No matter your age, walking is one of the best exercises you can do for your body. Still, the same-old stroll every day can start to feel boring. By incorporating some creative walking exercises to build muscle into your session, you can bust boredom as well as maximize the benefits of your walk.

“Any repetitive motion in one plane of motion, such as walking forward, will activate the same muscles each time,” said Amy West, M.D., a sports medicine physician at Northwell Health in New York. While the muscles you use to walk forward (like the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves) are certainly smart to strengthen, there are other muscles in the lower body and core that are important to keep strong as you age. “Our muscles support our joints, so by improving muscle strength you can help reduce impact on your joints,” Dr. West said. “When you use different walking methods, different muscles are activated each time, which promotes balanced muscle development and postural alignment—and could potentially prevent future aches and pains.”

Meet the experts: Amy West, M.D., a sports medicine physician at Northwell Health in New York; Lindsey Benoit O’Connell, C.S.C.S., a certified trainer, a meditation teacher, and the founder of The LAB Wellness; Janet S. Dufek, Ph.D., a professor in the department of kinesiology and nutrition sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Samantha Pinkston, P.T., D.P.T., a senior physical therapist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City; Latreal Mitchell, a personal trainer and health coach.

Lindsey Benoit O’Connell, C.S.C.S., a certified trainer, a meditation teacher, and the founder of The LAB Wellness, agreed: “Different walking styles can help improve balance, coordination, and agility,” she said. Aside from building strength throughout your body, using different walking styles “challenges your brain to work harder to coordinate the steps,” O’Connell added. Then, once you can confidently do all of these, you can add high-intensity intervals or extra resistance. “Mix up your walks during the week by doing different styles on different days,” O’Connell suggested. “Over time, you’ll see big payoffs!”

Read on for fitness experts’ favorite walking variations, plus how each can help you get stronger and improve mobility and balance as you age.

How to walk to build muscle

Backward Walking

Physical therapists often incorporate backward walking (also called “retro walking”) into treatment plans for various leg injuries and stroke rehabilitation because it helps improve balance, coordination, and range of motion in the hips, leading to better mobility and stability, said backward-walking researcher Janet S. Dufek, Ph.D., a professor in the department of kinesiology and nutrition sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Walking backward may also help you maintain a healthy weight (varying the exercises you do helps prevent you from plateauing) and reduce your levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of chronic inflammation, based on a study in which overweight individuals walked backward on a treadmill four times a week.

Muscles Worked:

Try It: Simply take steps backward instead of forward. Because you won’t be able to see where you’re going, it’s smart to do this in a safe, controlled environment—ideally on a treadmill at a slow speed so you can use the rails for balance if necessary. If you don’t have access to a treadmill, then your driveway, a flat and even area of sidewalk, or your local track should work. If you’re not walking on a treadmill, Dufek suggested recruiting a partner—they can be your eyes, and you can hold hands with them for additional support while you master this skill. Start with short bouts so your muscles can get used to the new way of moving (and don’t be surprised if they feel fatigued faster than with regular walking): “Begin with 30-second intervals and gradually extend them as you gain confidence and endurance,” O’Connell advised.

Criss-Cross Walking

Ever watch a clip of supermodels strutting along the runway? They lift one foot, cross it in front of the other to take a step, and continue that pattern. This is essentially how you walk criss-cross style. Walking in this manner strengthens muscles that can help you maintain good coordination, hip mobility, and balance, leading to better overall mobility and less risk of injury, said Samantha Pinkston, P.T., D.P.T., a senior physical therapist at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

Muscles Worked:

• Hip adductors (in your inner thigh region)
• Hip abductors (in your buttocks)
• Quads
• Calves

Try It: Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your right foot and cross it diagonally in front of your left before lowering it to the ground. Then lift your left foot, kick out your knee, and cross it diagonally in front of your right foot in the same way. Think of it as if you’re making an “X” as you stride. Tighten your buttock muscles and breathe to engage your core. “Practice on flat surfaces and avoid overexaggerating your steps to maintain your balance,” suggested O’Connell.

Nanba Walking

You may not have heard of Nanba walking, but you’ve probably seen it in movies featuring samurai warriors who walk by moving the same arm and leg in sync—a more stilted, less fluid stride than traditional walking. Old research from Singapore has found that this style of walking, which originated in Japan, is more stable and energy-efficient than traditional walking, partly because it involves less twisting of the body and promotes greater integration between the upper body and the lower body. It can also promote mindfulness because it causes you to really focus on your movements, said Latreal Mitchell, a personal trainer and health coach.

