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You've probably heard about the many health benefits of walking, from improving aerobic fitness to relieving stress. But did you know that walking might also help you build muscle? To be effective, your walking workouts need to be vigorous enough to challenge your muscles.

Below, we look at the research on how walking supports muscle growth. And we discuss what you can do to make walking workouts more challenging to build strength.

Can you build muscle by walking?

Strength training workouts, such as lifting weights, are usually the go-to method for building muscle mass. But aerobic exercises, like walking, may also help you build muscle under the right conditions.

According to a 2015 review, walking may be an effective way to support muscle growth. But you have to find the right walking intensity, frequency, and duration. The authors of the review defined this as achieving 70% to 80% heart rate reserve during workouts lasting at least 30 minutes, 4 to 5 days a week. Your heart rate reserve is the difference between your resting and maximum heart rate.

The ability to gain muscle by walking also depends on your fitness level. In a small study, researchers tested two 10-week exercise programs in inactive older adults. One group did a walking-only plan. And the other group did a walking and resistance-training plan. Participants in both groups had better muscle quality, muscle size, and functional fitness at the end of the programs. However, the improvements were greater for those who did the walking and resistance-training program.

A walking workout routine may stimulate muscle growth or prevent muscle loss in inactive people. But it likely won't build muscle in highly trained or active people. These groups will need to do something more challenging, such as walking up hills or stairs.

And no matter your fitness level, walking won't lead to the bulky muscles you might build by lifting weights. Instead, you may develop some leaner muscle and improve your functional strength. That's because muscle hypertrophy, or muscle growth, is a complex process.

Growing muscle requires mechanical tension and, maybe counterintuitively, muscle damage. When you stress your muscles with tension or force -- like when you use a weight machine -- it causes small tears in your muscle fibers. Your muscle cells adapt and grow in response to that trauma.

Strength-training exercises can increase fast-twitch muscle fibers. These fibers help you build big, powerful muscles. Walking and other aerobic exercises may increase slow-twitch muscle fibers. Slow-twitch muscle fibers help you build endurance to exercise for longer periods.

What muscles does walking work?

Walking is an effective cardio workout that strengthens the heart and lungs. It also works muscles in your lower body and midsection, including:

• Quadriceps: These are the long muscles on the front of the thigh that help flex the hip and extend the leg at the knee. They are especially active when you walk downhill.

• Glutes: These powerful buttocks muscles are responsible for hip extension. They generate a lot of force when you walk up an incline.

• Hamstrings: The hamstrings run along the backs of the thigh. Their main job is bending the leg at the knee. They also aid hip extension and work with the glutes to power uphill walks.

• Hip flexors: This group of muscles at the base of the pelvis helps you lift your legs.

• Calves: The calf muscles, which sit at the back of your lower leg, help propel you forward as you push off the ball of your foot.

• Core muscles:Your core is a group of muscles that makes up your midsection. It includes the abdominals, obliques, and lower back muscles. These muscles help with balance and stabilization as you walk.

The muscles of the upper body - such as the shoulder, chest, and arm muscles - don't do much work during the average walk. But if you're power walking and pumping your arms back and forth, your upper-body muscles will get a bit of a workout.

6 tips to help you build muscle while walking

Exercise intensity is key to building muscle mass and strength while walking. Your walking workouts should feel challenging enough to help you reach your goals. Here are six ways to up the intensity and get stronger.

1. Add resistance exercises

Turn your walk into a circuit workout by adding body-weight exercises. Stop every 5 minutes during your walk and do a set of squats, lunges, or push-ups.

2. Pick up the pace

The faster you walk, the harder your muscles work to propel you forward. Pump your arms back and forth to build momentum and get your upper body involved.

3. Add an incline

You already know that walking up a hill is harder than walking on a level surface. Your muscles have to work against gravity to carry your body weight uphill. So find some hills in your neighborhood, increase the treadmill incline, or go hiking to activate your muscles and build strength.

4. Try high-intensity intervals

High-intensity interval training alternates periods of high-intensity activity with periods of recovery. During the high-intensity intervals, you exert maximum effort to challenge your muscles. Then, you recover and do it again.

Start with 15 to 30 seconds of high-intensity walking, followed by an equal amount of recovery time walking at a moderate pace. Gradually increase the length of the intense intervals, while decreasing the recovery time.

5. Wear a weight vest or backpack

Carrying weight while you walk will increase your workout's intensity and the load on your muscles, bones, and joints. There are weighted vests that have removable weights so you can adjust the resistance as you get stronger. You can also try rucking, which involves walking with a weighted backpack.

6. Keep changing things up

Along with intensity, your muscles also need variety to continue to grow. If you do the same routine all the time, your muscle growth will plateau. Keep trying new workouts, like walking down stairs or backward, to challenge your muscles in new ways. Consider cross-training with other activities, such as swimming or biking, to keep your routine fresh.

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