How to Convert Miles Walked to MPH

Calculating walking mph (miles per hour) is straightforward when you've walked a certain distance over a period of time. Divide the distance by time to get your overall speed. Then, convert the units you use to miles and hours to determine your speed in miles per hour walking.

Examples of Walking Speed

If you walked 6 miles over the course of two hours, you would have an overall speed of 3 mph. If you kept the same speed throughout most of your walk, then this speed could apply across many time points of your journey. This gives you an average speed for the entirety of your walk, but not the exact speed at every given moment of the walk.

Similarly, you can use measurements of walking speed to determine how far and for how long you've walked. If you walk 3 mph for three hours, you would have walked 9 miles. If you walk 4 miles with a pace of 4 mph, it would take you one hour. Keeping track of your walking mph for different paces lets you follow your progress if you're trying to improve your speed or endurance.

While a pedometer can tell you how fast you're moving at a given instant, measuring how far you've walked over a given period of time can give you your average speed. You can also keep track of how many steps you take or how far you move in a single step to give you an idea of how fast you're going. Some pedometers offer more functions that let you determine how many steps you take as you walk different speeds.

Walking and Health

Healthline reports that the average walking speed of an adult is somewhere between 3 and 4 miles per hour. This means it takes a person 15 to 20 minutes to walk a mile. 100 steps per minute, or 3-3.5 mph, is generally considered a brisk pace.

Harvard Health Publishing notes that, as Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said, walking is "the closest thing we have to a wonder drug." The easy-to-do habit of walking can provide health benefits for yourself and your environment.

Mesauring your physical activity through walking can improve your health. Walking regularly can decrease the risk of diseases related to the heart as well as cancer and diabetes. Even as little as 21 minutes of walking a day can reduce your risk of heart disease by 30 percent. As part of its policy of "predictive policing," the Los Angeles Police Department has also suggested that neighborhoods in which people walk can also see their crime rates drop. Walking also gives you a method to meet new people in your community.

As you walk, examine your posture, stride and motions to make sure you're exercising your muscles and joints appropriately. Walking can be key for losing weight, improving mood and decreasing depression. Combined with the stretching and care to prevent injury and keep your muscle and joints healthy, walking's effects can be paramount.

Walking Speed Calculator App

Using a walking speed calculator app, you can figure out your pace using time and distance. A Fitbit device or similar pedometer-based device can keep track of how far you've walked through your daily routines. They can then report statistics such as how many calories you've burned or what your average pace was.

Free online calculators also let you easily calculate how long you would take to walk a mile or another length of distance. Two such calculators are listed in the Resources section.

Measuring how far and how fast you've walked over long periods of time can give you an idea of how much physical activity you're exerting on a day-to-day basis. Using large amounts of data on how much you walk over various days can let you view trends about your walking.

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