Muscles Worked:

Try It: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your arms hanging loosely by your sides. Bend your knees slightly, as if you were holding a mini squat. Try to stay in this position as you move, as “it’s key for engaging the glutes and keeping the focus there so you don’t end up relying on bigger muscles in your legs to do all the work,” said O’Connell. Step forward with your right leg, moving your right arm forward with it; then step forward with your left leg and bring your left arm forward. Focus on your posture, engaging your core and maintaining an open chest, Mitchell advised. “It’s going to feel awkward at first,” O’Connell said, so practice slowly, and then ramp up. This is a great movement to incorporate into a warm-up before or a cooldown following your usual walking workout.

Side-Stepping

Also known as lateral walking, it’s when you walk sideways with relatively small steps, similarly to how a crab scuttles across the sand. You can boost the effort by placing a resistance band around your calves or thighs once you’ve gotten the form down. Side-stepping improves balance, flexibility, and pelvic stability, which can help prevent falls and injuries that could interrupt your lifestyle and walking routine.

Muscles Worked:

• Hips
• Inner thigh muscles
• Lower leg muscles
• Core
• Glutes

Try It: Stand up straight with your feet nearly touching, knees slightly bent, and your chest lifted. Keeping your feet facing forward, step to the side with your right foot and quickly bring the left one to meet it. Continue this pattern, taking 10 steps to the right and pausing, then taking 10 steps to the left. “Keep the steps small to maintain control,” O’Connell suggested. When you’re ready to add a resistance band, position it around your ankles or right above your knees and then perform the steps above. Having the band around your ankles works your lower leg muscles more, whereas placing it above your knees makes your glutes and hips work harder.

Skipping

Conjure your inner child and spend some time skipping. “It provides cardiovascular benefits and is good for bone density,” Mitchell said. “It’s like a gentler form of running.” In fact, East Carolina University researchers found that skipping was lower-impact and reduced the load on the joints compared with running. “Skipping also involves coordination and balance—very important as we age,” Dr. West noted.

Muscles Worked:

• Quads
• Glutes
• Core—plus, cardio!

Try It: Start by standing with your feet hip-width apart. Step forward and hop on your right foot as you lift your left foot off the ground, then step forward and hop on your left foot as you lift your right foot. Continue the pattern from there. During a regular forward walk, you can try incorporating 15-second bursts of skipping every block or two, O’Connell said. As you get stronger and more comfortable, you can lengthen your skipping stride to increase the challenge—and the benefits.

• Amazon still has plenty of home gym deals on the heels of Prime Day.
• Save on editor-tested brands like Brooks, Bowflex, Garmin, and Apple.
• Amazon-exclusive deals feature up to nearly 70% off home gym equipment, workout apparel, fitness tech, and more.

THE WEATHER IS finally turning in our favor here on the East Coast, and that only means one thing: time to get shredded. This is particularly relevant for those who may have gone a little overboard during this year’s bulk, intentional or not. The good news: we’re still seeing tons of post-Prime Day deals on fitness gear, tech, and equipment.

If you’re looking to lighten the load and focus on cardio, high-rep sets, and recovery, increasing your home gym splits might be the way to go. Now’s as good a time as any—we’re looking at over 40 percent off weight benches, foldable treadmills, adjustable dumbbells, and more. In the market for some new summer digs? Save up to 40 percent on editor-tested gym apparel and shoes for a limited time. Fitness trackers, smartwatches, and smart scales are up to almost 50 percent off, too.

SHOP HOME GYM GEAR SALES

We rounded up some of our favorite deals below, and you have ample time to get that six-pack ready to go for summer beach weather. If not, there’s always next year. But you’d better get started now.

Prime Day Home Gym Deals

FEDFitness Adjustable Weight Bench

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A Budget Friendly Dumbbell

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Bowflex Results Series 552 SelectTech Dumbbells (Pair)

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Yosuda Rowing Machine

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Best Strength Machine Deal

RitFit Pro Smith Machine with Cable Crossover System

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MERACH Walking Pad Treadmill

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There are definitely a few steals to be had here. One of our favorite budget adjustable benches, the Flybird Adjustable Weight Bench, is almost 30 percent off and just over $100. This bench pairs well with either the Bowflex Results Series 552 SelectTech Dumbbells (7 percent off) or the budget-friendly Flybird Adjustable Dumbbells (still 31 percent off. FED Fitness (which makes Flybird equipment) offers some of the best wallet-friendly home gym equipment on the market. I use their adjustable Olympic Weight Bench, and I swear it’s better than the commercial one from my gym, and it was less than $300. Their stuff is legit.

