Walking Speed?

[tractorlegs]

I'm 63 and 6' 5" tall. My walking speed for the last couple of years has been averaging 3 mph. Since I got my Fitbit at the end of March, it confirms that 3 mph is what I'm doing. Sometimes a little faster, sometimes a little slower.

I'm curious what speeds all my fitbit friends here at the forum are walking?

It's interesting that a lot of walking websites tell me that my speed should be quite a bit faster for my age, but my current speed produces the HR I need - 

[JohnRi]

At 41 I was able to walk 4 mph.  I'm 49 now and 6'0" tall.  Before I hurt my calf muscles walking 6 weeks ago I was close to 3.5 mph.  Right now I'm around 3.4 mph.  Trying to get back to the 3.5 mph. 

Ideally I'd like to get to 4 mph again.  But I don't know if that will ever happen.

On the plus side at 41 I never walked more than 3 miles.  Today I can walk six miles every day.

[GershonSurge]

Walking speed is highly individual. The military regulation speed is a 120 cadence with a 30-inch step which gives a pace of 3.5 mph. This speed is the most efficient per mile for a wide range of body types.

Three mph is a normal pace for most that I observe. Few, including myself, walk at 3.5 mph unless I make an effort to increase my stride rate. There are a few people who are natural 4 mph walkers, but consider the distance when considering that speed. It's more efficient to "run" extremely slowly.

I have not found a single well-researched walking site for pace, training, etc. There are many for race-walking, but I guess regular walkers don't worry about these things.

If you want to check how you are doing, get a metronome app for your phone and set it at 116. You will likely get about 3.2 mph.

You are at a bit of a disadantage because your legs form long pendulums and they are harder to move.

[USAF-Larry]

I am in my early 70's, @tractorlegs, and I walk between 3.0 and 3.5 mph, depending on the terrain. I walk 5 to 7 miles per day. When I walk on mostly level country roades, I normally walk 3.5 mph, but when I am in hilly terrain, my walk is more in the 3.0 mph range.

What I watch for, more than my speed, though, is the level of my heart rate. My doctor wants me to get at least 30 minutes a day in the cardio zone, and I do that when walking.

[tractorlegs]

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@USAF-Larry wrote:

What I watch for, more than my speed, though, is the level of my heart rate. My doctor wants me to get at least 30 minutes a day in the cardio zone, and I do that when walking.

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@USAF-Larry ----- Exactly. I think I could walk a bit faster if I wanted - but I base the intensity of the walk on heart rate, not speed. Although I track speed, HR is the goal.

[FitBeforeFifty]

Walking speed doesn't seemed to be as strongly correlated with fitness level as it is with running or cycling. I don't really track my walks like I do running, so I don't have a lot of history for comparison. Based on the small sample set for which I have data, however, I seem to walk comfortably around 3.5 mph. One of the walks I used to calibrate my fitbit stride distance back in april was 3.7 mph. I've never tried to see how fast I can walk because I think it would lead to bad form.  My walking speed isn't really capped by fitness, however, as I can comfortably run for an hour or more around 7 mph. 

[GershonSurge]

When I was walking many miles, I mostly wore Danner combat boots. I logged over 3,000 miles on one pair and they hardly show any wear. I put Gorilla tape on the soles to keep them from wearing. It wears to something like a microfiber so they are non-slip on snow and ice.

Don't think of the old black combat boots. The modern combat boot is tuned to a stride rate of 120 bpm for walking and 140 bpm for double time. The Danner boot has an energy return system that really works. The idea is to get the heel to compress just enough to absorb shock, but not so much that it is like walking in sand. I seldom walked in running shoes. (Do not get Danner Mountain Lites -- they cause blisters and never break in.)

Surprisingly, the Red Wing six inch work boot was my fastest footwear for walking. Instead of an energy return system in the heel, it has a curved last that works perfectly for walking. For some reason, grey duct tape sticks better to the soles and heels of these boots. They are too heavy for backpacking, but great for roadwalking.

It takes about 20 miles to get used to boots as they don't flex as easily as shoes. I learned to appreciate the stable platform on every step. The combat boots are great for backpacking. I switched to shoes only because I bought a small tent and I can't contort enough to put them on inside the tent.

I recommend a wool hiking sock for both boots. 

[bcalvanese]

I'm turning 59 in August, and am 5'8" tall.

I have been power walking for over a year now and average 4.1 to 4.3 mph on most of my walks. I do take recovery walks at about 3.5 mph.

When I first started power walking I could make it about a mile at a 3 to 3.5 mph pace (obese and out of shape), but now I can go 8 miles or so at the 4.1 to 4.3 mph pace (even on hilly terrain), and a couple times I did an average pace of 4.5 mph.

It took me months to develop this though, and i had to push it every time to finally break that 4 mph barrier. Even though I am fairly short and have fairly short legs, my stride length is about 35 inches when power walking.

[USAF-Larry]

I enjoy my walks too much to do power walking. It is not unusual for me to stop to take a picture of a new flower or tree I see, or to briefly say Hi to a friend I meet. If I were power walking, I couldn't do that.  But, then, I'm into maintaining my health, not becoming a fitness guru. It has gotten me into my 70's in fine shape, so I'm hoping for another 15 to 20 more cute years...

[bcalvanese]

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@USAF-Larry wrote:

I enjoy my walks too much to do power walking. It is not unusual for me to stop to take a picture of a new flower or tree I see, or to briefly say Hi to a friend I meet. If I were power walking, I couldn't do that.  But, then, I'm into maintaining my health, not becoming a fitness guru. It has gotten me into my 70's in fine shape, so I'm hoping for another 15 to 20 more cute years...

