisor.
Walking while listening to music may help you walk faster. It can lift your mood and walking in time to the beat may raise your tempo. Use music with 125-140 bpm to power you through your walking workouts.
Gait
Gait is the term used to describe your walking style. Gait is affected by several factors, including cadence, stride length, arm swing, foot strike, knee/hip/ankle structure and health, balance, and various other factors.
Some people have a very efficient gait that lends itself to fast walking. However, other people’s gaits are less efficient, which makes it more difficult to walk fast.
While some aspects of gait can be modified, some are unmodifiable and are determined by your genetics. Gait also tends to deteriorate with age, e.g., adopting a more shuffling walking style because of reduced strength, mobility, and balance.
The bottom line is that not everyone is built to walk fast.
Weather and terrain
Just because you can walk fast on a flat, smooth path doesn’t mean you’ll be able to match that pace when you’re on a rough trail or heading uphill. Walking on flat surfaces requires much less effort than walking on more demanding terrains, and you’ll probably need to slow down to accommodate the increased difficulty.
You’ll also be able to walk faster on a motorized treadmill than out in the “real world” where wind resistance and inclines slow you down.
In addition, extremes in temperature can affect your walking speed. For example, it’s usually harder to walk fast when it’s very hot. You may be able to walk faster when the weather is cool and may even speed up just to keep warm if it’s cold.
Weather and terrain can have a significant impact on your walking speed and how far you can walk in a given time.
Your shoes can have a big impact on your walking speed. Some shoes are built around a curved sole called a rocker that propels you forward from your heels to the balls of your feet. This gives a slight but beneficial boost so you can walk a little faster.
In contrast, heavier shoes and boots can weigh you down and make it harder and more tiring to walk faster. Walking in high heels can make it impractical if not impossible to walk briskly.
Uncomfortable shoes could also reduce your walking speed, and blisters can make even fit walkers want to go slower or stop.
If you are serious about walking and want to go as far and as fast as possible, consider investing in an appropriate pair of walking shoes. Ideally, they should be light, cushioned, supportive, flexible, and comfortable.
How Long to Walk A Mile Calculator FAQ
1. Is walking good for weight loss?
While walking doesn’t burn as many calories as running, it is still an effective calorie burner. The main advantage of walking for burning calories is that you can do a lot of it and you can walk every day. It’s not overly tiring or stressful, so you can even walk several times a day if you wish.
However, you’ll still need to watch what you eat and reduce your food intake so you’re in a calorie deficit. Walking alone probably won’t lead to significant weight loss or fat burning.
2. How many steps should I walk per day?
The standard prescription for steps per day is 10,000. However, despite being such a common recommendation, there is no scientific reason to adopt this target. In fact, the 10,000-step “rule” only exists because it was adopted by a Japanese pedometer company back in the 1960s.
That said, 10,000 steps are a decent target that should deliver good health and weight control benefits. Having a daily step goal can be motivating and may make it easier to commit to walking every day.
Your step goal can be adjusted according to your fitness and health, but good examples include the following:
Beginner: 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day.
Intermediate: 10,000 to 15,000 steps per day.
Advanced: 15,000 to 20,000 steps per day.
Of course, you don’t have to do the same number of steps each day and may have different goals for different days, depending on what else you have planned. For example, on a non-gym day, you might do 15,000 steps, but only 10,000 steps on the days you do your strength training workouts.
Use a step-counter app or a smartwatch to make tracking your step count much easier.
3. How can I make walking better for fitness and fat loss?
Make walking even more beneficial for fitness and fat loss with the following tips and strategies:
Wear a backpack or a weighted vest – carrying extra weight means your muscles have to work harder, which will, in turn, increase your heart rate and caloric expenditure. Start with about 10% of your body weight and build up gradually from there. This type of workout is called rucking and is a cornerstone of military fitness training.