The beginner-friendly Yosuda Rowing Machine is 20 percent off and now under $200. Sunny Health and Fitness’ space-saving Foldable Treadmill is over 30 percent off and offers commercial-grade performance from home. You can also grab the Merach Walking Pad for a little over $250 if you want to squeeze a workout in during work.

Prime Day Fitness Tech Deals

Apple Watch Series 11

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Best Refurbished Watch Deal

Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition

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Withings Body Comp Scale

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Now’s a good time to upgrade your fitness tracker. The latest Apple Watch Series 11 smartwatch is almost 20 percent off on Amazon. This is a solid option for most people, but if you’re looking for something a little more rugged with enhanced battery life, there are plenty of Garmin deals we love, including almost $200 off the Fenix 8—a rare sale. Our favorite smart scale, the Withings Body Comp Scale, is 14 percent off, while the Oura Ring 4 is 20 percent off.

Prime Day Workout Gear Deals

Brooks Caldera 8

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Best Fitting T-Shirts for Lifters

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We’re seeing up to almost 70 percent off top-tested brands, including Under Armour, Brooks, and Hanes. Take almost 30 percent off the editor-favorite Brooks Ghost 17 and 40 percent off the trail-running staple, the Caldera 8. You can also save 25 percent off our top budget workout shirt, the Under Armour Tech 2.0, which is now even cheaper and under $20.

If you have trouble finding well-fitting t-shirts both in and out of the gym, True Classic is my go-to. They accentuate your upper body and provide a little more of a flattering, relaxed fit; a must-have on cheat day. Hanes also makes some underrated workout apparel through its Hanes Moves line, and the Moves Performance Shorts are almost 70 percent off and under $10. And yes, you read that correctly—they’re $9.

SHOP HOME GYM DEALS

Tim Kohut is the Deals and Trends Editor for Popular Mechanics, Men’s Health, Best Products, and Runner’s World. He has extensive product review and gear coverage expertise, particularly in tech, home, auto, and health. Tim was previously the Deputy Commerce Editor of The Drive and a Commerce Editor at BGR. He’s also overseen gear coverage and strategy at Popular Science, Bob Vila, Outdoor Life, and Field and Stream. He has a strong affinity for cats, Batman, and early 90’s Nicolas Cage films, in that order.

Charles Thorp is the Fitness and Reviews Editor at Men’s Health, where he shares the best product recommendations in gym equipment, recovery tools, supplements, and more. Following an early life in athletics, Charles became a NASM-certified trainer and began writing programs alongside the most respected coaches in the world.   Since entering the world of fitness content, Charles has had the opportunity to learn from and train alongside high performance individuals from the NFL, UFC, NBA, Formula 1, CrossFit, US Olympics, and Navy SEALs. When he’s not writing about training programs or gear, he can be seen at the gym or in the wild, putting them to the test.

After months of wearing the Oura Ring 4 and the Apple Watch side by side, I’m finally ready to tackle the existential question: smart ring or smartwatch? I’ve obsessed over the data, braved inclement weather and felt the battery anxiety that every person using a smart device shares. 

The more time I’ve spent wearing both, the clearer it’s become that these two wearables aren’t direct competitors so much as complements. They live under the same wearable health umbrella but are completely different flavors in both form and function.

Plus, they’re also expensive. At around $400 each, depending on material, buying both the Oura Ring 4 and the Apple Watch Series 11 isn’t realistic for most people. So instead of crowning a universal winner, it makes more sense to break down what each one does best and who would be served better by each one.

Thanks largely to consumer wearables, we can now track incredibly specific health data that, until recently, just wasn’t accessible outside of clinical settings. Because these devices are designed to be worn every day, they can surface long-term trends and help us draw meaningful connections between our habits and how our bodies actually respond.

Smartwatches, fitness bands, smart rings and even newer tech such as smart shoes offer different ways to collect health and fitness data. They’re essentially trying to solve the same problem, just from different angles. And while there’s no single “holy grail” wearable that does everything perfectly yet, those various flavors exist for a reason: Each prioritizes a different aspect of health, fitness or daily life.

The loud multitasker vs. the demure overachiever

The Apple Watch and Oura Ring track many of the same health metrics, but having a screen allows the Apple Watch to do a lot more (for better or worse). It’s essentially a pared-down version of your iPhone (minus the doomscrolling). It can handle notifications, calls, mobile payments, finding your phone and, yes, telling time. It’s also one of my favorite workout buddies because I view and use the live metrics to push myself during exercise.

