How Long Does it Take to Walk a Mile?

The time it takes to walk a mile depends on your walking pace. If you are walking at a casual pace that allows you to converse, it will take you 15-20 minutes. Conversely, you can cover the distance at a brisk pace in around 12 minutes. 

As a personal trainer, I’ve advocated walking as a form of exercise for decades. It’s an accessible and gentle workout I prescribe to beginners and seniors to improve their heart health and burn calories.

In this article, I’ll explain how long it takes to walk a mile and its benefits. I’ll also provide personal trainer tips to help you get the most out of your walking workout.

How Long to Walk a Mile?

The time it takes to walk a mile depends on your walking speed. Walking at a moderate pace of 3 mph, you will cover a mile in around 20 minutes. Increasing your speed to a brisk walk will reduce the mile time to about 12 minutes.

A brisk walking pace is more purposeful than a leisurely stroll. It will increase your heart rate and cause you to breathe slightly heavier. A person walking briskly will usually swing their arms more than someone walking at a moderate pace.

A brisk walker can maintain a conversation, but it will be more challenging than when walking at a moderate pace.

The next level up from brisk walking is power walking. This is when you are focused on walking as fast as you can. Power walkers use an arm swing action and a coordinated heel-to-toe rolling foot motion to make the walking action more efficient.

A power walker may cover a mile in as little as ten minutes.

Factors That Influence Walking Speed

The main factors that determine your walking speed are your situation and purpose. If you’re taking a leisurely stroll along the beach on a Sunday afternoon, you’ll be going slower than if you were late for an appointment.

Here are eight other factors that contribute to your walking speed:

1. Age: A long-term study out of New Zealand investigated the effect of aging, brain function, and cognitive decline on walking speed and gait. The study tracked 904 participants over five decades. The researchers concluded that gait speed is affected by the natural aging process and brain health [1]. As we age, we tend to slow down due to muscle weakness, balance issues, and decreased joint flexibility.
2. Gender: Men generally walk slightly faster than women. This was confirmed in a 2011 study that primarily looked at the effect of aging on walking gait. Researchers credited men’s faster gait with increased muscle mass and bone structure [2].
3. Weight: The heavier you are, the more work your body must do when walking. Overweight folks tend to walk more slowly than those with a healthy weight.
4. Fitness level: You can walk a mile faster when you are fitter. This results from cardiovascular efficiency, muscle strength, and endurance.
5. Height: Taller people will have longer legs. This allows them to take larger strides to cover more ground with every step.
6. Health conditions: People with certain health conditions cannot walk as fast as healthy people. Cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and respiratory illnesses are health problems that may slow a person down.
7. Stride length and frequency: We all develop our unique stride length and frequency that affects how fast we walk.
8. Terrain: When you walk uphill or on an uneven surface, you won’t be able to travel as fast as if you were on a flat or downhill surface.
9. Weather conditions: Inclement weather conditions, such as wind, rain, and extreme heat, may slow down a person’s walking speed.

Benefits of Walking

Walking stands out as an easily accessible and gentle form of exercise. Regardless of whether you choose a treadmill or the great outdoors for your journey, taking a brisk walk not only aids in calorie burning for weight loss but also provides various health benefits.

Here are six reasons to take up the walking habit:

1. Cardiovascular Health

Walking improves your heart and lung health. Walking will challenge your heart to pump oxygen and nutrients around your body more efficiently. Over time, it will become stronger so that it can pump more blood with each beat.

The improved heart efficiency from walking will help reduce your blood pressure. Your lungs will also become more efficient in processing oxygen with every breath you take.

2. Weight Control

Walking is a gentle, risk-free way to burn calories. Combining it with a reduced-calorie diet and strength training allows you to lose excess body fat and maintain a healthy weight.

You will burn four to six calories per minute while walking, depending on your speed and weight. That means you will burn about 100 calories during a moderately paced one-mile walk.

A 2017 12-week study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that people who combined walking with a calorie-restricted diet lost an average of 1.8 kg more than those who only cut back their calories. [3]

3. Bone and Joint Health

Walking is a low-impact form of cardiovascular exercise. As a result, there is minimal stress on the ankles, knees, and hips. The light pressure applied to the bones during a walking workout improves bone density.

People who are overweight or obese may find walking more accessible than most other forms of cardio exercise. Similarly, those with arthritis resort to a gentle walking workout as running or using an exercise machine is too painful for them.

4. Mood Enhancement

Regular walking has been shown to improve mood and reduce stress levels. When you exercise, your brain releases natural mood enhancers called endorphins. Walking, especially when done in a natural outdoor setting, further promotes stress release and helps produce a calm, relaxed feeling.