Head for the hills – walking uphill is significantly more challenging than walking on the flat. Your heart and breathing rate will quickly increase, especially if you push yourself to a brisk pace. Try to include hills in your walks to burn more calories in less time.
Walk with purpose – walking is not just a lower body activity; it also uses your arms. However, your arms aren’t loaded, so you probably won’t feel them working much. Fix this issue by walking purposefully and swinging your arms to increase your speed and momentum. You can make your arms work even harder by carrying light dumbbells or wearing wrist weights if you prefer to keep your hands empty.
Break into the occasional jog – jogging is the pace between walking and running. Jogging burns more calories than walking and will also increase your heart and breathing rate a little more. However, it’s less intense and easier on your joints than running.
You don’t need to jog all the time. Instead, walk until you feel like jogging, and jog until you feel like walking again. This is a form of endurance training called fartlek, which is Swedish for speed play. One way to do this is to follow an undulating path, walking uphill but jogging on flat and downhill sections.
4. What is the average walking speed?
The average walking speed varies by age, with younger people tending to walk faster than older people. However, it takes the typical healthy person 15-20 minutes to walk one mile, which is the equivalent of three to four miles per hour. That said, some people in their 60s may walk as slowly as one mile per hour (2).
The good news is that you can preserve your walking speed by staying active and walking further and more often. Like all fitness attributes, your walking speed is very much a case of use it or lose it. So, keep walking quickly to preserve your walking speed.
5. What is the best time to walk for fitness and fat loss?
It’s something of a myth that there is a best time to exercise. Ultimately, so long as it works for you, whatever time you work out is the best. With walking, you can walk anytime it suits you and fits into your schedule.
Examples include:
On walking before breakfast
During your lunch break
Walk to/from work or school
After work
After dinner
Before bed
At weekends
Any journey less than a mile
You don’t even have to limit yourself to one time or the same time each day. Instead, you can spread your walking throughout the day, grabbing little walking breaks whenever the opportunity arises.
10-15 minutes 3-4 times a day adds up to about an hour of walking a day, or seven hours a week. At about 300 calories per hour, that’s a significant increase in your daily caloric expenditure.
Look for ways to walk more steps per day, e.g., by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to see a colleague instead of phoning/emailing them, parking your car further from work and walking the rest of the way, walking with your kids or partner, walking to the coffee shop instead of having a delivery, etc.
Related Calculators:
Wrapping Up
Knowing how long it will take you to walk a certain distance can be very useful. For example, you may want to check that you have time to walk to a nearby store during your lunch break. You may also find it interesting to see how much time you can save by walking faster.
Walking is arguably the most accessible workout you can do to lose weight and get fit. Besides comfortable shoes, you don’t need any special equipment to walk your way fitter and leaner. You can slot it seamlessly into your daily schedule. Walking is free and a very low-risk activity.
Going for a walk is also good for your mental health. Walking is relaxing, energizing, and a fantastic stress-buster.
So, sit less and walk more – it’s good for every aspect of your health.
“Solvitur ambulando: “When in doubt, walk.” — Christopher McDougall
References:
Himann JE, Cunningham DA, Rechnitzer PA, Paterson DH. Age-related changes in speed of walking. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1988 Apr;20(2):161-6. doi: 10.1249/00005768-198820020-00010. PMID: 3367751. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3367751/
Schimpl M, Moore C, Lederer C, Neuhaus A, Sambrook J, Danesh J, Ouwehand W, Daumer M. Association between walking speed and age in healthy, free-living individuals using mobile accelerometry–a cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2011;6(8):e23299. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023299. Epub 2011 Aug 10. PMID: 21853107; PMCID: PMC3154324. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3154324/
Cite this page: Dale, P. (2023) ‘How Long To Walk A Mile Calculator’, Fitness Volt. Available at: https://fitnessvolt.com/mile-walking-time-calculator/ (Accessed: 2 May 2023).
