Women's Health Magazine speaks to experts including Grace Horan, MS, ACSM-EP, exercise physiologist at HSS, about how to get the most out of your walking workouts. 

Low-impact activities, like walking, are having a moment, and for good reason. It doesn’t just feel good to get your steps in—walking also has legit health benefits and can complement any workout routine.

However, building muscle is also incredibly important when it comes to living and moving healthily for a long time. Ahead, find out whether walking on its own can build muscle, which muscles it works, and how to reap more strength benefits from your walking routine.

While walking can help develop muscular endurance (a.k.a., your muscles’ ability to sustain exercise for long periods of time), it’s not the most effective way to build muscle, said Horan.

“To build muscle, the human body must be continuously challenged by increasing resistance and/or volume of exercise, which is known as progressive overload,” Horan said . Walking alone doesn’t provide enough resistance to induce muscle hypertrophy (an increase in muscle mass), which is better accomplished through resistance training, she explained.

Read the full article at womenshealthmag.com.