Walking 2 miles a day: The benefits, safety, and everything else you should know

2 miles is approximately 4,000 to 5,000 steps, which can take 22-40 minutes of your time. This is an excellent type of activity that can be used to increase your calorie expenditure, lose weight, and, at the same time, gain a wealth of benefits, such as:

• Fat-burning and weight management
• Better cardiovascular fitness and endurance
• Increased energy levels
• Better coordination and balance
• Stronger immunity
• Improved muscle and bone health
• Reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms
• Better cognitive functions
• Improved sleep

Walking 2 miles a day can be a good starting point to increase your daily physical activity and build a habit. And the best part is that it’s accessible, doesn’t require much time or investment, and is safe for most people. 

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Without a doubt, everyday physical activity is crucial for every person. It helps maintain a healthy weight and supports your overall health and mental well-being. And it has also been shown to improve longevity. Due to these reasons, experts suggest that every person should have 60 minutes or more of physical activity a day.

Now, obviously, you can’t engage in high-impact physical activity (such as strength training) every day. This can be damaging to your muscles and body in general. But what you can do is engage in low-impact activities to hit your daily fitness goals. The options are endless – cycling, swimming, dancing, yoga, etc. Yet, walking remains one of the easiest and most accessible options of all.

Daily walks can bring you a wealth of benefits and help you achieve your weight goals. Of course, the distance and duration of walks are up to you. And there are also quite many options to choose from. In this article, we’ll talk about walking 2 miles a day, in particular, to help you find a starting point that feels right for you.

Why Walking 2 Miles a Day Can Be a Good Starting Point?

When you’re just getting started with daily physical activity, rest assured that your body and brain will protest against it. Your brain doesn’t like new effort as it considers it potentially energy-draining, which is bad for survival. However, walking 2 miles a day really isn’t too much. It takes less than an hour and can be easily combined with other pleasant activities, such as listening to music/audiobooks or talking to a friend (if you find yourself a walking buddy). It’s an easy start that shouldn’t trigger a serious negative response, which makes it good for building a habit.

At the same time, 2 miles is just enough to help you feel the benefits of daily walking.

Benefits of Walking 2 Miles a Day

Walking is one of the most basic and simple kinds of physical activity. It’s accessible to everyone and typically doesn’t require much effort, time, or investment. Yet, it offers a great deal of benefits, both physical and mental. Let’s look at some of the main benefits of walking 2 miles a day that you can get.

Physical Benefits of Walking 2 Miles Every Day

The very first benefit of walking 2 miles a day is that it’s an easy start that can help you gradually switch to a more active lifestyle. It doesn’t take much time or effort, which makes it a perfect starting goal to build a habit. In the meantime, it can offer you the following science-backed physical health benefits:

• Fat-burning and weight management
• Better cardiovascular fitness and endurance
• Increased energy levels
• Better coordination and balance
• Stronger immunity
• Improved muscle and bone health

All in all, walking is an excellent type of aerobic activity that engages lots of muscles. In order to coordinate a single step, you need to activate your major muscle groups, such as legs, hips, and core. Additionally, you will also engage your shoulders, arms, neck, feet, and more. That is, walking 2 miles a day is a full-body exercise. It warms up your entire body and improves blood and lymph flow, which positively affects different organs and systems.

Mental Benefits of Walking 2 Miles Every Day

Apart from physical benefits, there are also significant mental benefits of walking 2 miles every day. Large controlled studies reveal that regular walking can significantly reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms. When you walk, your body releases endorphins that boost mood and reduce stress levels. Additionally, everyday walking is linked to improved cognitive functions, such as creativity, memory, and focus, and better sleep.

It’s also important to note that walking shows positive mental outcomes for everyone, regardless of walking duration, format, or even location. That is, you can feel significant benefits from walking 1, 2, 3, or more miles, regardless of whether you do it outdoors or use a treadmill.

How Many Steps Is 2 Miles?

It’s generally considered that an average adult makes 2,000 to 2,500 steps when walking one mile. Respectively, 2 miles consists of roughly 4,000 to 5,000 steps. This is a median indicator that can vary from one person to another, depending on factors like:

• Height
• Pace
• Terrain, etc.

If you want to calculate your own steps per mile, you can use this formula:

• Walk across a football field at your normal pace and count the number of steps.
• 300 (the number of feet in a football field) ÷ Number of steps it took you = Your stride length
• 5,280 (feet in a mile) ÷ Stride length = Number of steps per mile

Note: If you don’t want to bother with calculations, there is also an easy way to monitor the number of steps you make – use wearables. A wearable device (e.g., smartwatch) paired with a quality fitness app will give you insights into many interesting stats, including your number of steps, distance walked, pace, heartbeat, cardiovascular fitness, and more.

How Long Does It Take to Walk 2 Miles?

When you’re just planning to start walking 2 miles a day, chances are that you want to know how much of your time it will take.

Based on median indicators, a 2-mile walk can take anywhere between 22 and 40 minutes. The specific number depends mainly on your pace.

This is actually another benefit of this kind of activity – it doesn’t take too much time, which makes it accessible to nearly anyone, despite a busy schedule. That’s why walking can become an excellent first step to incorporating regular physical activity into your life without devoting too much time or effort.

Is Walking 2 Miles a Day Enough Exercise?

Generally, yes. Walking 2 miles a day is a good aerobic goal, which might actually exceed the recommended weekly guidelines for moderate activity. That is, it can help you manage weight and gain a wealth of physical and mental benefits, supporting your longevity.

However, it’s also important to note that exercise needs might vary from one person to another, depending on age, BMI, genetics, and other factors. The best approach is to consider your unique needs, goals, and health conditions to find a perfect exercise schedule that will give you the most benefits.

FAQ

Who should consider walking 2 miles a day?

Walking is a great type of physical activity that offers plenty of physical and mental health benefits. It doesn’t require any special equipment or investment in a gym membership. And it’s also considered safe for most people. Due to these reasons, this kind of exercise can (and should) be considered by pretty much anyone, including people looking to lose weight or support their overall health. Yet, it’s important to listen to your body’s response after you incorporate this kind of activity and stay cautious because walking more miles a day can potentially aggravate some conditions, like arthritis or functional limitation in joints, and put you at risk for falls and injuries.

Is walking 2 miles a day good for my joints?

People with joint pain are often afraid of activities like walking. But it’s in vain. Although too much walking can increase the risk of discomfort, a moderate amount of daily walking (such as 2 miles a day) has actually shown to bring more blood and nutrients to joints and thus ease joint pain. It’s recommended to consult with a healthcare provider in order to make the most out of it and prevent injuries.

Will walking 2 miles a day help me lose weight?

Yes, it can. Walking (depending on your BMI, pace, duration, and other factors) can burn anywhere between 160 and 479 calories. If you do it on a daily basis, it can become a great way to create a calorie deficit and lose weight. However, it’s important to remember that the weight loss process will not occur if you consume more calories than you expend with food, which is why it’s important to combine walking and other physical activities with a proper diet and a healthy calorie deficit.

Conclusion

As you now know, walking 2 miles a day is an excellent type of physical activity. It’s associated with a whole range of benefits. At the same time, it doesn’t require much to get started and thus is more accessible than many other types of exercise.

And is walking 2 miles a day enough exercise? It might be, depending on your individual needs and goals. In any case, it’s worth noting that any amount of physical activity is good. So if walking sounds right to you, it can be a good place to start. So don’t wait and get on the move for the sake of your health and longevity!

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