What Muscles Do You Work When Brisk Walking or Power Walking? Which Body Parts Get the Most Benefit?

Power walking for fitness and strength building

What muscles are we exercising when brisk walking?

Depending on the sport you practice, certain areas of the body will be called upon more than others, but what about when you go for a brisk or sporty walk? Will you tone and refine your figure by walking briskly? Below is a list of the muscles and muscle groups strengthened and sculpted by brisk walking!

Upper limbs (shoulders, arms and forearms)

Brisk or sporty walking involves very little effort from the upper limbs via the swinging movements of the arms.

Trunk and pelvis (Chest, stomach and back)

• Abdominals: These are made up of several muscle layers (rectus abdominis, external oblique, internal oblique, transverse) whose function is to flex and rotate the trunk.
• Back muscles: The back groups together muscles such as the trapezius, the dorsalis major, the rhomboids, the infraspinatus and the round muscle. These muscles play a wide variety of roles. From the dorsal to the lumbar, they ensure arm and shoulder mobility, postural support and protection of the spine.

Lower limbs (glutes, thighs and calves)

• Quadriceps: Located at the front of the thigh, the quadriceps is made up of 4 muscles (vastus femoris or rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus intermedius). These muscles facilitate flexion of the thigh over the hip, as well as extension of the leg over the thigh.
• Hamstring muscles: Located on the back of the thigh, there are four hamstring muscles (biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semitendinosus). They ensure leg flexion and thigh extension.
• Calf muscles: also known as the sural triceps, the calf muscles comprise 3 muscle fascicles, including the soleus and gastrocnemius. These muscles help extend the foot down the leg

Brisk walking tones the whole body. It primarily works the lower limbs, particularly the glutes and thighs. By bending and unfolding the leg, the hamstrings and quadriceps are strengthened.