Building up to a 10-mile walk every day could lead to substantial improvements in your cardiovascular health and psychological well-being. But it may also increase the risk of overuse injuries.

Walking is a simple and effective way to add exercise to your lifestyle.

You can walk for exercise in many settings, both urban and rural, and adjust the intensity and duration to fit your individual goals. Walking also costs less than a gym membership or home gym equipment.

Many people set the goal of walking at least 10,000 steps daily, which is around 5 miles (8 kilometers [km]).

Others wish to double this goal by walking at least 10 miles (16.1 km) daily. For many people, however, this may be an unrealistic goal and increase the risk of developing lower-body injuries.

Keep reading to learn more about the possible benefits and risks of walking 10 miles daily, and how to incorporate walks into your daily routine.

Walking can have a profound effect on your physical and mental health.

Limited studies have examined the benefits of walking 10 miles per day specifically. But research suggests that aiming to walk for 8,000 to 10,000 steps daily may help:

Walking 10,000 steps daily equates to around 5 miles (8 km), which takes people between 1.5 and 2 hours to walk daily, on average. To achieve 10 miles, you’d have to walk around 20,000 steps, or 3 to 4 hours.

A 2017 study found that setting distance-based goals instead of time-based goals may be more effective for realizing walking benefits. For example, in terms of progressive goal setting, working up to walking 10 miles per day may be better than working up to 2 hours of walking per day.

Aside from its direct, measurable physiological and psychological benefits, walking allows you to explore your local area while exercising. Additionally, you can bring a friend to make it both a workout and a social occasion.

»Learn more:Benefits of walking

Weight loss is a multifactorial process that relies on being in a calorie deficit. This means your body expends more calories than you consume daily over a period of time.

Several factors can contribute to maintaining a calorie deficit, including your exercise, dietary, and sleeping habits.

Walking is an effective physical activity for burning calories, but the number of calories you burn while walking 10 miles will depend on many factors, such as:

  • your age, height, and body weight
  • walking speed
  • terrain type, such as grass, road, snow, or sand
  • terrain slope angle, such as flat, hilly, or stairs

According to the American Council on Exercise, a person who weighs 155 pounds (70.3 kilograms [kg]) can expect to burn roughly 351 calories per hour when walking at a 15-minute mile pace.

At this pace, it would take 2.5 hours to walk 10 miles, for a total of 878 calories.

Likewise, a person weighing 185 pounds (83.9 kg) would burn 419 calories walking at a 15-minute mile pace for 1 hour. At this pace, it would take 2.5 hours to walk 10 miles, for a total of 1,048 calories.

Some research also suggests that walking at a comfortable pace for longer periods may contribute more to fat loss than walking at a fast pace. At a slower pace, your body uses a higher percentage of fat for energy instead of glucose.

Overall, you can expect to burn 700 to 1,200 calories when walking 10 miles, depending on several factors.

For safe, effective, and manageable weight loss, healthcare organizations recommend aiming to lose 1 to 2 pounds weekly. This may require a daily calorie deficit of 500 to 750 calories.

Walking 10 miles daily can help support weight loss when paired with a balanced diet of nutrient-dense whole foods and healthy sleeping habits.

Walking daily has several health benefits, but there may be several downsides to walking 10 miles daily as your only exercise choice.

You also don’t need to walk 10 miles daily to reap the health benefits of walking. A 2022 study found that the decreased risk of all-cause mortality linked with walking plateaued at 6,000 to 10,000 steps, which is up to 5 miles.

Overuse injuries

One of the biggest risks associated with walking 10 miles daily is overuse injuries, which can affect muscles, bones, tendons, and nerves.

Overuse injuries from walking may include:

To avoid overuse injury, it’s important to ease into your walking program and to rest on at least 2 nonconsecutive days during the week to allow your lower body muscles to recover.

Properly warming up with dynamic stretches and cooling down with static stretches may also help prevent injury.

