Trends in Walking: What’s Worth It
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[00:00:00] are you ready to uncover all the viral walking trends that are taking the internet by storm specifically in this past year?
In today's episode, I'm gonna break down the viral walking trend. If it's something that maybe you should consider where the origin of it is, because we know viral things, right?
Most of the time. It's kind of like cyclical. That's something from the past, and then it comes back with new packaging and new ideas and a new presentation. It's usually not new at all. And that's something we're gonna discuss in this episode as well. I'm gonna talk about the most popular ones. Uh, the one that's actually just recently been emerging is Japanese style walking.
But at the beginning of the year it started with, uh, walking with a weighted vest, and then it moved on to silent walking. Then there was a trend of, uh, fart walking and. Also a kind of [00:01:00] a quiet, emerging, backwards walking trend. And now as I researched a little bit more for this podcast, you know, making sure that I was getting my facts right in where these things were originated, I found this other trend that is, it's gonna blow you away.
Like, it's kind of like, oh, really? Is that where we're going? Welcome to the Creative Life in Motion Show, where we don't wait until we reach our goals to be happy. We fall in love with who we are, being on the way. And if you are new here, welcome to the podcast. Say hello in the comments if you are returning.
Welcome back my friend. Here we are in another talk walk. Walk talk. You know me. I love to talk about walking as an additional thing to your tool belt to keep the engine motor, keep it running clean, and help you in all of your pursuits, whether it's [00:02:00] personal or creative or business,
keeping your body moving now will help you keep your body moving later. Right? It's all practice. We're practicing for the later years. Um, we're practicing for tomorrow today. Kind of, anyway, let's get into the meat and the bones of this podcast. So let's first talk a little bit about trends and how they kind of come back.
You know, I spent quite a few years in, um, working in cosmetics and trends come and go. Then you have the red lipstick, then it goes away, then it comes back, then it goes away. And the same thing. Happens every time it comes back, there's a new shade of red. Finally there's like 50,000 shades of red, but this new shade of red, well, if you are not wearing this new shade of red, you're totally missing out.
You're [00:03:00] creating the, the feeling, the emotion, and then there's also, you know, the sales aspect of it. Oh, well, if you don't buy this lipstick today, it's only cost $10 today, and tomorrow it's gonna be $150,000. Here's the thing that they're not telling you is that the day after that, it's gonna be $10 again.
We're taught, this is how you get people's attention. You lead with things that will create emotion, fear of missing out. And so a lot of times these trends are. Put in front of us as a way of, you're doing it wrong if you don't add this. Oh, well, you know, some of the titles that I've seen, for example, for Japanese walking, which I'm gonna dive into first, is that, oh, stop doing 10,000 steps a day.
This is all you need. Although that might be true for some, you know, you know [00:04:00] me, I, I say 30 minutes a day. That should be your baseline of going for a walk of 30 minutes a day and everything else. A above and beyond that is, is extra and it's good. And you need more movement than just one time in your day.
It depends. It always depends. Are you sedentary? Do you have a job that you're on your feet and walking around all day? Everything depends. So everything that we're gonna talk about. Today is going to also help you decide is this something that's worth even looking at, or is this just a trend? Because people are looking to get eyeballs on their channel, their product, their their purpose, which is not a bad thing, it's just.
The way things work. And then another thing that happens is when you're on the internet, and you probably know this, you know we've all been talking about how our phones are listening to us for years, right? You probably know this and have noticed. This, that when you [00:05:00] click on something that's interest, like say maybe somebody has posted a short or a reel on Instagram or something and they've said, backwards walking has changed my life.
Well make, and they're walking backwards. May maybe you're a little bit curious and you click on it and then all of a sudden, two posts later, someone's talking about backwards walking, and then three or four more posts later you. You turn on your phone and all of a sudden there's a YouTube video saying backwards walking.
It's because the algorithm and AI is starting to mold to what it thinks your interests are. So whenever you're interested in something, it's gonna give you more because it's number one purpose and job is to keep you on the platform, to keep you looking at it so that whoever. Is seeing it, right? They're also seeing ads and they're getting paid by advertisers, right?
