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Author:

Mark Fenton, BS, MS

Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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Here's a quick way to figure out how fast you walk. Instead of timing yourself on a measured track, you can calculate your walking speed by counting your steps. Once you're warmed up, count how many steps you take in a minute of walking (or count your steps for 20 seconds and multiply by 3).

• If you're walking for your health, a pace of about 3 miles per hour (or about 120 steps per minute; fewer if you're tall) is about right. That's a 20-minute mile.
• To walk for weight loss, you'll have to pick up the pace to 4 miles per hour (or 135 steps per minute), a 15-minute mile.
• Aerobic fitness comes at 4.5 miles per hour (you're moving along at 150 steps per minute).

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