Walking takes time

Walking 10 miles can take 3 to 4 hours, depending on your pace. If you have a busy schedule, it might be hard to incorporate this activity into your daily routine.

In fact, for many people, intentionally walking this long daily is unrealistic. If that’s the case for you, that’s OK! There are other ways to get a great walking workout in less time.

Walking lacks intensity

Walking is beneficial for your health, especially compared with sedentary activity.

However, if your goal is greater improvements in aerobic fitness or strength, walking doesn’t provide adequate intensity to push you toward these adaptations.

While you may initially notice improvements in your aerobic fitness, you’ll eventually need to either increase your speed until you’re running or add some form of weight or other resistance to increase the intensity.

Walking doesn’t stimulate coordination, muscle, and bone growth effectively

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 150 to 300 minutes of light to moderate activity weekly, and two days of strength training that target all of the body’s major muscle groups.

Walking may contribute toward your light to moderate activity goals, but it doesn’t provide nearly enough muscle stimulation or resistance.

As you age, you’re more likely to develop conditions like sarcopenia and osteoporosis. Resistance training plays a key role in preventing these health conditions and improving the quality of life in older adults because it provides the stimulus required to build muscle and continually improve bone density.

Additionally, incorporating balance and coordination training into a fitness plan will reduce the risk of falling, which is an important consideration for older adults.

So, working up to walking 10 miles daily is a great goal, if that interests you. But it’s important to consider a varied, balanced fitness program that also includes strength, flexibility, balance, and mobility exercises.

Building up to walking 10 miles daily takes time. This is a big goal that requires patience and consistency to be successful.

There are two main strategies for working up to 10 miles per day:

  • adding 1 mile per week
  • breaking up your walks

Adding 1 mile per week

Depending on your current fitness level, walking even a single mile may be either challenging or relatively easy.

To build up to 10 miles, start by timing yourself walking 1 mile at a comfortable pace. If you can comfortably walk 1 mile in 15 to 20 minutes, add another mile to that walk.

Once you find a distance that’s slightly challenging but not overwhelming, stick with it for 1 week. Then, add 1 mile to your daily walking program the following week.

For example, if you find walking 3 miles challenging at the beginning, walk 3 miles per day for 1 week, then increase to 4 miles per day the following week.

Feel free to play around with the increments. If adding a mile each week feels like too much, add half-mile increments. On the other hand, if you’re feeling strong, adding 1.5 miles or more may be an appropriate challenge.

Breaking up your walks

Breaking up your walks throughout the day is a great strategy if you’re on a tight schedule or simply don’t want to walk 10 miles in one session.

Research found that intermittent walking — breaking up longer walks into shorter walks — is as effective as longer continuous walks at improving health measures.

Some common strategies include:

  • going for a walk in the morning, during your lunch break, and in the evening
  • going for 10 shorter, 1-mile walks throughout the day
  • combining shorter walks with a longer walk

Here are several tips to help you stay consistent with your walking practice and prevent injuries:

  • wear comfortable and supportive shoes
  • prioritize softer walking surfaces, such as walking trails, grass, or rubberized track surfaces
  • explore new areas in your neighbourhood, such as streets, parks, and water-sides
  • try walking in forests or in the countryside, if accessible
  • listen to music albums, playlists, or podcasts
  • walk with someone else, such as a friend or family member
  • join a walking club
  • use a walking pad or treadmill when taking phone calls
  • walk to do your errands instead of driving

Walking is an effective and accessible way to add exercise to your life. Walking has numerous health benefits, and you can adjust the intensity and distance based on your current fitness level.

Building up to a 10-mile walk every day may help improve your cardiovascular health and psychological well-being.

However, it may also increase your risk of developing injuries, and it takes a lot of time to complete.

Consider speaking with a healthcare professional or personal trainer before starting to walk 10 miles daily. They can help you develop a safe, effective, and manageable exercise plan based on your fitness goals.