So [00:06:00] they're wanting to keep you on. So that's, that's the whole, that's, that's how a trend can kind of get started. And then it feels like everybody's doing it. So maybe you decide, oh, I'm gonna do a video on it too. And then, and it's not a bad thing, it just is. It's just how things work right now. So understanding the trends that they come and go is a really important part to this process because just because everybody is dying, their hair bleach blonde, because it's a trend and it, it doesn't mean that it's a good trend for you, or just because everybody's wearing red lipstick doesn't mean it's a good trend for you.
Only you get to decide. And the same is true when it comes to health and fitness and fitness trends. Um, they're all over the place. They're, we got diets, we got, we got everything right? Like, let's not go down that rabbit hole. Let's talk about Japanese walking, it [00:07:00] originally originated in 2007, so that's when, uh, you know, you probably might, if you were around in 2007, you might've heard the first study that had come out that claimed that this is a really good. Um, method of getting walking to be a little bit more fitness related, right?
A good alternative to say running so that you can get in the aerobic state and it's better on your joints than running, and you're still getting that really big boost of aerobic fitness. But it didn't go viral until about 2023 to 2025.
We're seeing it pop up a lot on YouTube right now.
So I'll do a deeper dive on exactly, you know, the whole experience, but like a surface level, it's basically a 30 minute walk or less. And what you're doing is you're doing intervals of three minute, like just [00:08:00] regular pace, even slow pace walking and three minute, um, brisk walking. And what this does is it gives your body a chance to rest.
And because it's. Three minutes. It makes it a little bit different than an interval walk. See, an interval walk will use different intervals of time, so I, I'll do a video that breaks down the difference between all of them. Should you add a Japanese interval walk to your week? Yeah, I think so. I think that it would be something that benefits all people.
Like I tried it a couple of times this week. And it reminded me of this is the type of walk that I can't take my dog on. It's, it's a little bit more focused because you want to stay within the lines. So this is a good walk to add, to really boost your fitness.
That three minute rest, it's a real rest. It's an active moving rest. And the three minute. [00:09:00] Boost is a real boost. I found when I was doing it that I would kind of start to get like around a minute or so I'd be like, ready to slow down. And it's like, no, you have to go for two more minutes.
So it's really, it really does improve endurance. And one of the claims that influencers are making are the claims that it really helps to reduce belly fat. Now, let's circle back and let's talk about this sales psychology. Okay, so what's happening there is that basically targeting a specific problem, right, with a specific emotion and a specific.
One of the things that happens as we get older is we start to put a little bit more fat on in areas that maybe we didn't have it before and it kind of reorganizes. And the thing [00:10:00] about. Spot reducing is it's, it's impossible.
And usually what happens is that we start to lose weight in the last place that we put it. So thinking about myself, the last place I put weight on, um, was my belly. Years before if I put weight on, it would be my butt or my thighs. And then all of a sudden it started to accumulate in my belly.
And I'm like, well, that's never happened before. And I started, you know. Wanting to get rid of it, but here's the truth, you can't spot reduce, and usually it takes longer to take the fat off the last place it accumulated, it'll go everywhere else first, right? Um, that's, that's kind of the way it works. But because.
Uh, it's, it's something that is sensitive that I think about that [00:11:00] I, I would like to reduce. Whenever there's a title that says This reduces belly fat, I immediately get this thought of, this might work for me eight, but you can't spot reduce. Here's the thing. It takes more than just exercise and it takes more than just one type of exercise To reduce fat on the body, you, you have to look at your sleep. You have to look at what you're putting in your body. You have to look at your exercise level, you stress levels. There's so many indicators it can't be done with just.
One form of walking. So I just wanna make that clear so that when you're making a decision on whether or not to add something to your [00:12:00] fitness bucket or basket, you're doing it for the right reasons. So let's look at the right reasons of why you would do this. I, I mean, one of them that is a side effect you might.
Lose some belly fat, but here's what's gonna happen first, your heart's gonna get better. Your legs are gonna get stronger. You're gonna get fitter, and your aerobic capacity will get stronger, meaning that you're gonna go further, faster, longer. Okay. That's super important because. What happens with the fat loss won't happen unless there's consistency, unless there's a reason to keep going, right?
So Japanese interval walking. Is a great thing to add to your week. I would say if you were a beginner, maybe do 15 minutes of it for the first time. Maybe do it, you know, two to three times a week. It's not an everyday thing. It's like an interval. It's a more intense [00:13:00] workout. So more is not better. More is never better.
