5 Reasons to Try a Walking Meeting Today (Even With Just One Phone Call)
Last reviewed by Nick Smoot, NASM-Certified Personal Trainer, Founder of Smoot Fitness
You’ve got a 2:00 call on your calendar, the kind that doesn’t really need a screen but a status update, a one-on-one, a catch-up with someone you already know well. Instead of sitting through it at your desk for the fourth time today, what if you took it on your feet, phone in hand, walking around the block or even just around your living room?
That’s the whole idea behind a walking meeting, and it’s one of the easiest changes you can make to a workday that’s otherwise spent sitting. If you’re looking for solid reasons to try a walking meeting today, the research is genuinely on your side with better idea generation, lower stress, and a dent in the hours you spend sedentary. This isn’t about replacing every meeting or turning into someone who paces a parking lot with a Bluetooth headset. It’s about picking the right call, on the right day, and taking it on the move instead.
Here’s what the research actually says, what it looks like for someone working from a home office or a small apartment, and where the advice you’ll find elsewhere falls short.
The first time most people try this, it feels strange for about ninety seconds then you’ll catch yourself wondering if you sound out of breath, or whether the person on the other end can tell you’re not sitting at a desk. That feeling passes fast. By the second or third walking call, it starts to feel like the more natural way to take that particular conversation, and sitting through it afterward feels like the odd choice instead.
Why This Matters More Than It Sounds Like It Does
Start with the baseline most people are working from: too much sitting. A 2024 study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions and published in JACC found that more than roughly 10.5 hours of sedentary time per day was linked to a higher risk of heart failure and cardiovascular death and that held true even for people who were hitting their recommended exercise targets (American Heart Association/JACC, 2024).
Read that again, because it’s the part most fitness advice skips: exercising for 30 minutes doesn’t cancel out 10 hours in a chair. A separate dose-response meta-analysis covering more than a million adults found a similar pattern every additional hour of sedentary time corresponded to roughly a 5% increase in fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular risk (ScienceDirect meta-analysis, 2023). That’s where the phrase “sitting is the new smoking” comes from. It’s a bit of an exaggeration as a literal medical comparison, but as a wake-up call about how much modern work depends on staying still, it lands.
If you’ve ever told yourself “I’ll make up for today’s sitting with tomorrow’s gym session,” that’s not a discipline problem but a structure problem. The fix isn’t a harder workout. It’s breaking up the sitting itself, and your meeting schedule is one of the easiest places to do that, because the time is already blocked off. You don’t need to find 30 new minutes. You need to move the 30 minutes you already have. Plenty of companies have caught onto this too, which is part of why walking meetings at work have gone from a quirky habit to something HR teams actively encourage but you don’t need anyone’s permission to start on your own.
The 5 Reasons, and How to Actually Use Them
These aren’t five abstract benefits. Each one comes with something you can do on your very next eligible call.
1. Walking Measurably Boosts Creative Thinking
This is the one with the most surprising data behind it, and it’s the clearest evidence that walking meetings increase creativity rather than just feeling more pleasant. Researchers at Stanford ran four separate experiments comparing creative output while walking versus while sitting, and found that creative output increased by an average of 60% when participants were walking, with 81% of participants showing improvement (Oppezzo & Schwartz, Stanford University, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2014). The effect held up whether people walked outdoors or on a treadmill facing a blank wall, so it wasn’t the scenery doing the work. It was the walking itself.
One important nuance most recaps leave out: walking helped with divergent thinking like brainstorming, generating options, loosening up a stuck idea but not with convergent thinking, the kind of task that has one correct answer. So this is your move for the brainstorm, the “let’s think through options” call, or the conversation where you’re stuck and need a different angle. It’s not the right tool for a budget reconciliation or a call where you need to read a spreadsheet.
Quick tip: Before your next brainstorming call, write down the one question you’re trying to answer on a sticky note or your phone’s notes app, glance at it, then put the phone away and start walking. Let the conversation breathe instead of staring at a doc the whole time.
2. It Cuts Into Sedentary Time Without Needing Extra Time on Your Calendar
This is the practical reason, and it’s the one that actually changes behavior long-term. A 30-minute walking meeting is 30 minutes of light activity you didn’t have to schedule separately. Given the cardiovascular data above, every hour you convert from sitting to moving works in your favor, and a walking meeting converts that hour without you having to ask anyone for extra time.
Quick tip: Look at tomorrow’s calendar right now and circle one call that doesn’t require a screen. That’s your test run not five calls, just one.
3. Walking Conversations Tend to Feel More Honest and Less Performative
People who run walking meetings regularly often notice that side-by-side conversation where you’re not making constant eye contact across a table or a video grid tends to produce more candid, less guarded exchanges. There isn’t a large controlled trial proving this specific effect, so it’s worth treating as a well-observed pattern rather than a hard statistic. But if you’ve ever had an easier time opening up to someone during a walk than during a sit-down meeting, you already know what this feels like.
