What incline walking workouts are
An incline walking workout is simply walking uphill on purpose. On a treadmill, you raise the deck to a certain grade, usually between 3% and 12%, sometimes higher on specialized machines. Outdoors, you get the same effect by walking up hills.
Walking on an incline recruits more muscles in your glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves and it spikes your heart rate faster than walking on a flat surface at the same speed (NordicTrack). This is what makes an incline walking workout such an efficient way to strengthen your legs and boost calorie burn without needing to run.
If you want walking to help you lose weight and improve your health, adding incline is one of the simplest upgrades you can make.
Why incline changes everything
Incline is just vertical gain. A 2% grade means you climb 2 meters for every 100 meters traveled. That extra climb increases oxygen needs and energy expenditure, so you burn more calories per minute (RunBundle).
Several tools and studies back this up:
- Walking at a 5% incline can raise energy cost by about 52%, and a 10% incline can raise it by about 113% versus flat walking (NordicTrack).
- A 10% gradient can increase metabolic energy cost by 22.9%, and a 16% gradient by 44.2%, compared to 0% grade (Healthline).
- Hiking with elevation changes burns more calories in 30 minutes than brisk flat walking, which is essentially incline walking outside (NordicTrack).
You are doing the same basic movement, walking, but against gravity. That is why the workout feels tougher and why it can be so effective for fat loss and conditioning.
Key benefits for fat loss and health
Incline walking is not magic, but it lines up nicely with how your body burns energy, builds strength, and protects your joints.
Increased calorie and fat burn
Compared with flat ground, incline walking:
- Burns more calories in less time. Walking uphill or on an incline treadmill has a higher energy cost than flat walking, which you can see in tools like the RunBundle treadmill calorie calculator and the Omni walking calorie calculator.
- Uses more fat as fuel. Some lifters report that around 60% of the calories they burn during walking come from fat stores compared with a much smaller share when running, which suggests incline walking can be particularly friendly for fat loss in a sustainable way (Reddit).
- Makes it easier to hit a meaningful weekly volume. Walking is usually easier to repeat often than high impact running, so you can build up more total minutes and steps without feeling wiped out.
The Omni walking calculator notes that a typical person burns about 200 to 500 kilocalories per hour of walking depending on speed, body weight, and incline. With incline walking, you tend to land on the higher end of that range.
Stronger, more functional legs
Incline walking is essentially resistance training for your lower body, especially the muscles you use for daily tasks like climbing stairs, getting up from a chair, and carrying groceries.
When you walk uphill or at an incline, you target:
- Glutes and hamstrings, which extend your hips
- Quadriceps, which straighten your knees
- Calves and the smaller stabilizing muscles in your lower leg
Walking on an incline can build and strengthen these muscles and may burn almost twice as many calories as flat walking, while also raising post workout calorie burn by adding lean muscle mass (Verywell Health). That muscle makes you stronger now and helps you maintain mobility as you age.
Better cardiovascular fitness
You will notice your heart rate climb quickly once you turn up the incline. That is a good thing when you are trying to improve conditioning.
Research and expert summaries show that:
- Incline walking can raise your heart rate by up to about 10% more than flat walking at the same speed, which improves cardiovascular endurance over time (Verywell Health).
- Grades of 10% and 16% helped people reach targeted heart rate zones and recruit more muscles than walking on a level surface in a 2021 study summarized by Healthline.
This means you are getting heart health benefits closer to running, while keeping the movement lower impact.
Joint friendly alternative to running
If running bothers your knees, shins, hips, or back, incline walking can give you a joint smart way to work hard.
A few reasons it is easier on your body:
- Walking uphill reduces certain knee joint stresses compared with flat or downhill walking, according to research highlighted by NordicTrack.
- Incline walking is considered low impact while still providing solid cardiovascular benefits, which makes it suitable for older adults or people with knee or ankle problems (Verywell Health).
- By better targeting your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves, incline walking can take some pressure off your knees over time and may help prevent long term knee issues, especially in people with higher body weight or a history of knee surgery (Healthline).
Incline walking can also improve endurance and muscle strength and may reduce joint pain and strain in the long run (Omni Calculator).
Supports everyday health goals
You do not have to hit huge numbers to see benefits. Walking at least 7,500 to 8,000 steps per day is linked with lower risk of cardiovascular disease and overall mortality, and those steps can include hill or treadmill incline time (Omni Calculator).
Incline walking also:
- Conditions you for real life terrain with hills and stairs (Healthline).
- Helps prevent plateaus by adding new challenge without needing to run faster.
- Can be steady and sustainable enough that you can watch a show or listen to a podcast while you work out, which many people on forums say helps them stick with it long term (Reddit).