A 2020 Chinese study looked at the relationship between walking and emotional health. The results showed that people who walked regularly had better emotional health than those who did not walk for exercise. [4]

5. Greater Energy

Walking for exercise increases the amount of oxygen and nutrients transported to your body’s cells as your circulatory system becomes more efficient. This increased supply improves cell energy production.

That’s why taking a one-mile walk can help revive your energy levels if you’re drowsy, especially mid-afternoon.

6. Better Sleep

Regular exercise has been shown to improve the quality and quantity of a person’s sleep. A 2019 study published in the journal Sleep Health found that people who followed a four-week walking-for-exercise program experienced significantly improved sleep quality compared to those who did not exercise. [5]

7. Social Engagement

Walking with a partner or group of friends provides an excellent opportunity for communication. Many of my clients take a one-mile walk with their partner in the early evening. This is a perfect bonding opportunity.

Walking on a Treadmill

Walking on a treadmill is a popular alternative to outdoor walking. There is generally no difference between the time it takes to walk a mile on a treadmill and outdoors. However, there are some benefits to treadmill walking.

1. Accurate Monitoring

Walking on an electronic treadmill allows you to monitor your crucial walking statistics. This includes your walking speed, calories burned, distance traveled, and incline. As a result, you can control your walking workout and adjust your speed to match your training goal.

2. External Conditions

A treadmill allows you to get your walking workout done indoors. That means that you don’t have to worry about the weather conditions. As a result, you can maintain a more consistent walking pace as you are unaffected by wind, rain, or undulating terrain.

3. Incline Control

When you exercise on a treadmill, you can set the level of walking bed incline. This allows you to pre-determine the intensity and effort needed to complete your session.

Walking on an incline takes considerably more effort than walking on a flat surface. It also takes longer. The following chart shows how changes in treadmill incline affect how long it takes to cover one mile and the calories burned:

Walking on an incline will force your lower body to work harder. A more significant workload will be placed on your glutes, hamstrings, and calf muscles.

FAQs

Is walking one mile a day good exercise?

Yes, walking one mile a day for exercise is commendable. However, as your fitness level improves, you should increase your distance to provide ongoing challenges leading to continued fitness improvement.

I recommend setting the goal of walking three miles per day. This aligns with the CDC recommendation for weekly exercise, contributing to improved fitness. However, incorporating other exercise, such as strength training, is advisable.

How many calories do you burn walking one mile?

Caloric burn depends on weight, speed, and other factors, with a general guideline suggesting 100 calories per mile for a person weighing 180 pounds.

Will walking one mile a day tone my legs?

Walking one mile a day will help in toning by promoting fat loss and muscle building. However, the lack of progressive resistance limits muscle development.

Conclusion

The time required to walk one mile generally ranges from 12 minutes to 22 minutes. Your weight, walking speed, experience, and choice of treadmill or outdoor setting all play a role.

By adopting the daily walking habit, you experience many health benefits, from weight loss to improved cardiovascular health and better sleep. If you’re ready for slightly more intense cardio, go here to check out the benefits of walking two miles per day.

Next Read: Walking 2 Miles a Day (Uncover How This Simple Habit Can Transform Your Health)

References

1. Rasmussen LJH, Caspi A, Ambler A, Broadbent JM, Cohen HJ, d’Arbeloff T, Elliott M, Hancox RJ, Harrington H, Hogan S, Houts R, Ireland D, Knodt AR, Meredith-Jones K, Morey MC, Morrison L, Poulton R, Ramrakha S, Richmond-Rakerd L, Sison ML, Sneddon K, Thomson WM, Hariri AR, Moffitt TE. Association of Neurocognitive and Physical Function With Gait Speed in Midlife. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Oct 2;2(10):e1913123. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13123. PMID: 31603488; PMCID: PMC6804027.
2. 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.
3. Kleist B, Wahrburg U, Stehle P, Schomaker R, Greiwing A, Stoffel-Wagner B, Egert S. Moderate Walking Enhances the Effects of an Energy-Restricted Diet on Fat Mass Loss and Serum Insulin in Overweight and Obese Adults in a 12-Week Randomized Controlled Trial. J Nutr. 2017 Oct 1;147(10):1875-1884. doi: 10.3945/jn.117.251744. PMID: 28794207.
4. Zhu Z, Chen H, Ma J, He Y, Chen J, Sun J. Exploring the Relationship between Walking and Emotional Health in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Nov 27;17(23):8804. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17238804. PMID: 33260796; PMCID: PMC7734587.
5. Sullivan Bisson AN, Robinson SA, Lachman ME. Walk to a better night of sleep: testing the relationship between physical activity and sleep. Sleep Health. 2019 Oct;5(5):487-494. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2019.06.003. Epub 2019 Jul 26. PMID: 31358470; PMCID: PMC6801055.

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