Body Recomposition Calculator
Body recomposition (body recomp) is the process of building muscle while losing fat. For many people, body recomp is the holy grail of training and nutrition, providing an alternative to the more traditional bulking and cutting cycles favored by many bodybuilders.
Most body recomp programs involve eating more on training days to fuel training and muscle growth but eating less on rest days to facilitate fat loss. This can be a tricky balance to achieve, which is why so many people experience less than stellar results during recomps.
After all, you need to know how much of which foods you should eat and when which usually involves a whole lot of number crunching.
Our body recomposition calculator is designed to take the guesswork out of eating for body recomp and does all the math for you.
Body Recomposition Calculator
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Exercise: Complete a minimum of 3 workout training sessions each week, each 30 Minutes per session.
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Rest Days
calculated Calories Per Meal
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Read also: Body Recomposition – How to Lose Fat and Gain Muscle
What is The Body Recomposition Calculator?
The Body Recomposition Calculator is designed to determine how much you need to eat to build muscle while losing fat. It produces two sets of dietary targets – one for training days and one for rest days – so you can achieve your body recomp goals quicker and easier.
Hitting these targets will provide you with the energy and nutrients you need to train, recover, and build muscle without accumulating excess body fat.
It is customizable, so you can select things like meal frequency and primary training goal, choosing between gaining more muscle while slowly losing fat or losing more fat while gaining less muscle.
You can also modify the calculator according to your body fat percentage (if you know it) and your preference for high or very high protein intake. There is also an option to select plant-based proteins.
In short, it provides all the data you need to build muscle while losing fat.
How to Use the Body Recomposition Calculator
Our body recomposition calculator is very straightforward to use. Follow these step-by-step instructions to determine your calorie and macro intakes for training and rest days.
Select your units, choosing between imperial (pounds, feet, and inches) or metric (kilograms and centimeters).
Select your gender, choosing between male and female.
Enter your age, weight, and height.
Pick your formula, choosing between normal or lean mass, for which you’ll also need to enter your current body fat percentage.
Enter your additional weekly calorie expenditure, e.g., more than 3 x 30 minutes of strength training per week, which is the baseline for this calculator.
Select your body recomposition goal, choosing between more fat loss, more muscle gain, or equal fat loss and muscle gain.
Select your meal frequency, choosing between two to five meals per day. Alternatively, hit “all” to see your results for an entire day instead of meal by meal.
Select your protein intake, choosing from plant-based, high, and maximum.
Hit “calculate” and then read off your results.
How Does the Body Recomposition Calculator Work?
While our body recomposition calculator is very straightforward to operate, it uses a lot of hidden moving parts to determine how much you need to eat to lose fat and build muscle.
These are the steps and formulae behind the body recomposition calculator:
Calculate your BMR using the Mifflin St Jeor equation.
Multiply BMR by 1.2 to determine your maintenance calories.
Estimate your body fat percentage using the Mcardle-Katch body fat formula.
Adjust calories on training days based on goals (+20% for more muscle gain, +10% for more fat loss).
Adjust calories on rest days based on goals (-5% for more muscle gain, -15% for more fat loss).
Calculate protein intake at 0.95 grams per pound/2 grams per kilogram of body weight.
Calculate fat intake at 30% of daily calories.
Calculate carbohydrate intake as the remainder of calories.
Thankfully, you don’t need to do all this math as we’ve built each of these stages into our body recomposition calculator. You’re welcome!
Interpreting Your Results
Once you have entered all the required information and hit the calculate button, you’ll receive the following results:
Training Days:
These results represent how much you should eat on the days that you work out. They include a slight calorie surplus to fuel your workouts and promote recovery and muscle growth.
Calories per meal – this is how many calories each meal should contain. Calories are distributed evenly across however many meals you selected. If you selected “all,” calories are for the entire day.
Carbohydrate, protein, and fat – this is how much of each macronutrient group your meals should contain, presented in both grams and as a percentage.