How to start incline walking safely
Before you jump into intense routines, set a solid foundation. This keeps your progress moving forward instead of getting cut short by aches and pains.
Pick a starting incline and speed
If you are new to incline walking workouts, think gentle first, not extreme.
Guidelines from trainers and treadmill brands suggest:
- Begin with a 3% to 5% incline
- Choose a speed that lets you hold a conversation, often around 2.5 to 3.0 mph
- Walk for 10 to 20 minutes and see how your legs and breathing feel
From there, you can gradually increase either:
- Incline, in 1% to 2% steps, or
- Duration, in 5 minute chunks
NordicTrack recommends that beginners stay with gentle inclines at first and build gradually to avoid overuse injuries and excessive fatigue (NordicTrack).
Use proper form to protect your body
Incline magnifies whatever form you already have. A few small adjustments keep your joints and muscles happier.
Focus on:
- Neutral spine
Keep your head and chest up and your gaze straight ahead, not down at your feet. Let your shoulders relax. - Engaged core
Gently brace your midsection as if preparing for a light poke in the stomach. This supports your lower back. - Shorter, quicker steps at higher inclines
At steeper grades, shrink your stride a bit so you do not over reach with each step. This reduces stress on your knees and hips (NordicTrack). - Minimal handrail use
Use the rails for balance when needed, especially if you are still getting used to incline, but do not lean your full weight on them. That undercuts the workout and can strain your shoulders and wrists.
Good posture, balance, and stride are particularly important in challenging workouts like the 12 3 30 routine to avoid injury, and adjusting incline gradually is safer than jumping to high grades right away (Today).
Listen to your body and recover
Your muscles and connective tissues need time to adapt to uphill work.
To stay on track:
- Alternate incline days with flat or lighter days, especially at first. NordicTrack suggests mixing in flat walking sessions to avoid overuse (NordicTrack).
- Use the Rate of Perceived Exertion, or RPE, scale. Aim for a 6 to 7 out of 10 effort on most incline walks, so challenging but sustainable (NordicTrack).
- Back off if you feel sharp pain, joint swelling, or persistent soreness in your lower back, hamstrings, Achilles tendons, knees, or feet. These are common overuse spots with frequent steep incline walking like 12 3 30 if you progress too fast (Today).
The goal is consistency, not one extremely hard session.
Sample incline walking workouts to try
Use these incline walking workout ideas as templates. Adjust speed, incline, and duration to your fitness level and how your body feels on a given day.
1. Gentle beginner incline walk
Good for: Newer exercisers or anyone returning after a break.
Total time: About 20 minutes
- Warm up, 5 minutes
- 0% incline
- Comfortable pace, for example 2.5 to 3.0 mph
- Main set, 10 minutes
- 3% incline
- Same pace if it feels manageable
- You should feel your breathing pick up but still be able to talk
- Cool down, 5 minutes
- 0% incline
- Slow your pace gradually to easy walking
Try this 2 to 3 times per week. When it feels comfortable, either add minutes to the main set or nudge the incline up to 4%.
2. Steady state incline for calorie burn
Good for: Fat loss and endurance with minimal complexity.
Total time: 30 to 40 minutes
- Warm up, 5 minutes
- 0% to 2% incline
- Easy pace
- Steady incline block, 20 to 30 minutes
- 5% to 8% incline
- Pace that puts you at about 6 out of 10 effort on the RPE scale (NordicTrack)
- You can watch a show or listen to a podcast, but you should still feel like you are working
- Cool down, 5 minutes
- Gradually reduce incline back to 0%
- Slow your pace to very easy walking
You can build this into your routine 3 or more days per week as long as your legs and joints feel good.
3. Simple incline intervals for strength and stamina
Good for: Breaking up monotony and pushing your heart rate a bit higher without running.
Total time: About 30 minutes
- Warm up, 5 minutes
- 0% to 1% incline
- Easy pace
- Interval block, 20 minutes
Repeat the following 4 times:
- 3 minutes at 6% to 8% incline, moderate pace
- 2 minutes at 2% incline, easy pace
- Cool down, 5 minutes
- 0% incline, relaxed pace
Intervals like these let you work harder in short bursts but give your body a chance to recover between climbs.
4. The 12 3 30 incline walking workout
Good for: A simple structure with a strong challenge, if you already walk consistently.
The 12 3 30 workout has become popular on social media and in gyms:
- Set the treadmill incline to 12%
- Set speed to 3.0 mph
- Walk for 30 minutes
This format increases workout intensity, calorie burn, and lower body muscle engagement. It is considered low impact but still quite demanding, especially for beginners (Healthline, NordicTrack, PureGym, Today).
