Question 1

Is Walking 2 Miles in 30 Minutes Good?

Accepted Answer

It can be. If you have been leading a more sedentary lifestyle, then managing to walk 2 miles in 30 minutes is a good achievement. However, for people who have been leading a more active lifestyle, this pace might be considered a bit slow.

Remember that for healthy persons (i.e. without disease), walking speed is determined by multiple factors including age, gender, lower body strength, overall body and muscle strength, joint mobility (26), etc. So, work with what you have and aim to improve from your current baseline.

Question 2

Is Walking 2 Miles A Day Sedentary?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, yes, it can be if you are getting no other steps in throughout the day.

While walking 2 miles a day does have its benefits. It is still considered sedentary. According to USA Today, the average American takes 3000 to 4000 steps a day doing everyday activities. This in distance, equates to about 1.5 to 2 miles (11).

The fact that walking 2 miles a day is sedentary is further confirmed by the Tudor-Locke and Bassett steps-per-day categories and classification system. According to this classification, walking less than 5000 steps a day is considered as leading a sedentary lifestyle.

Low-active or physically inactive people take 5000 to 7499 steps while moderately active to very active people take 7500 to 12,500 steps a day (12, 18). Thus, if you want to lead a more active lifestyle, start with walking 4k steps a day (2 miles a day), but challenge yourself to double this number in a few months and even get up to 10k steps a day.

Question 3

Can Walking 2 Miles A Day Tone My Legs?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it can. While walking is considered a full-body exercise, it mostly engages the muscles in your lower body, specifically the quadriceps, hamstrings, the calf muscles as well as the hip adductors. Your glutes and abdominal muscles also play a role in walking, albeit not as much as the muscles in the thighs and downwards. Overall toning and muscle development are dependent on current fitness level. Less active individuals will see greater improvements than already active individuals.

Over time and with consistency, walking 2 miles a day will help tone your legs. However, if you’d like to quicken these results we suggest:

Walking on an incline – Going uphill challenges these muscles more, to faster weight loss, muscle growth, and thus toned legs.
Increase your distance – Walking 2 miles a day is great for a beginner, but for better results – and a constant challenge to your body and muscles, you will have to increase the distance over time.

Add an extra half mile or full mile every 3 to 4 weeks. This will ensure that you will not end up in a plateau, but will help you to continue losing fat all over the body and help gain/grow muscle, especially in the legs.

Add weight training to your routine – Weight/strength training is the best and quickest way to grow muscle and tone any body part.

If your main goal is weight loss then walk 2 miles and finish with some leg day exercises. However, if your goal is more muscle, do the leg exercises first (after a warm up of course) and then finish up with your 2-mile walk (4, 17).

Question 4

Can I Lose Belly Fat If I Walk 2 Miles A Day?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can. Walking is a full-body workout that will not only help you lose belly fat but fat all over the body as well. For better and quicker results, combine your walking exercise with weight training workouts and make sure to eat on a calorie deficit. This will help increase calorie burning and muscle growth, which will give the best results.

Question 5

Is Walking 2 Miles A Day Good For My Health?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is. As seen from the benefits section above, this incredibly underrated exercise does more than just get you out of the house.

Walking 2 miles a day is a great and inexpensive weight loss strategy that does wonders for your mental health, heart health, and general well-being (1).