Rest Days:
These results represent how much you should eat on rest days. They include a slight calorie deficit to facilitate fat loss and reflect that you’ll be less active.
Calories per meal – this is how many calories each meal should contain. Calories are distributed evenly across the number of meals you selected. If you selected “all,” calories are for the entire day.
Carbohydrate, protein, and fat – this is how much of each macro your meals should contain, presented in both grams and as a percentage.
If you are unhappy with your results, go back and make changes to things like meal frequency, formula, and protein type. This will fine-tune your results to ensure that you make the best possible progress during your body recomp.
Strategies for Maximizing Your Progress
Knowledge, they say, is power. However, that’s only true if you put that knowledge into practice. After using our body recomposition calculator, you’ll know precisely how much and what you should eat to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously. However, you also need to use this information correctly, otherwise it’s just empty words.
Use the following strategies to help you maximize your body recomp progress:
Create a Consistent Workout Routine
Consistency is the cornerstone of any successful body recomposition plan. You need to work out regularly and frequently to achieve good results. Strength training (lifting weights) is crucial for building muscle while losing fat, and the calculator is based on a baseline of three 30-minute strength training workouts per week.
You can work out with freeweights, machines, kettlebells, or your own body weight. However, whatever you choose to do, make sure you can stick to your program religiously. Missing workouts will hurt your progress.
You can design your own program or choose one of the hundreds of workouts in our archives.
Cardio can also help you lose fat, but you should avoid doing too much. Excess cardio can make it harder to gain/retain muscle.
Short, high-intensity interval training workouts are probably your best option. However, if you stick to the nutritional guidelines generated by the calculator, you should be able to lose fat without doing lots of additional cardio.
Track Your Calories and Macros
While you can guess your way to a successful bulk, body recomposition requires a much more precise approach to nutrition. Using our calculator means you know how many calories and macros you need to eat to lose fat while building muscle. So, make sure you align your meals to these targets.
Doing this means you’ll need to track both your calories and macros. You can do this with pen and paper, but using an online food-tracking platform or an app is much easier.
You’ll also need to plan your meals in advance to ensure you consume the right amount of calories, protein, carbs, and fat each day.
While this is time-consuming initially, it gets easier the longer you do it. Once you’ve calculated the values for a meal, you can save it and make it again without having to do all that adding and subtracting. After a week or so, you should have a good menu of meals tracked, and you won’t need to calculate calories and macros for them again.
Monitor Your Progress and Adjust Accordingly
Your body recomposition results are based on your nutritional requirements right now. In a few weeks, when your muscle mass and body fat percentage have changed, your dietary needs will have changed too.
So, to avoid progress plateaus, make sure you monitor your progress and adjust your food intake accordingly. For example, if you lose body weight, your total daily calorie requirements will decrease slightly.
You can also use these progress checks to ensure everything is going in the right direction. For example, suppose you are not noticeably losing fat. In that case, you may need to subtract an additional 100-200 calories from your daily intake.
Get Plenty of Sleep
Believe it or not, the amount of sleep you get per night can have a significant impact on your body composition results. Too little sleep inhibits fat burning, can interfere with workout recovery and muscle building, and rob you of the motivation and willpower you’ll need to train and eat consistently.
Most people need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. That’s EVERY night, and not just at weekends.
Sleeping enough ensures your body gets the time it needs to maximize muscle growth and burn fat.
Read more about how sleep influences fat loss and muscle building here.
Supplement Wisely
While you can build muscle and lose fat without supplements, a few well-chosen products may help things go more smoothly. Good options worth considering include:
Pre-workout – for an instant energy boost and longer, more intense workouts.
Protein powder – to make getting enough protein easier.
Creatine – a proven muscle-builder, energizer, and muscle cell volumizer.
Amino acids – to preserve muscle mass and promote recovery and muscle building.
Multivitamins and multiminerals – to make sure all your micronutrient bases are covered.
Fat burners – to accelerate fat loss and control your appetite.