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I'm not trying to become a fitness guru, just trying to get to a good fitness level and healthy body weight. I know in order to do that I must keep my heart rate an a cardio zone for at least 20 minutes non stop to get a minimum training effect. I do it for 30 to 90 minutes so i can get a much better training effect. I dont run so in order to get my heart rate into a cardio zone, I have to either power walk or ride my bike.

Once I get to a good fitness level and healthy weight, I can maintain it. Then, like you, I could be in fine shape when I get to my 70's...:)

[JohnRi]

My walk yesterday was interesting.  I walked six miles.  My pace times were as follows:

19:50

17:43

17:45

17:29

16:30

16:30

I had to talk myself into walking yesterday.  I was sore from the weekend, and really wanted to rest.  But I went ahead and did it.  Turns out it was my fastest walk.  Those 16:30 times, I've only done better once, at 15:31 during a 5k Walk with lots of people to motivate me to push it!  And I'm not even sure that counts as I had to run for a few seconds every couple of minutes during that walk to keep up with the group I was with.

As for cardio, vs fat burning, I was only in cardio during miles 5 and 6.  The rest of the time I was in the fat burning zone.  I hit 133 max during those 16:30 miles. 

So my reason to get my speed up, is simply to get my heart rate up.  I haven't seen 133 walking in a long time.  I can do that on my bike, but that's when I pushing it. 

I'm struggling to lose weight right now.  Mainly because dispite the calorie deficit, I'm somehow adding lean mass.  Which doesn't make any sense at all.  But I'm enjoying the increases speed and distance. 

But like most of you, once I lose another 35-45 lbs, and I get into maintaining my weight, I will be taking it down a notch, dropping speed and distance.  And maybe I'll get to enjoy the scenery more!

[pcobb8]

My walks are typically slow.   I have upped my walks from 2.6 to 2.9 recently.    On the treadmill I usually do 3.2 to 3.5

[bcalvanese]

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@JohnRi wrote:

My walk yesterday was interesting.  I walked six miles.  My pace times were as follows:

19:50

17:43

17:45

17:29

16:30

16:30

I had to talk myself into walking yesterday.  I was sore from the weekend, and really wanted to rest.  But I went ahead and did it.  Turns out it was my fastest walk.  Those 16:30 times, I've only done better once, at 15:31 during a 5k Walk with lots of people to motivate me to push it!  And I'm not even sure that counts as I had to run for a few seconds every couple of minutes during that walk to keep up with the group I was with.

As for cardio, vs fat burning, I was only in cardio during miles 5 and 6.  The rest of the time I was in the fat burning zone.  I hit 133 max during those 16:30 miles. 

So my reason to get my speed up, is simply to get my heart rate up.  I haven't seen 133 walking in a long time.  I can do that on my bike, but that's when I pushing it. 

I'm struggling to lose weight right now.  Mainly because dispite the calorie deficit, I'm somehow adding lean mass.  Which doesn't make any sense at all.  But I'm enjoying the increases speed and distance. 

But like most of you, once I lose another 35-45 lbs, and I get into maintaining my weight, I will be taking it down a notch, dropping speed and distance.  And maybe I'll get to enjoy the scenery more!

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I'm glad you brought up heart rate zones. One of my goals is to increase my cardio fitness level, which is why I work towards faster paces, so I can keep my heart rate in the cardio zone long enough to get a training effect. As I improved my cardio fitness level it became more difficult to get my heart rate up so I pushed myself faster. Finding hilly trails to walk helps too.

I think the rule of thumb is... if you keep your heart rate in the cardio zone for 20 minutes non stop, you will get a minimum training effect. So, I try to keep mine their for 30 to 90 minutes to get a much better training effect. Many people don't know this and struggle wondering why they are not improving their cardio fitness level.

[Rich_Laue]

@GershonSurge your agates makes me feel better,  knowing that I'm delight in the average at an 18 minute mile for 3.3 mph. On my first 5K i hit the 1 mile mark as tye winner crossed the finish line.

Having a friend who was a runner up for the USA Olympics Walking team,  i found out the definition of a walk is when there is never a period when a foot isn't touching the ground. When running it is more like small jumps that the body is doing. 

[SunsetRunner]

where do i find me speed please?

[shipo]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

where do i find me speed please?

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Please expand upon your question; it is very difficult to answer as it is currently written.

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner  when you place your tracker into tracking mode on both the tracker and the app, you'll find a measure menu of pace. This is how long it took to go a mile in minutes. To find your walking speed you would divide this into 60. You will need to convert the seconds into a devil's of minutes. 

[The_Lion]

It seems that I'm nearly running while walking... I just looked at my average speed from Nordic Walking. It is 6,7km/h, sometimes 6,9km/h. Distance 6 to 12km. I also had walks with 21km distance and 6,7km/h speed. My walks during work or shopping aren't much slower. I always walk fast. 39 years old, 1,67m.

[shipo]

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@The_Lion wrote:

It seems that I'm nearly running while walking... I just looked at my average speed from Nordic Walking. It is 6,7km/h, sometimes 6,9km/h. Distance 6 to 12km. I also had walks with 21km distance and 6,7km/h speed. My walks during work or shopping aren't much slower. I always walk fast. 39 years old, 1,67m.

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I'm not sure what Nordic Walking is, but for someone your height walking that fast is pretty difficult without breaking into a run.

[The_Lion]

Nordic Walking is walking with poles.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_walking