Quick tip: Save the walking format for one-on-ones or small check-ins where candor matters more than a polished presentation which includes performance reviews and feedback conversations.
4. It Resets Your Energy Between Back-to-Back Calls
The ten minutes between two video calls spent scrolling at your desk doesn’t recover much. A short walk does more, even at a relaxed pace, because it changes your physical position, gets light into your eyes if you’re near a window or outside, and gives your brain a different kind of input than another screen. If you’ve ever finished a string of meetings feeling more drained than the actual content of those meetings should have caused, this is often why which is not the meetings themselves, but the total absence of movement around them.
There’s a simple physiological reason this works. Sitting still for long stretches slows circulation through your legs, and that sluggishness tends to show up as the foggy, heavy feeling people describe after a long run of back-to-back calls. Standing up and moving, even for ten minutes, gets blood flowing through your legs again and tends to leave you noticeably more alert for whatever comes next and closer to how you feel after stepping outside for fresh air than after another cup of coffee.
Quick tip: If you have a 3:00 and a 4:00 call back to back, try making the 3:00 a walking call. You’ll walk into the 4:00 less foggy, and you won’t have spent any extra time getting there.
5. You Can Start Today, With Zero New Equipment
Most fitness advice asks you to buy something or block out new time. A walking meeting needs neither. If you’ve got a phone, a hallway, a small backyard, or a block to circle, you can try this on your very next eligible call which is part of why it’s one of the lowest-friction changes you can make to a sedentary workday.
| Reason | What It Solves | Best Used For |
|---|---|---|
| Creativity boost | Stuck thinking, flat brainstorms | Idea generation, problem-solving calls |
| Less sedentary time | Long stretches of sitting | Any call without a shared screen |
| More candid conversation | Stiff, guarded check-ins | One-on-ones, feedback conversations |
| Energy reset | Mid-afternoon fog between calls | The gap between back-to-back meetings |
| Zero setup cost | “I don’t have time to start something new” | Literally your next phone-only call |
What Most Advice Gets Wrong: This Isn’t Just an Office or Outdoor-Group Thing
If you’ve searched this topic before, you’ve probably noticed that almost every article assumes you’re walking a colleague around an office campus or leading a small group outside. That’s a fine setup if you have it. But if you’re working from a one-bedroom apartment with no office to walk laps around, that advice doesn’t translate, and it’s not because the idea fails for you but because the advice was written for someone else’s day.
Here’s the version that actually fits a home setup:
- No outdoor space? Walk hallway-to-hallway or in a loop around your living room and kitchen. It sounds small, but a phone call doesn’t care whether your loop is 40 feet or 4 miles but your legs still get the same break from sitting.
- Calls are audio-only by default? This is actually the easiest version of a walking meeting to run, not a compromise. Switch your video call to audio-only mode, or take it as a regular phone call, and you’ve removed the one obstacle (the camera) that makes most people assume walking meetings require a screen.
- Worried it sounds unprofessional? Say so upfront: “I’m going to take this one on a walk if that’s alright I’ll have my headset in.” In most working relationships, this lands as conscientious, not careless, especially once you’ve done it once or twice.
- Living somewhere noisy or with kids/pets around? A walking meeting can solve this too because stepping outside or into another room is often quieter than staying at a desk near a busy household.
This is the gap that gets skipped almost everywhere else: walking meetings aren’t an office perk. For a lot of remote workers, they’re actually a better fit for home life than for the office setups most articles describe.
There’s also a smaller, practical detail competitors rarely mention: the temperature and footwear problem. Office-based advice assumes you’re already dressed for an outdoor stroll. If you’re working from home, you might be in slippers when your 2:00 call starts. Keep a pair of walking shoes by your desk, the way you’d keep a water bottle there, so the only friction between “I should take this one walking” and actually doing it is putting your shoes on not digging through a closet.
What This Looks Like Inside a Real Week
You don’t need to convert every meeting. Most people who stick with this long-term start with one or two calls a week and build from there. Here’s a realistic starting pattern for someone working from home with a mixed calendar:
| Day | Call | Walking Meeting? | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Weekly team standup (video, shared screen) | No | Needs visuals, not a fit |
| Tuesday | 1-on-1 with manager | Yes | Candid, no screen needed |
| Wednesday | Brainstorm for next quarter’s project | Yes | Divergent thinking benefits most here |
| Thursday | Client presentation (slides) | No | Requires screen sharing |
| Friday | Quick catch-up call with a peer | Yes | Low stakes, good test case |
Notice the pattern: roughly half the calls in a typical week genuinely don’t need a screen. That’s usually a bigger chunk of the calendar than people expect once they actually look.
