Varying your walking speed may yield greater health benefits than strolling at a continuous pace, according to a July report in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. In the study of men and women in their 60s, walkers who alternated between a moderate and fast pace had greater reductions in systolic blood pressure readings and were more flexible than those who walked at a moderate intensity or not at all. On four days a week, the interval walkers did at least five sets of walking for three minutes at a moderate intensity followed by three minutes of faster walking.