Japanese walking on a treadmill: speeds, incline and how to time it
Japanese walking works well on a treadmill. In some ways it works better than outdoors: no traffic lights interrupting a brisk phase, no hills arriving at the wrong moment, and the belt keeps you honest because you cannot slow down without noticing.
The method itself does not change. One short warm-up, then 5 rounds of 3 minutes brisk and 3 minutes slow, about 30 minutes in total. What people actually want to know is what numbers to put on the console. Here they are, with the caveat that brisk is an effort level, not a speed, so treat these as starting points and adjust with the talk test.
Starting speeds
| Fitness level | Slow phase | Brisk phase |
|---|---|---|
| Returning to exercise | 3.5 to 4.3 km/h (2.2 to 2.7 mph) | 5.0 to 5.8 km/h (3.1 to 3.6 mph) |
| Moderately active | 4.0 to 4.8 km/h (2.5 to 3.0 mph) | 5.8 to 6.8 km/h (3.6 to 4.2 mph) |
| Fit walker | 4.5 to 5.3 km/h (2.8 to 3.3 mph) | 6.8 to 7.5 km/h (4.2 to 4.7 mph) |
Calibrate on your first session: during a brisk phase you should manage short sentences only. If you can chat, add 0.3 to 0.5 km/h next round. If you are gasping, take the same amount off.
When brisk speed stops being enough: use incline
Above roughly 7.5 km/h, walking form gets awkward for many people and the temptation is to break into a jog. If you want to stay walking (the whole point of the method for a lot of us), raise the incline instead of the speed. A 2 to 4 per cent incline at your existing brisk speed usually restores the effort level immediately. Keep the slow phases flat, or near flat, so they stay genuinely easy.
Avoid holding the handrails during brisk phases if you can. It quietly removes a large chunk of the effort. If you need the rails for balance, that is fine; just know your effective intensity is lower than the console suggests, and judge by breathing rather than speed.
Timing the intervals
Three workable options, from most faff to least:
- The console timer. Watch the clock and change speed every 3 minutes. It works, but you will spend the walk clock-watching, and most consoles reset or obscure the elapsed time when you adjust speed.
- A phone interval timer. Any free interval timer set to 3:00/3:00 x5 with sound on. Perfectly fine.
- A guided app on your wrist or in your pocket. Disclosure: we make one, Japanese Walking: Step Counter, and the treadmill is where the haptic cues earn their keep. A tap on the wrist tells you to change belt speed without watching a clock, and voice guidance works over headphones. On a treadmill, start the walk as an indoor session so distance comes from your watch's motion sensing rather than GPS.
One practical note on changing speeds: belts take a few seconds to get there. Press the new speed a touch before the phase change if your treadmill is slow to respond, and step to the sides only if you are confident doing so. Otherwise just ride the transition; a five-second ramp does not meaningfully change the workout.
A sample 34-minute treadmill session
- 0:00 to 2:00: warm-up at your slow speed, flat
- 2:00 to 5:00: brisk
- 5:00 to 8:00: slow
- Repeat brisk/slow until five brisk rounds are done
- 32:00 to 34:00: cool-down at slow speed or below
Treadmill vs outdoors: does it matter?
For the fitness effect, no. The original research was done outdoors with pace measured by a device, but the mechanism is intensity alternation, which a treadmill reproduces exactly. Outdoors you get variable terrain and daylight; indoors you get consistency and no weather. Most people end up mixing both across the week, especially in winter. What matters is hitting your weekly brisk minutes, not where they happen.
About the app
Japanese Walking: Step Counter is a free iPhone and Apple Watch app made by Red Kite 9, a one-person studio in the UK. The full guided 3x3 walk is free, including the complete Apple Watch app with real-time heart rate, haptic phase cues and voice guidance. No subscription needed for any of that.