Getting fit has often been associated with intense workout routines and lifting heavy weights at the gym. As several trending workouts like HIIT, TABATA, Zumba, and more are adopted by fitness enthusiasts, they often forget the simplest of nature’s most abundantly available workout routines.
Often confused with looking a certain way, and achieving a certain goal weight, fitness is actually a lifestyle. However, the modern-day lifestyle has left most people either stuck at a desk for more than 8 hours a day or with poor postures resulting in tech-neck. Over time, it amounts to serious health concerns, such as back pain, migraines, lethargy and unexplained fatigue.
From 6-6-6 Japanese walking routine to 10,000 steps: What’s best?
According to European researchers, walking nearly two hours a day has been attributed to reducing the risk of long-term back pain. People who walk for more than 100 minutes a day are likely to feel the benefits. Rayane Haddadj, a PhD candidate at the Norwegian University, said in a statement that those who walk more than 100 minutes a day, “have a 23% lower risk of lower back problems than those who walk 78 minutes or less.”
There is a common misconception that the intensity of walking trumps the time spent walking. However, the time spent walking matters more. The Japanese interval walking routine, called the 6-6-6 walking method, features brisk walking at regular intervals to stay healthy.
But at the same time, Haddadj noted that some amount of intensity is needed to lower ” the risk of long-term back problems, but not as much as the daily amount of walking.”
Indians facing lower back pain
A cross-sectional study on lower back pain from scientists across India revealed that 42-83% Indians reported lower back pain (LBP) in 2025. The study also revealed that 67.7% women are more likely to experience LBP due to hormonal, biological, and lifestyle-related reasons.
As today’s generation enters the workforce, they spend hours tied to a desk, stuck in traffic, or travelling in crowded public transport. Younger adults, between the age of 18-38, have reported higher cases of LBP due to lifestyle reasons, the study reported. While disability due to back pain is significantly lower, nearly 20% Indians also reported chronic back pain, which even requires medical attention.
Low-impact exercises and walking daily have been proven as the most efficient method to deal with lower back pain issues. Everything from cycling, swimming, and walking, activities that do not jerk the back muscles, unlike running. Walking, on the other hand, works to strengthen lower-body muscles, according to Healthline.