Okay. But yeah, it'd be a great thing to experiment with.
The reason why it's trending so hard right now is because it does promise fast results. Don't worry about 10,000 steps. You only need to do 30 minutes. And if you do it this way, you, you don't. That's all you have to do. Again, I disagree. You have to look at the whole picture.
Let's move on to silent walking. First off, the origin is. Uh, when we began to walk, like silent walking is basically just walking without earbuds in, without any other distractions, going outside, listening to the birds and the bees and whatever else is around you.
Uh, that's my definition of silent walking. So that's how I started walking because I didn't have anything to put in my. [00:14:00] Ears, right? Like you're just, you have to listen to your thoughts. That's the origin. But it went viral around 20 23, 20 25. Um, first on TikTok, it was actually on the news. They were surprised of this new type of walking called silent walking.
And I, and I laughed when I was, when I was listening to this because. Uh, it is like, okay, well, like isn't, it's not a new exercise. It's, it's the basics, right? It is literally the basics, so the fact that it's coming back and being viral, I get really excited about that because I think as a society we do need to unplug more.
We do need to be silent more and tune into ourselves.
There was a New York City, uh, influencer. I think her name was Ariel, Laurie. Lori. She helped to make this term on TikTok. [00:15:00] Go silent walking, go viral.
So it's trending because I think a lot of people are craving these breaks, right? These, um, you're seeing a lot more digital detox breaks. There's this term of mental clarity in a noisy world. And as a matter of fact, I was just listening to, um, on Jenna Zoe,
on her podcast Align. I was listening to that and she was talking about the difference between not having enough time and not having enough space. So sometimes it's not a matter of not having enough time to go out and fit in a walk. But by the time the time comes that you're gonna go for a walk, there's not enough mental space and space is being filled with everything that's flying into our face digitally throughout the world.
The news, the internet, this video, [00:16:00] everything is filling up the subconscious mind. Where there is space and if we feel like we have no space, it's gonna add to the fatigue. It can zap the motivation. So. Yeah, I'll talk a little bit more on another episode about, uh, my realization of the amount of space that I've had and how I created more.
But this is a really great start to create more space in your subconscious mind is, and unplug and go for a walk. Go for a silent walk. For some people. The thought of not having technology, not having music. Um, when they go out for a walk, it actually raises stress and anxiety. So if that's you, just start with five minutes, just go out and do what you would normally [00:17:00] do.
Maybe listen to your favorite playlist, and at the end when you have about five minutes left of your walk, just take it out and absorb the outside surroundings. And start there and then add increments of time and start to document how you feel, what you thought about something that came up.
You could document on your phone. You could document when you come home with a pen and paper, you could bring a journal with you and turn it into an experience. Um, the point is just give it a shot. I think this is definitely one that you're gonna wanna take into 2026,
backwards walking. I tried once. I felt that it was really, really awkward. But for the purpose of this. Episode, I thought, well, maybe I should do a little bit of research and to see why this is starting to trend it's starting to trend because people are looking for eyeballs, right?
It's, it's something new. [00:18:00] It's interesting and not done, and it's something that people could be aware and possibly benefit, benefit from. But it does come with some cautions, and I'll get into that in a second. The, origin from it is, is therapy, physical therapy. So, you know, coming back for balance and rehabilitation because it does work different vessels.
So if you do try walking backwards, uh, you'll notice that you'll probably notice that it's working different parts of your legs. It'll work your quads a little bit more. You'll notice that you'll be off balance a little bit more. Uh, that it might feel uncomfortable and it feels those, if it feels that way to you, I would probably skip it.
There are other exercises that you can do that will work the same muscles in the, in a very similar way, [00:19:00] so you don't have to put yourself in danger or discomfort to do something just because it's a trend.
It first became like a really quirky challenge on TikTok and it's now starting to show up on YouTube, so it's, it's just a matter of time and it's gonna be in your feed. Actually, I had someone ask me about it. I did a little short video on it, which is when I tried it. And it does activate different parts of your brain too, but I wouldn't take this one outside, like for safety precautions.
If it's something that you're gonna try, I think. The person that is for is if you have like handrails on your treadmill and you can set it really, really slow and you're doing it inside in a safe space. Or if you're on a very flat road where there's like no cars, no nothing. It can be very precarious and dangerous, so it might not be worth it.
