Workout Review: Japanese 3×3 Walking Exercise for Weight Loss and Longevity with Lucy Wyndham-Read
The fitness world is constantly coming up with new trends and fads to promote—and Japanese Walking (or Interval Walking) is one of the more recent ones to rise to popularity. Japanese Walking is a method of mixing your pace—walking three minutes at a fast pace followed by three minutes at an easy pace. You can try it out on the trail—or, if you prefer to start in the privacy of your own home, you can try an indoor walking video like Lucy Wyndham-Read’s Japanese 3×3 Walking Exercise for Weight Loss and Longevity.
This 25-minute workout includes an easy warm-up, the interval walking workout, and some cool-down stretching. Throughout the workout, there are two different clocks shown on the screen: one counting down the entire workout and one counting down the current interval. The majority of the video is broken down into three minutes of fast movement followed by three minutes of slow movement. For each three-minute segment, the instructor keeps things interesting by mixing 30 seconds of walking with 30 seconds of some other movement. During the fast segments, she adds 30 seconds of arm movements, while, during slow segments, she changes up the steps with knee touches or back kicks. If you’ve never done intervals like this before, it’s definitely a different experience. The fast pace is probably faster than you’re used to walking, while the slow pace is definitely slow. But, if it’s doing its job, it’s supposed to burn calories and fat faster than walking at a consistent pace.
For those who love stepping to the beat of some upbeat music, though, you might be surprised to find that this video comes with no music. None. It’s just the instructor walking in silence (and occasionally winking or talking soundlessly to the camera) while also offering a recorded voiceover to walk you through the steps. When I realized this, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it through 25 minutes of music-free walking—because I love the energy of the music, and I like having a beat to work with. I found it incredibly off-putting (not to mention a little boring). And though the instructor suggests playing your own music while doing the workout, I definitely prefer music that was chosen specifically for the workout.
If you can handle the lack of music, though, you’ll get a good workout from this interval walk. The slow intervals will help you work your muscles, while the fast intervals will keep your heart pumping. Your step count may be different—depending on your pace and your tracker—but I added around 2700 steps to my count for the day. Because of its lack of music, I probably won’t go back to repeat this workout—but I was intrigued enough by the intervals that I may give another interval-walking video a try.
Pros:
– Interval walking is supposed to give you a better calorie burn
– You’ll definitely feel like you worked hard after this one!
– None of the moves are too difficult or complicated
– Timers tell you where you are in your workouts
Cons:
– No music to keep you moving to the beat
– Interval workout won’t be for everyone
You can find this workout and more from Lucy Wyndham-Read on her YouTube Channel. You can watch this workout on YouTube or streamed below.