Be Patient
If you want to gain muscle or lose fat fast, you should follow a bulking or cutting program. Focusing on just one aspect of body recomposition at a time usually produces quicker results.
However, after a bulk, you’ll invariably need to do a cut to lose the body fat you’ve accumulated. Similarly, you’ll probably need to do a bulk to rebuild any lost muscle after a cut.
Concurrent body recomposition is slower than bulking or cutting, but that’s the price you’ve got to pay if you want to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously. So, settle into the long haul as your body slowly becomes lean AND muscular. Your patience will be rewarded!
Body Recomposition Calculator FAQ
1. How accurate is the body recomposition calculator?
Our body recomposition calculator estimates your total daily energy expenditure, creates a slight calorie surplus for training days and a calorie deficit on rest days, and then determines your macros based on the best percentages for body recomp.
It does this using accepted formulae for these purposes.
Like all such formulae, this is an estimation of what you need to eat to lose fat and gain muscle and is not 100% accurate.
Because of this, you should monitor your progress and fine-tune your nutritional intake based on your results. For example, consume more calories on training days if you aren’t building muscle and fewer calories on rest days if you aren’t losing fat.
2. What should I eat for my body recomposition meals?
There is no set diet for body recomposition, so you are free to plan your own meals. So long as whatever you eat fits your calorie and macro targets, you should make progress. This is called flexible dieting, or If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM).
That said, you may make better progress if you eat mostly clean or natural foods. These tend to be the most filling, so you won’t feel hungry and tempted to break your diet.
Clean foods are also high in health-boosting micronutrients.
3. Am I allowed cheat meals while doing a body recomp?
Cheat meals provide you with a break from your diet. They usually involve eating foods you otherwise avoid during a restrictive eating plan. This can be psychologically rewarding and gives you something to look forward to.
However, too many cheat meals can sabotage your diet and put the brakes on your progress. Every time you miss your macro and calorie targets, the longer it’ll take to reach your body recomp goals.
So, enjoy cheat meals if you wish, but make sure you practice self-control to avoid doing more harm than good. Remember, too, that nothing tastes as good as being lean and muscular!
Use these strategies to stop cheat meals from ruining your progress.
4. What is the best workout for a body recomposition?
The aim of body recomposition is to build muscle while losing fat. As such, you need to do workouts that promote hypertrophy or muscle growth. Invariably, this means lifting weights and following a bodybuilding-style training program.
However, you’ll probably get the best results from a low to moderate-volume training program, as you won’t have the large calorie surplus normally need for a high-volume plan.
3-4 one-hour workouts per week should be sufficient for most people. Build your workouts around compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, bent-over rows, pull-ups, and military presses. These exercises generally provide the best bang for your buck.
In terms of splits, sets, rep range, etc., whatever you want to use will work fine, providing you train with sufficient intensity and consistency. Create a program you can stick to.
Read more about what makes an effective training program here.
5. How long does a body recomp take?
You should begin to see progress in 4-8 weeks of starting your body recomp. However, the length of your body recomposition depends on how much fat you want to lose and how much muscle you want to build. For example, if you are very overweight or need to develop a lot of muscle, you could be body recomp-ing for many months or even a year or more.
While your progress will probably be slower than you want, take comfort in knowing that body recomp is a one-way journey, and you won’t have to follow it with a bulk or cutting phase.
Body Recomposition – Wrapping Up
Losing fat while building muscle cab be challenging, but, contrary to popular opinion, is not impossible. Bodybuilders and athletes have been doing it for centuries.
The trick to a successful body recomp is creating a small calorie surplus on training days and a calorie deficit on rest days. This will allow you to build muscle and lose fat simultaneously.
Take the guesswork out of creating a body recomposition diet with this handy calculator. Plug in your details and then consistently hit the calorie and macro targets.
While you won’t lose fat or build muscle quickly, you will make slow, reliable, steady progress toward your body composition goals.