When to Hold Off or Talk to a Professional First
Walking meetings are low-risk for most healthy adults, but a few situations are worth a pause. If you have a cardiovascular condition, a recent injury, balance issues, or a respiratory condition that makes talking while moving difficult, check with your doctor before treating walking meetings as a daily habit, and start at a pace well below anything that leaves you short of breath mid-sentence.
If you use a wheelchair or have a mobility limitation that makes traditional walking impractical, the core benefit of moving instead of sitting at a place still applies. Rolling, stretching at intervals, or simply standing and shifting position during a call captures much of the same sedentary-time benefit, and that’s worth raising with a physical therapist if you want a routine built around your specific situation.
And if you’re recovering from any kind of illness or surgery, even a minor one, treat your first walking call as a short test rather than a full commitment. Five minutes around the block tells you more about how your body is handling it than any general guideline can. None of this is meant to diagnose or replace a conversation with someone who knows your health history, it’s just the line where general advice should stop and personal guidance should start.
Here’s a detailed guide on Healthy and Wellness Living
Frequently Asked Questions
Are walking meetings actually effective, or is this just a wellness trend?
They’re effective for specific situations rather than as a universal replacement. Research backs a real boost in creative, divergent thinking while walking, and the broader case for breaking up sedentary time is well established in cardiovascular research. Walking meetings work best for brainstorming, one-on-ones, and low-visual check-ins not for anything requiring a shared screen or detailed document review.
How do you do a walking meeting on the phone without it being awkward?
Mention it at the start of the call: “I’m going to take this one walking, hope that’s alright.” Use a headset so your hands stay free and your voice comes through clearly. Keep your pace conversational rather than brisk, since heavy breathing makes it hard for the other person to hear you, and slow down if you need to make a detailed point.
Is it rude to walk during a work call?
Not if you ask first and the meeting format allows it. It becomes a problem only when you don’t mention it, sound distracted, or pick a call that genuinely needed a screen. A quick heads-up at the start of the call solves nearly all of the etiquette concerns people worry about.
How long should a walking meeting be?
Most people find 15 to 30 minutes works well as long enough to get a real break from sitting, short enough to stay focused on the conversation. For longer calls, it’s reasonable to walk for the first half and sit for the back half if the discussion shifts to something requiring notes or a screen.
Can you do a walking meeting if you have a disability or limited mobility?
Yes, with the format adjusted to fit your situation. The core benefit is breaking up sedentary time and changing your physical state during a call, not the specific act of walking. Rolling in a wheelchair, standing and shifting position at intervals, or doing light seated stretches during a phone call can offer a similar break. A physical therapist can help tailor this if you want a more structured approach.
What kind of meetings should you avoid turning into walking meetings?
Skip walking for anything that depends on a shared screen, a document everyone needs to look at together, or detailed notes you’ll need to reference later. Formal presentations, financial reviews, and meetings where you’re the one driving a slide deck all fall into this category. Save walking for conversation-first calls instead.
The Takeaway
You don’t need to overhaul your calendar to get something out of this. Pick one call this week that doesn’t need a screen but a one-on-one, a brainstorm, a casual catch-up and take it walking instead of sitting. The research on creative thinking and sedentary time both point the same direction: small, repeatable changes inside the schedule you already have tend to stick better than a big new routine bolted onto it. Try it once, see how the conversation feels, and let that decide whether it earns a permanent spot on your calendar.
References
- Oppezzo, M., & Schwartz, D. L. (2014). Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. Stanford University. https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2014/04/walking-vs-sitting-042414
- American College of Cardiology / American Heart Association Scientific Sessions (2024). Sitting Too Long Can Harm Heart Health, Even for Active People. JACC. https://www.acc.org/About-ACC/Press-Releases/2024/11/15/16/33/Sitting-Too-Long-Can-Harm-Heart-Health-Even-for-Active-People
- Association of sedentary time with risk of cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies (2023). ScienceDirect. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743523003985
- World Health Organization (2020). WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015128
Reviewed by Nick Smoot, NASM-CPT, Founder of Smoot Fitness. This article is for general informational purposes and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice. Speak with a doctor or physical therapist before starting any new movement routine if you have an existing health condition.
Nick Smoot is a certified fitness coach and the founder of Smoot Fitness, established in 2012. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Nick has personally coached more than 400 clients both in person and online helping them achieve lasting, life-changing physical transformations.
As a contributing expert at Sportiemade (sportiemade.com), Nick brings real-world expertise and a no-nonsense approach to fitness. His coaching philosophy goes beyond short-term results: he equips every client with the knowledge, habits, and mindset needed to get into the best shape of their life and stay there permanently.
Nick specialises in strength training, endurance performance, and the mental discipline that ties them together. His signature philosophy? Lift heavy, run far, and never stop learning.
Whether you are just beginning your fitness journey or looking to break through a plateau, Nick's evidence-based methods and proven track record make him one of the most trusted voices in the fitness space.
