In recent years, walking has become something of a national obsession. The trauma of being limited to one walk a day during the pandemic, along with the arrival of step-counting watches and apps, has brought new focus on our strolling habits.
Young adults are especially keen. TikTok is bursting with new walking trends: the 12-3-30 workout, where you walk at a pace of three miles per hour on an incline of 12 per cent for 30 minutes; the 6-6-6 method; or the infamous “hot girl walk”. Walking groups are also thriving, including the Lonely Girls Club and Overground.
I’m more of a gym bunny than a walker – I get a walk in every day, but mostly because I know it’s good for me rather than for pleasure. And in the recent spell of cold weather, I’ve had to drag myself out. So when I read about walking pads that let you get your 10,000 daily steps in from home, I had to try them.
In the same bracket as cosy cardio, walking pads are all over social media as a way to do low-intensity exercise without going out. Unlike traditional bulky treadmills or walking desks, walking pads are neat enough to keep under a desk or in front of the television for an easy walking workout.
Gen Z is leading the way, with many content creators posting about their walks-from-home while staring at Netflix on the big screen. The hashtag #walkingpadtreadmill has over five million views on TikTok and #treadmilldesk has racked up over two billion. Others show people lighting candles in their bedroom or kitchen walking in their tweed pyjamas, Stanley cup in hand. It’s the ultimate self-care.
Meanwhile, research continues to flood in on the benefits of walking. Beating depression, lowering blood pressure, protecting against dementia and diabetes – as an exercise, it’s hard to beat, especially given it’s free and with very low risks of injury.
For the last month, I’ve tested out the Alivio Walking Pad Treadmill – using it on my lunch break while my lunch cooks in the kitchen and in the morning fresh from bed in my pyjamas.
When it arrived, I was surprised by how heavy it was. Marketed as an easily moveable and fold-away item I expected it to be lighter and manoeuvrable but lugging it around felt anything but. When I planted it down in the living room of my (quite small) flat, I knew I wasn’t moving it anytime soon.
On the plus side, though, it needed no building, and when it was plugged in, it was ready to go.
Taking a 10-minute walk in front of an American sitcom, with rain pelting down outside, I saw why it was so popular: the dreaded four-layer walks with scarves and wellies wasn’t needed and instead I could waddle along in my slippers.
I began to love it more during my work week when I could have a quick 10 minute walk during a work break and racked up my steps. The pace can be varied from one to eight kilometres per hour – I opted for a steady pace of four, raising my heart rate increased by 35bpm to 120. One small study, published independently in 2023, concluded that using a walking pad during the workday improved people’s energy levels, helped them feel less sore, reduced hip and back pain, boosted their mood and made them feel more focused.
During the month I tried the walking pad, I added 3,000 to 4,000 steps to my usual daily step count. My energy levels were definitely raised – instead of spending my lunch hour wolfing down my lunch and scrolling through my phone, I’d take a walk. Before sitting back at my desk, there was a sense of accomplishment, and I felt more productive in the afternoon.
Other Gen Z-ers like me have invested in at-home steps. Megan Winfield, a 21-year-old health insurance adviser from Somerset, got a walking pad for Christmas in 2023 and has been obsessed ever since. “I like to track my steps daily and during the winter I struggle to get them in,” she says. “In the evenings the area I live in isn’t safe enough to walk outside at night alone so I use it daily.
“I love that I can walk in my pyjamas and read a book or watch something at the same time. If I’m working from home, I do my work at the same time.”
However, there were downsides. Unlike treadmills you’d find in a gym the gradient could not be altered and it’s set on a flat steady setting the entire time. Research shows walking uphill, even for short periods, offers a unique challenge to the body that’s much better for health.
As the weeks progressed I also started to get bored with staring at the same four walls the entire day with no fresh air. Though I walked more steps per day, I also watched more TV than normal and missed the psychological boost from time spent outside, with a changing environment to look at and social interactions. If Gen Z is the lonely generation, this doesn’t feel like such a healthy trend.
Walking pads are a saviour when it’s raining or icy outside – I, like many, get into bad habits during winter. So I’ll continue to use it as a way to keep active in the cold months but I am not sure I want to make it a year-round habit. When the weather warms up, I look forward to walking the old-fashioned way.
