Walking speed (5'5 woman)

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NewMeowLean
NewMeowLean Posts: 58
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello! I have been tracking my walking with my garmin watch (ahah I guess I should be running instead of walking ;)).

My walking speed seems to be around 5.5 kph (3.4 mph). This is me walking with a purpose (like going to the train station or grocery shopping). My speed doesn't seem to change if I am walking to or from the grocery shop (so with heavy stuff or not), or if I am walking slightly uphill or downhill. However it does seem to change with my mood - if I am feeling down I walk slower (around 4.7-4.9 kph - 2.9-3.0 mph).

I wonder if I could learn to walk faster without having to think about it? I am 5'5 and a woman. How fast do you walk, and how did you start to walking faster (if you did)?

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  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,953 Member
    edited January 2015
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    For me it depends. If I'm hungry and heading towards food I walk about 4 mph. If I'm full, I'm down to about 2.5 - 3 mph. If I've just stopped running, more like 4.5 mph (provided I'm not tired). If I'm chatting with people between 3 - 3.5 mph. You can definitely learn to walk faster - I attribute my "faster than I can run" walking to my grade 5 teacher and a friend I used to walk home with. My teacher always motored along and my friend just wanted to book it but hated running. I learned to keep up!
  • barbz2119
    barbz2119 Posts: 124 Member
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    I find I really have to concentrate to walk fast, as soon as I start day dreaming or thinking of chores for the day I slow down. I've found if I make the effort to take bigger steps, swing my arms and basically get my hold body moving it speeds things up but I really have to concentrate or I slow down again. I prefer jogging, but am slow at that too and with weight gain and age think maybe I should be walking instead!
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
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    This sounds reductive, but: purposefully walking faster made me "default" walk faster.

    If you actively think about it, can you walk faster? I mean, focusing on walking speed rather than anything else except safety. (Answer: yes). You could try doing, like, a Couch to 5K program where instead of *running* the intervals, you walk faster during them.

    If you have access to a treadmill, you could also try bouts of increasing the speed on that. Or is listening to some uptempo music on headphones while you walk an option? If you can find a song that syncs with a faster pace walk, that might be ideal.

    What Garmin do you have? You can set some of them (FR15, FR210/220 and up, I think) to a default speed or pace. It will beep/vibrate if you slow down too much. I don't think the FR10 or vivofit have this function, but I could be wrong.
  • JoyeII
    JoyeII Posts: 240 Member
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    Thanks for posting this. I'm short (5'3") and I always feel like I'm a slug. A brisk walk for me is 3.0 - 3.5 mph. I have to jog at anything faster (or run).
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    NewMeowLean wrote: »
    I wonder if I could learn to walk faster without having to think about it? I am 5'5 and a woman. How fast do you walk, and how did you start to walking faster (if you did)?
    Depends on how you train.

    To walk a fast 5k you need to be able to walk a moderate 10k.
  • DeeTee68
    DeeTee68 Posts: 198 Member
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    3-3.5 mph is actually quite fast a pace, the average person will walk at about 2.5mph, try taking shorter steps at a higher cadence and pumping the arms back and forth (not side to side across the body) it may look silly but it works. I can cover 4 miles in an hour no bother. If you can throw in a small jog here and there for 30 secs or so doing this I can cover 5 miles in an hour.

    Also I have started spinning and this seems to have increased my walking speed as well
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    I'm 5'6. Brisk walk for me is 4 mph. Usually walk the dog at around 3.5 mph. I don't have a long stride, but I move quickly.
  • ksolksol
    ksolksol Posts: 194 Member
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    I'm just under 5'5", I usually fall into a 3 MPH pace or just a little above if I'm not thinking about it, 3.5 if making an intentional effort. The best way I found to increase walking speed is just to keep walking a lot, as silly as that may sound. The more you walk, the more your pace will pick up.

    Since most of my walking is walk-commuting, it helps to leave for work late, too. ;-)
  • floridagirl7264
    floridagirl7264 Posts: 318 Member
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    I'm the same height and walk the same speed as you do. I physically cannot walk any faster. When I want to up my speed, I have to jog.

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