Burning fat and building muscle remain top priorities for fitness coach Jeff Cavaliere. He recently took to YouTube on June 13 and revealed why walking is the single-best exercise for accelerating fat loss.
“The best fat burning exercise is probably not what you think. It’s not running, it’s not burpees, it’s not HIIT, it’s walking.”
For decades, Cavaliere has provided fans with science-based frameworks to sculpt their physiques. He boasts over 14.3 million YouTube subscribers, helping average gym-goers to professional athletes. Cavaliere served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach and head physical therapist to the New York Mets.
Jeff Cavaliere Explains Why Walking Is the Most Effective Fat Burning Exercise
In the video, Cavaliere laid out three tips to make the most of your walking:
- Stand tall
- Pick up the pace
- Contract your glutes on every step
He shared that your walking pace shouldn’t look like a stroll, but not so fast that you can’t hold a conversation.
“Stand tall, pick up the pace, and contract your glutes on every step to lengthen your stride and add meaning to your meandering. You should still be able to talk, but you shouldn’t be strolling like looking for your car in a parking lot.”
According to Cavaliere, poor posture, a casual pace, and short steps should be avoided while walking:
“But before you say: ‘Jeff, I already walk,’ are you really walking or just wandering? Poor posture, too casual a pace, short stepping without actually trying to stride through every step. If you want walking to actually help you get leaner, then you got to treat it like training.”
He added that walking is a joint-friendly activity that’s easier to recover from.
“Walking works because it’s easy to recover from, easy on the joints, and easy to work into any routine. But easy doesn’t mean without effort. Lift to build the body, walk to strip away the fat, and reveal the results of your hard work,” shared Jeff Cavaliere.
Walking won’t just set you up with a better physique. Former seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to promote the benefits of power walking, pointing out its major impact on reducing cardiovascular disease risk. For a significant longevity boost, he believes reaching 8,000 steps per day is ideal.
Jeff Cavaliere has maintained a lean, shredded physique for decades. He acknowledges that walking is a low-risk, high-reward exercise for continued fat loss.
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