How to walk fast?

I think you're walking at a totally normal speed OP.

I walk faster than most of my friends and walk a bit faster than 3mph. When I walked to work every day I had got my 1.6m walk down to 26 minutes so that would have been 3.7mph but that was a very brisk pace. 4mph is a very fast pace unless you're really tall.

Be careful about increasing stride length unnaturally- it can lead to shin splints and hip issues. Better to move your legs faster, not longer.

@henlake7 lol I ended up with a dog pram for my 15 year old Staffie. That was more of a weightlifting exercise. I'd push him for a bit, then lift him out so he could have a bit of a poke around and a wee, then lift him back in. Rinse and repeat. He weighed 17 kgs!

Try walking with a 16 yr old dog.....speedy isnt the word Id use!😆

If you are slightly out of breath and abit sweaty then it will still count as exercise no matter how fast you are going.
Some people are just naturally fast walkers. Im fitter, thinner and taller then my best friend and she still leaves me in the dust when we are walking somewhere!

Long strides and a bit of a bounce.

I made a playlist of songs at roughly 120 bpm and play it while walking. I have discovered that Gimme Gimme Gimme a Man After Midnight is my current perfect speed - it feels fast but sustainable, and a bit too much when going uphill and a bit too slow for downhill. I also play at spotting a man walking briskly and trying to catch up with him.

I used to be a fast walk walker, but my children retrained me to walk at toddler pace and I haven't recovered even though they are now teenagers. So I'm trying to get my former speed back in middle age.

When I’m walking briskly during my lunchtime walk I do 3 miles at a 16 minute/m pace. I get warm and have a raised heart rate. It’s pretty quick to me.
My warm up jogging pace was about 13 minutes a mile for a mile or so, that’s quite a difference!
consistency is really the key, don’t put yourself under too much pressure, I do think it’s really important to enjoy what you do and not to analyse the stats (unless you’re training for something and you particularly need the analytics of course!) otherwise you’ll get disheartened.

Backpack is definitely the best option.

When I was a student, I used to carry my week's shop in my backpacking rucksack a mile or so. It was good exercise!

The shopping will slow you down while you carry it, but it will help with strength for walking un-loaded.

How were you carrying it?

@soupfiend

angstypant
I'm 5'3" with sad short little legs.

I walk slightly faster than 4miles an hour when I am going for a brisk walk and I'm almost 60

Many people are walking faster than I am so it's not that fast

I just cant fathom this!

My leg length is 28 inches, not long, not short

I walk mostly with. 6'3" man so I walk fast. But I'm just used to it. He's walking at a moderate pace and I'm walking briskly. But people are walking faster. I assumed it was because they were taller and walking the same step pace as me. But now that people on here who are tall are saying they walk at 3mph I'm not sure.

I do get very warm so I'm walking briskly. But I am chatting away

I'm 5'10" with 32" inside leg. I can hit 6.5kph on a treadmill at the gym (which is about 4mph) at a gait that still counts as a walk but anything faster would mean I break into a jog. Having read other posts I wonder if a shorter stride would mean I could walk faster. My stride tends to be long. Interesting. I naturally settle at around 5kph which is just over 3mph.

26" leg and I've been known to walk 5k/3.1 mi at parkrun in 43 mins so faster than 4mph. I was overtaking runners!

Being short, I'm used to trotting to keep up with 6ft of DH striding around. I also find punctuality a challenge so need a brisk walk to get to local places in the nick of time.

Speeding up the cadence (steps/min) rather than increasing stride helps.
Pounding rock music makes me run fast and would probably work for walking.

I hate walking slowly- everything seizes up and aches to mooch slowly!

I'm 5'3" with sad short little legs.

I walk slightly faster than 4miles an hour when I am going for a brisk walk and I'm almost 60

Many people are walking faster than I am so it's not that fast

I've always wondered where the idea of 4mph being the 'normal' walking speed comes from. (Perhaps it was the marching speed of young male squaddies being shouted at by their sergeants during National Service??)

In my experience, 3mph is quite a brisk pace (especially if you factor in stops to cross road etc.).
It isn't just your level of fitness that puts a ceiling on speed; it is your natural bodily movement. Unless you are quite tall or long-legged, I suspect that a consistent 4mph would involve unnatural adjustments that would be inefficient and put you at risk of injury

Agree with pp. It can really help to increase cadence - number of steps over the same distance, by shortening your stride. Seems counter intuitive but it works.

If I'm walking fast which I do particularly to lose weight, I sort of swing my hips. Good shoes, well fitted help too.

I do a normal 3mile loop from my house in 45 mins. I do slow down over more distance though as I get tired.

A dog will speed you up and is useful for going uphill. Helps build arm strength too. 😁

A while ago I got properly in to walking and trying to increase my speed and distance.

The best advice I had was to shorten your stride and use your toes to help push forward each stride.

It really works!