It does promise more stability [00:20:00] and joint health, but it mainly became trend beca trendy because it's drying curiosity. So this one is not like. Um, you're missing out if you're not doing this. Uh, would I take this into 2026? Only if I had an injury or a rehab or was told to do by a physical therapist?
Otherwise, I would rather use strength training exercises and mobility exercises that are gonna do the same thing for my joint health and for my mobility and strength. Let's move on to the weighted vest debate. Oh my gosh. I did a video about this not too long ago, actually, a few months ago, where I was questioning.
Like what is, what is the hype on this? Like I was seeing weighted vests pop up everywhere, even in my neighborhood, and I'm like, why is everybody just doing this? All of [00:21:00] a sudden, the origin, it dates back to 2010. Okay. That's when these things started to come in as a fitness accessory, and in my opinion, it's really great.
Like maybe if you are training for something like a Tough Mudder, right? Otherwise, I don't think weight has any business being in walking. Like I have to admit, if I go way, way back to when I first started walking, when I first lost weight with walking back, we're going like 25 years ago now, I started adding weights, but I added them to my ankles, which I've since learned is probably not the best place for the weights to be and.
It's like with everything that starts out as a trend, it started out as a trend because one person took one study that had a small group that said that. You know, it may have improved bone density. And then the target [00:22:00] audience, uh, to the influencers are people over 40 that are losing their bone density, mass perimenopause, and menopause women.
And it makes us feel like we're gonna have empowerment. It'll make us feel like we can lose those extra pounds. Those were the promise. Promises and because we're targeted on something that we might lose, it creates that fear mentality that, oh, well I'm walking anyways, so I better do it right and put this weighted vest on me.
So there's that sales psychology thing, but yet it might not be right for you. Right, because there, when when I made the video, I had just, um. I ordered Stacey Sims book, which she was talking about
it's not necessarily the right thing for all women because women's hips are in a different place, and it is [00:23:00] okay for men because men's hips are in a different place. But what can happen with women is it can cause. Misalignment, it can cause injuries. And what my thoughts to it is like, do we have to make everything hard?
Do we have to make everything hard on ourselves? Can't we just go for a walk without. Feeling like we're doing it wrong or not working hard enough. Does everything have to be stressful? So those were my arguments on getting a weighted vest. I had to like really, you know, pull myself back from that because I have been conditioned with the mindset being in the fitness industry that you know, more is better.
And I had to remind myself, no, it's not. Why it is trend trending is, again, it's, it's giving us this [00:24:00] illusion that we could get more for less, get more for less of our time. We want the shortcut, gimme the shortcut. And sometimes the shortcut is the longer cut because the shorter cut is actually listening to your own body and doing what's right for you.
Whether or not your team weighted vest or not, I don't want the arguments in the comments, but here's the thing. Evaluate, listen to yourself. Listen to your body. Is does it hurt? Does it feel better?
Do you feel empowered? Because the studies show that it does very little for bone density and bone health. Uh, not as much as say, lifting weights or doing jump exercises. So I don't know. Who knows? Like here's the thing. With all of these things and all of these trends, 10 years later we're gonna find out something different because somebody's gonna pull something else that's [00:25:00] biased out of a study.
What happens with these study claims is people pull out what the information that they want to present to you to back up their idea. Right? Case in point, okay.
So bottom line is this right for you? Well, vests can improve your posture, but they can also cause injuries. So if you are deciding that you want to try a weighted vest to add, you know, more intensity. Start small and maybe start with a backpack. Um, it's been said that the wrecking is a little bit better because of the weight distribution, distribution or a belt because again, it's, you're, you're being centered over the hips where that's where your center of gravity is.
So a weighted belt might be better. Two. So anyways, just saying, I'm gonna pause on that account and [00:26:00] just use like Japanese walking and hills for my strength and, you know, use some strength exercises to, um, gain strength and bone density and some jump training, which those are really easy and short things to incorporate.
It doesn't have to be a lot. Let's move on to the one that always causes giggles. It's fart walking. It started in, uh, 2020. There was a Canadian author that launched a cookbook. Her name was Marilyn Smith in March, 2020, and it was called Aging Wonderfully.