But all that information makes it an in-your-face kind of wearable. It vibrates. It buzzes. It constantly wants your attention. And if you don’t charge it daily, it’s dead to the world. That means there are plenty of moments when it’s off your wrist and not collecting data, especially at night, when I’m more likely to forget it on the charger or just not want to wear a watch to bed.

The Oura Ring is the complete opposite. It’s demure. It’s quiet. And honestly, it’s mostly “dumb” jewelry without the phone app. You might not even hear from it for a full week until it needs a charge. Most of the time, I genuinely forget I’m wearing it. And when you do finally hear from it, it’s probably because your body needs attention.

Because it fades into the background, it stays on your body a lot more, and that consistency is everything when it comes to long-term health tracking.

Long-term health: Where the Oura ring really shines

Oura builds a baseline of your body’s status quo over time, so when something deviates, it’s immediately obvious. The app does a great job of connecting the dots and explaining what that data actually means, whether it’s early signs of illness, assessing energy levels for training or detecting subtle changes across the menstrual cycle.

When my readiness score dips, it almost always means I’m about to get sick or already fighting something. The app doesn’t just show the evidence (multiple health metrics trending off), it goes a step further by recommending a game plan: taking a rest day and putting the ring into Rest Mode, which pauses activity goals until you recover. That nudge has forced me to take rest days when I probably would’ve pushed through otherwise, just delaying my recovery.

There is a catch, though. To unlock that deeper analysis, Oura requires a $6 monthly subscription. Without it, you’ll still see the headline scores, but much of the context –the “why” behind those numbers– lives behind a paywall. Apple, by contrast, doesn’t charge a subscription for any of its health data.

The same is true for temperature and menstrual cycle tracking. You still log your period manually, but the way the Oura app charts temperature variations makes it easy to pinpoint the exact day ovulation occurs, marked by a sudden rise in basal body temperature. Seeing this mapped out has made me more aware of how hormonal changes affect my body beyond just my usual PMS. That “random” bloating and headache in the middle of a cycle? Ovulation.

The Apple Watch offers retroactive ovulation tracking too, but it requires very consistent sleepwear, which isn’t always realistic. Even when the data is there, it’s harder to connect the dots in the moment.

That’s the broader pattern with Apple’s health features. Many of the same metrics are available in the Health app, but they’re mostly presented as standalone data points. The Vitals app comes closest to tying things together by grouping heart rate, breathing rate, sleep, and temperature and flagging when something’s off. But it requires several consecutive nights of sleep tracking and stops short of telling you what to do with that information.

You can pause your move rings when you’re not feeling well, but there’s no prompt nudging you to take that rest day, so I haven’t given myself that luxury because it’s not a prompt like it is on the Oura ring.

The Apple Watch reigns for fitness tracking and day-to-day use

When it comes to daily habits that actually move the needle and improve that long-term health (aka fitness), the Oura Ring doesn’t even come close. 

The Apple Watch is miles ahead when it comes to tracking workouts. Having your metrics in real time helps guide my workouts. I also use pace alerts, heart-rate zones and distance to push myself in the moment and get the most out of each session. Plus, it has a massive library of third-party apps to help you through each type of workout, whether it’s downloading offline trail maps or mapping your surf time to the tides app. 

It also has safety features that can be genuinely life-saving, like fall detection, crash detection, location sharing and backtrack that helps you find your way back.

Oura tracks activity too, but only barely. It detects workouts automatically and surfaces them after the fact in the Oura app. You have to remember to manually confirm them to get credit. It’s fairly accurate at detecting my runs because my heart rate clearly peaks, but for lower-intensity workouts like Pilates, it often misses the mark. I get more activity credit for lugging laundry up my stairs or wrestling my kids into a sweater before we leave than for an actual session. You can also start a workout manually in the app, but there’s no live biometric data, and I rarely bother. 

Bottom line: Which would I choose? 

The Oura Ring wins at identifying long-term health trends and flagging subtle changes related to illness, recovery or cycle tracking. Its subtle design and week-long battery life mean it fades into the background, which makes consistency easy.

The Apple Watch shines in everyday life. It keeps you connected, doubles as a wallet, helps you find your phone and absolutely dominates fitness tracking.

If I had it my way, I’d wear the Apple Watch during the day and the Oura Ring at night. But if I were forced to pick just one, I’d choose the Apple Watch. At this stage in life, I’ll take anything that can offset the mental load of working full-time with three kids, even if it’s something as simple as helping me find my phone. Plus, I need all the help I can get to stay in shape. Fitness is my current priority, and it’s the foundation that helps keep all those longer-term health trends in check.

But this is just a stage for me, and I’m not setting my answer in stone. Your own season of life and priorities will ultimately shape which one makes the most sense for you.