Al Roker may be an experienced walker, but he’s always up for trying something new. This weekend, the TODAY weatherman gave the Japanese walking workout trend a try — and found that it helped him get more distance. “Just tried something new for my walk,” he wrote on Instagram alongsi de a video from his walk. “Have you heard of #japanesewalking It’s interval walking. 3:00 of a hard walk; where you have trouble holding a sustained conversation. Then 3:00 of a normal walk. It let me walk further.” In the video, Roker is walking outdoors and comments on the gorgeous weather and scenery. “It’s a beautiful morning here. No wind, a little warm, the lake is calm,” he says. “I hope you’re calm, I hope you get a little zen, a little morning chance to reflect, (to) be grateful for what worked well last week.” He continues: “And what do you want to do for this week? What’s the one thing you want to get done?” Al has three goals for the week, he says, and he recommends making one easy, one more moderate and one that’s hard to accomplish. “If you get through two out of three, life is pretty good,” he says. What is Japanese walking? What’s commonly referred to on social media as “Japanese walking” is a well-established form of interval walking training developed by researchers in Japan. As a form of interval training, it involves alternating between periods of faster, more vigorous walking and easier, steady walking. Specifically, Japanese walking starts with 5 minutes of walking at an easy pace to warm up. Then you’ll walk at a faster, harder pace for 3 minutes, followed by 3 minutes of walking at a steady pace. You’ll repeat those alternating 3-minute intervals for a total of 35 minutes of walking, which can be done either outside or on a treadmill. This walking method has two major health benefits, Dr. Jocelyn Wittstein, orthopedic surgeon and author of “The Complete Bone and Joint Health Plan,” tells TODAY.com. First, she says it’s a form of interval training, which can help improve your VO2 max, a measure of your body’s oxygen use and general fitness level. Diet Exercise Aug 2 Does one long walk or several short ones have a bigger payoff for your heart? Diet Exercise Jul 29 Walking your dog can be a full-body workout. Get stronger with this move, trainer says Second, this type of walking “increases the force with which your foot strikes the ground, and this can help maintain or build bone density,” Wittstein says, “especially if you’re starting an exercise program and have low bone density.” “It challenges the cardiovascular system. It’s like hitting the gas and then backing off, which helps to improve heart health, lung capacity and caloric burn,” Dr. Jeanne Doperak, a sports medicine physician at University of Pittsburg Medical Center, told TODAY.com previously. Interval walking can also help improve blood pressure and ramp up your metabolism, experts say. Like other high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, Japanese walking leaves you with a sort of “after-burn effect,” Ben Yamuder, an exercise physiologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, told TODAY.com previously. This effect means your body needs more oxygen to refuel after your exercise, so you will continue to burn more calories even when you’re done with your walk, he explained. And, because walking is generally a low-impact exercise, interval walking is great for people who want the cardiovascular benefits but can’t or prefer not to do higher-impact exercises. That includes many older adults and people who are just starting to work out, as well as those recovering from injuries. Plus, as Al mentioned, those easier periods of walking are perfect for a moment of mindfulness and reflection to set you up for a productive week. This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: This drink is more hydrating than water, dietitian says This simple daily movement supports digestion and gut health, doctor says What is ‘active recovery’? Skipping this movement may be why you’re not seeing results This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less