And she was doing a v uh, a video series that caused some traction because she was talking about fart walking. And this became popular on TikTok first and then Instagram. And the reason why it took off, because it's a little humorous, right? So it combines humor with [00:27:00] humanness like we all do it, right?
Body acceptance, practical health, and how adding more fiber to your diet. Makes o overall a healthier person, but it adds farts because it's fiber. So the best way to do that is after dinner or after a meal, you go for a walk and you let the body release. Well, this became so popular that even Oprah picked it up, but really all it is is it's an after, it's an after meal stroll.
Is this something that you should take into 2026? I think so. I think there's so much, uh, science and evidence that base is. Around the fact that if you, if you go for a walk about 30 minutes after your dinner or after your lunch, it helps, uh, the insulin response stay steadier, [00:28:00] uh, than like, you won't get the, the dip, the energy dip or the, the sugar dip.
Well, providing, you know, you're eating well too. I, I don't know if it works as well. You know, when you eat a big cake, I think you'll still get the dip. Probably get a bigger dip. But hypothetically, I think it's definitely one, to take into 2026. Uh, my husband and I all summer long, we go for after dinner walks, uh, just short ones.
These ones don't have to be long. 10, 20 minutes. I, I can't say that I have done a lot of farting. But, but you know, if it's there, at least you're outside and you're not stinking each other out. That's all I have to say on that topic. I think bravo to this author, it's so, such a creative way to get people moving and, and thinking about what they're putting into their bodies.
And I, and I think it was very creative and [00:29:00] effective, so hats off. Um, that was a, that's definitely been a winner. I think. Now, as I was saying, I ran into a new trend. Coming up to watch for, uh, and what's, what was, I guess what was a little bit more disturbing was just how many.
Videos. There were about this on YouTube already, just in the last month. Basically all saying the same information and presenting it in a way that you're doing it wrong. And that's, I, I don't like that. Um, it's definitely a trend that's coming to watch for, and I'm gonna share with you what that is and also what to do about it.
So there's quite a few different videos out there that are, that have the titles of, uh, stop walking and do this [00:30:00] instead. Or, um, you're wasting your time walking. You should be doing this one exercise instead. You know, headlines like that. And I, I get it. You're trying to get attention. You want people to click and figure out what it is, like I think the better way to state it would be add this and change everything. Because it's not one or the other. It's both. These videos are targeted to people that are over 60 claiming that if you are skipping calf raises and, um, certain strength exercises, some of them are seated calf raises, some of them are standing calf raises, some of them are squats.
Um, that your. Your body will not be as fit longer with just walking. And [00:31:00] although some of that is true, it's not one or the other, it's both. You have to keep taking care of your heart, which is what walking does. And yeah, you, you do need to, uh, keep taking care of the, the balance and strength of. Your mu muscles, right?
It'll help keep you balanced and and strong. And I don't disagree with the information that's in the video. I disagree with the way it's being presented and the fact that this is becoming a new viral thing. And it's like, what are we there now? Are we back to that debate? Is it strength versus cardio? And that debate has been on.
Ever since I can remember. Do you do more cardio or do you do more weight? Weight training and strength training. And the thing is, it's not one or the other. It's both. [00:32:00] You need more than one thing to make your beautiful body the fit engine that it needs to be to provide you health and happiness for years to come.
The bottom line is that trends are gonna come and go, and they're always gonna be presented in a way that is quite seductive, that will draw you in and make you need to know that information and the best place to, to look. To see and think, should I follow that trend? Does that fit for me?
Is really think about, um, if it in fact fits into your walking plan. If it, if it's something that you feel like is gonna move you closer to your goals. I not trying to make it fit in because out of a state of thinking that if you're not doing it, you're doing it all wrong, because [00:33:00] that's not right. If you're moving, you're doing it right.
On my YouTube channel, I talk about walking a lot. And last week I talked about 30 ways to spice up your walking, uh, with a. With a journal and prompts of 30 ways to do it, and interval walking is in there, uh, backwards walking is not silent.
Walking is walking with a weighted vest. No, I, I know what I'll be taking into 2026. How about you? What are some of the interesting trends that you've heard? I think I'll keep fart walking too, 'cause you know. It's just, it's fun to say, right?
Thanks for tuning into the Creative Life in Motion Podcast. All of the details on how we can work together beyond here are in the show notes below, and I will see you in [00:34:00] the next episode.
