Walking is cooler than ever, thanks largely to the Hot Girl Walk trend made famous by TikTok. Not only is walking cool, it’s also good for your mental and physical health.

There are even ways to make your walks more effective, such as Nordic walking (a type of walking that involves engaging your upper body with poles similar to ski poles) or interval walking, which, according to Harvard Health, gets your heart rate up more than a regular walk.

An interval walk involves periods of fast and moderate walking to create a heart-pounding, challenging workout. You can mix and match the duration of each speed however you like, but generally the majority of the walking is done at a moderate pace with the faster pace sprinkled in between. It’s common to do this workout in a 2:1 ratio, meaning you walk at a moderate pace for twice as long as you walk at a fast pace (so walk at a moderate pace for two minutes followed by a faster pace for one minute), but how you split it up is really up to you.

At a moderate walking pace, you should be walking at about 30 to 40 percent of your maximum effort, says Kate Lemere, head trainer at Barry’s Chicago. In other words, your walking pace should be such that you can carry on a conversation.

She said that for intense, fast intervals, you should be going at about 70% of your maximum effort, a pace at which it should be harder to complete a full set.

Interval walking is a way to add variety to your regular walk and make it much more efficient.

Here experts explain why interval walking has a positive effect on health.

It shortens the time you need to exercise.

“What does interval training do for you? It shortens the amount of time you have to exercise to get the same benefit,” says Dr. Michael Ayers, a sports cardiologist at UVA Health in Virginia.

For people with busy schedules, incorporating fast and slow intervals into a walk — or incorporating any type of high-intensity interval training into their workout — is a huge benefit. When you combine intense exercise with moderate exercise, these short bouts of intense exercise will give you the same benefits in less time as a slower walk, Ayers said.

In other words, all the benefits of a moderate-intensity walk can be achieved more quickly if you incorporate some short intervals of high intensity walking.

“Interval training definitely reduces the amount of training time you need to do per week,” he added.

It produces an endorphin rush.

Ayers found that one of the main reasons his patients enjoy interval training is the good feeling they get afterward.

“When you do intense physical activity, you get a big endorphin rush,” he said. With an interval walk As long as you maintain a brisk pace for 30 to 60 seconds at a time, you will get an endorphin rush.

You could do a five-minute interval at a moderate pace followed by a one-minute fast interval, or one minute of moderate walking followed by 30 seconds of power walking. As long as you break up your slower intervals with at least 30 seconds of vigorous walking, you’ll be on your way to that endorphin rush.

It strengthens endurance.

Walking may not be the first thing you think of when you think of endurance exercise, but according to Tamanna Singh, MD, clinical cardiologist and co-director of the Center for Sports Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, walking can actually improve your aerobic endurance.

For someone who is really pushing themselves while walking, especially if they are not used to short, intense bouts of exercise, this increase in pace “can be enough to stimulate the aerobic and anaerobic systems,” she added.

This will help you build your aerobic endurance and maintain anaerobic exercise levels in the future, Singh said.

In addition, interval training can help you achieve endurance goals related to longer or faster walking times.

“The best way to increase your (walking) speed is interval training. Increasing the duration of these faster intervals over time will help you do that,” Singh said.

It is a good workout for people who are starting to exercise again.

Interval walking can also be a good progression for those returning to aerobic activity after injury or pregnancy, Lemere said.

If you fall into any of these categories, don’t start exercising right away. First, make sure you’re able to walk at a steady pace and recover without pain the next day, she said. And it’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor before adding anything new to your exercise routine after an injury.

However, if you’re ready to take your walking to the next level, you can increase your workout performance by adding fast and slow intervals.

Interval walking is also helpful for people who are recovering from an injury and want to start running again.

“Incorporating walking intervals is one of the best ways to not only improve your cardiovascular system, but also make progress if your goal includes running,” notes Lemere.

It can help you feel less bored during exercise.

Variety means excitement in most situations, including training.

A 45-minute or hour-long walk can seem daunting (and end up getting pretty boring), but if you break the walk into segments that include brisk walking followed by slower walking, you can make the workout a little more exciting, Singh notes.

You can try walking at a moderate pace for 10 minutes, followed by five minutes of brisk walking. Repeat this pattern until you reach your time goal. This, she added, is also a way to stay focused during exercise, which is another major benefit.

“Engagement is an important factor in ensuring that people are willing to exercise,” Singh said.

It is not as strenuous for your body as a conventional run…

If you don’t warm up and recover properly, “running can be very painful and recovering from it can be difficult,” Lemere said.

Our bodies change as we age and running may no longer be possible for you. That’s OK.

Interval walking is a great way to get brisk exercise outdoors without putting excessive strain on your joints.

However, the cardiovascular benefits of walking at a steady pace are largely the same.

Aside from the benefits listed above, interval walking has not been shown to be more beneficial than sustained walking in terms of overall health. You might sweat a little more after a brisk walking interval, but the overall health benefits actually won’t be much different.

Walking in any form is healthy, Ayers said. In general, walking increases muscle strength, reduces the risk of diabetes and also lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. It also leads to a lower risk of heart attack and stroke.

““At the end of the day, move and be conscious of how you move your body,” Singh said. “It’s the cheapest and easiest way to stay healthy and reduce your cardiovascular risk.”

Want to get more steps in? A treadmill under your standing desk is one of our favorite ways:

This story was previously published.

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