A few important notes:
- 12 3 30 may not be appropriate for everyone, especially if you are new to exercise, have joint issues, or find 12% extremely steep.
- Many trainers suggest working up to the full version over time, for example by starting with:
- 6% to 8% incline at 2.5 to 3.0 mph
- 15 to 20 minutes total
- Experts also caution that doing 12 3 30 too frequently can cause overuse injuries in your lower back, hamstrings, Achilles tendon, knees, and the plantar fascia in your feet. Rest days and gradual build up are important (Today).
If you would like to use 12 3 30 to help reach the 150 to 300 minutes of weekly moderate aerobic exercise recommended by health guidelines, you can aim for it around 5 days per week once your body has adapted, and always combine it with smart nutrition for sustainable weight loss (Today).
5. Longer incline endurance session
Good for: Those who enjoy “zone out” cardio and want to expand time on your feet.
An example template, based on a user who shared their routine on Reddit (Reddit):
Total time: About 40 minutes
- Warm up, 5 minutes
- 0% to 2% incline, easy pace
- Main work, 8 minutes
- 12% incline
- Around 3.0 to 3.5 mph
- No handrails if you can maintain balance
- Active recovery, 2 minutes
- 4% incline
- About 2.5 mph
Repeat the 10 minute work plus recovery block 3 times to reach 30 minutes of working intervals, then cool down for 5 minutes flat.
Adjust inclines and speeds down as needed. Over time, you can increase the number of rounds or the length of each high incline segment.
How to use tools to track your calorie burn
If your main goal is fat loss, it helps to understand roughly how many calories you are expending in each incline walking workout. You do not need perfect precision, just useful estimates.
Online calculators like:
let you plug in your:
- Weight
- Age
- Treadmill speed
- Incline or grade
- Time walked
RunBundle uses research based equations such as the Load Carriage Decision Aid walking equation and work by D. B. Dill to estimate oxygen needs during vertical climbing and calculates calorie and fat burn for incline walking sessions (RunBundle). Omni combines pace, body weight, terrain, and slope to show how incline boosts energy expenditure and can help you see how close you are to burning 200 to 500 kilocalories per hour (Omni Calculator).
You can use these tools to:
- Compare flat vs incline sessions
- Plan how many incline walks you might need each week to support a healthy calorie deficit
- Track progress as you increase speed, incline, or duration
Remember, nutrition and overall activity matter as much as any single workout.
How often to do incline walking workouts
To decide how many incline sessions per week make sense, consider your current activity level, your joints, and your goals.
A simple framework:
- If you are just starting
2 to 3 incline sessions per week of 20 to 30 minutes, plus light flat walking on non incline days. - If you already walk regularly
3 to 5 incline sessions per week of 30 to 40 minutes, staying mostly in that 6 to 7 out of 10 RPE range (NordicTrack). - If you have joint issues or are older
Focus on lower inclines first, 3% to 5%, and shorter sessions. Incline walking is generally gentle on joints and may help with long term joint health, but easing in is still important (Verywell Health, Healthline).
You can meet general activity guidelines of 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week with incline walking as your main cardio, as long as you space sessions to allow recovery.
Common incline walking mistakes to avoid
A few simple tweaks can make your incline walking workout more effective and more comfortable.
Try to avoid:
- Jumping straight to very steep inclines like 12% if you are a beginner
Move up gradually instead. - Gripping the handrails tightly
Light touch is fine for safety, but leaning heavily reduces leg effort and can strain upper body muscles. - Taking long, reaching steps on steep grades
Shorter steps give you more control and protect your knees and hips. - Ignoring pain signals
Soreness is normal, sharp or persistent joint pain is not. Adjust incline, volume, or rest days if pain shows up, especially in the knees, lower back, or Achilles tendons (Today). - Doing only intense incline every single day
Include easier walks or flat days for balance.
Small corrections now can save you from setbacks later.
Putting it all together
If your goal is to lose weight, strengthen your legs, and improve your health, incline walking workouts give you a strong return on your time. By tilting the treadmill deck or seeking out hills, you:
- Burn more calories than flat walking
- Tap into fat stores effectively
- Build glute, quad, hamstring, and calf strength
- Improve cardiovascular fitness without high impact
- Keep your joints happier than with running
You do not have to start with aggressive routines. Begin with a modest incline and short sessions, focus on comfortable form, and gradually increase your incline walking workout volume as your legs and lungs adapt.
Try this simple next step: on your next walk, add just 5 to 10 minutes at a 3% to 5% incline. Notice how your breathing and legs feel. From there, you can build toward the steady state, interval, or 12 3 30 style workouts that best fit your body and your life.
About the Author
