To burn more calories you can always load up your pack with more books! Add a heavy book each week!

You walking rate post is about right. I'm 183 lbs. at 5'2 and walked yesterday and today and it took about 40 minutes to walk 2.1 miles that's 3.0 mph and I walked as fast as I could today and the sides of my calves seized on me and burned to the point I almost gave up but I didn't

Without having read all of the responses posted before mine, I'll chime in:

I struggle to walk or run fast as well, and I'm a "short" person too. Back before I gained all my weight, when I was actually going to the gym regularly it got progressively easier for me to keep up faster paces on the treadmill after.

Keep walking - it will get easier.

I'm 5 foot 4 and when I started over a year ago my fastest possible walking speed was about 3.6...what I did to get it faster was to "practice" walking faster for small amounts of time, like literally a minute or so at a time...and now I'm up to where a normal treadmill walking speed, a brisk walk, is 3.8 and the fastest possible walk I can maintain is about 4.2...I also take short steps out of habit because I had hip problems in the past...it took effort to kind of get used to taking longer, faster strides

I'm another shortie (five one) with a fast walking pace. My cruising speed is five miles an hour. There are six footers who can't keep up with me.

Incidentally, a scientist at the lab I work at once measured my stride length when I walk at my normal pace. I have a three foot stride. So I take fast big steps in spite of being short. I have walked like this my whole life.

Yep, it's a short thing.

When I used to go to the gym, I couldn't do 4mph as a walk; that was a full-fledged jog. I preferred to coast at 3mph. I believe that jogging and running is very stressful for the bones, so it's something I try to avoid.

Oh, and I LOVE being short!

I'm 5'10" and I still can't walk very fast. I max out around a 14 min mile (around 4.3 mph, I think). If I want to go faster than that it's way easier to jog.

I'm only 5'2" as well. I thought is ws just me that couldn't "walk" that fast. I actually just went to running (jogging) some so I could get my speed up!!

So glad I am not alone! LOL!

I've found that stair training does it for me. I've increased my speed twice over by stair training at least 3 times a week. Essentially walking is your muscles contracting based on what your brain is telling your legs to do. Strengths the muscles there and you should see a better response time... More potassium and more calcium in your diet as well.

Υοu shouldn't worry. When I first started it would take me 40 mins to walk a mile. Now it takes me 15. You'll get better as you try.

Stairs are **** on your knees. My aunt broke her knee and her doctor told her that her knees were in a pretty bad shape. She told him that she kept going up and down the stairs all the time, so she thought that she would have strengthened them, but he said that she was doing the exact opposite. And I'm knock-kneed and the first thing my doctor told me was to avoid the stairs.

i am 5'1. i know it's harder to walk as fast as my taller friends. for an exaggerated example of this, picture a mother and her 6 year old walking. guess who has trouble keeping up......

i am 5'1. i know it's harder to walk as fast as my taller friends. for an exaggerated example of this, picture a mother and her 6 year old walking. guess who has trouble keeping up...... Also, a "good workout" is relative, depending on many things. just one question.....are you carrying books?

As everyone has been saying, it's because you have shorter legs. It took me lots of practice and determination to be able to get to my fastest walking pace (I don't know how fast that is because I only walk fast when I'm alone). Remember that the average height is about 5'5 + for women and many, if not all, don't take into account the differences in height. Information on websites is only a guide
If you are sweating or you know your body is getting a work out then that is the correct speed for you.