What is a walking pad?
The short answer
A walking pad is a small, flat, motorised treadmill built for walking rather than running. It is low and light, usually has no handrail or a fold-down one, and is designed to slide under a desk, a sofa or a bed when you are done. Many people use one to walk while they work, read or watch something, a few kilometres at a time without leaving the house.
How is it different from a treadmill?
A treadmill is built for running: a longer and wider belt, a stronger motor, a handrail and console, a much higher top speed, and often an incline. It is big and heavy and tends to live in one place. A walking pad gives most of that up to be compact. The belt is shorter, the motor smaller, the top speed low, and it is usually flat. In return it weighs a fraction as much, fits under furniture, and is quiet enough to use next to a desk.
How fast does a walking pad go?
It depends on the model, so check the specification before you buy. As an example from one manufacturer, the WalkingPad C2 runs from 0.5 to 6 km/h (0.3 to 3.7 mph). For comparison, 5 km/h is a normal walking pace for most adults, and 6 km/h is a brisk walk. That range covers walking at a desk and a quick walk, and stops there.
Can you run on a walking pad?
On most, no, or only a slow jog. A top speed of around 6 km/h is a brisk walk, not a run, and the short deck and missing handrail are not designed for running strides. Some models are built as two-in-ones: the same manufacturer’s WalkingPad R2, for example, is limited to 6 km/h with its handrail folded down for walking, and goes up to 12 km/h (7.5 mph) with the handrail raised for running. If running matters to you, it is the top speed and the handrail in the specification that tell you whether a pad can do it.
Can a walking pad help you lose weight?
A walking pad is a way to walk more, and walking more burns more energy. Whether that turns into weight loss comes down to energy balance: body weight goes down when the body uses more energy than it takes in, over time. Research from the US National Institutes of Health on how weight responds to that balance (Hall and colleagues, The Lancet, 2011) also shows that the response is slow, with weight taking around a year to make half of its eventual change. Walking is part of the energy side of that equation, not the whole of it.
How much walking burns, as an estimate for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult of average height, from a model of walking energy cost built on height, weight and speed:
| Pace on the pad | 30 minutes | 60 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 3 km/h (1.9 mph) | 66 kcal | 132 kcal |
| 4 km/h (2.5 mph) | 86 kcal | 172 kcal |
| 5 km/h (3.1 mph) | 112 kcal | 223 kcal |
| 6 km/h (3.7 mph) | 143 kcal | 286 kcal |
These numbers count only the extra energy the walking takes, not what your body burns anyway just by being alive. Some fitness trackers add that resting energy in, which is why they can show a bigger number for the same walk. Body weight changes them a lot: at 5 km/h for 30 minutes, about 88 kcal at 55 kg (121 lb) and 159 kcal at 100 kg (220 lb). The model was built for walking on the ground, and a treadmill is not exactly the same: one study of older adults found walking on a treadmill took more energy than walking overground at the same speeds, not less. So treat every figure here as an estimate. The walking calculator takes your own weight and pace.
Does a walking pad count your steps?
Your phone or watch counts the steps your health app keeps. A phone in your pocket moves with you on a pad much as it does outside: a 2015 study in JAMA tested phones on a treadmill and found their counts within about 6.7% under to 6.2% over the real number. A phone left on the desk counts nothing, so keep it in a pocket or wear a watch.
Your walking pad steps, counted toward somewhere
Steps on a walking pad are steps like any others, and the hard part of indoor walking is the same as outdoors: the same view, day after day. reTrek reads the steps your phone or watch saves to Apple Health or Health Connect and turns them into distance along a real route, so an afternoon at the desk on the pad can carry you up the Everest Base Camp trail, with a short film about the place waiting at each milestone. Everest Base Camp is free. Walk it from your desk.