Thirty minutes of brisk walking burns about 120 calories.

It can be one of the more confusing aspects of exercising: Figuring out how hard you should be working in order to reap optimum health benefits. After all, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend getting a minimum of 150 minutes a week of “moderate intensity” physical activity (plus two strength-training sessions a week; see full guidelines here), but what does that really mean? Researchers at San Diego State University have determined a more illuminating answer: walking about 100 steps per minute.

In a recent study, 58 women and 39 men were monitored while completing four six-minute sessions at different treadmill speeds. Based on the data, the researchers found that a moderate intensity for men was achieved at between 92 and 102 steps per minute and, for women, the range was between 91 and 115 steps per minute. While the authors say that using a pedometer can be an effective way to track your steps, they also warn that such devices are only accurate about half the time.

Another — and potentially more enjoyable — way to pace yourself? Music. Creating your own playlist can be as simple as visiting the DJ BMP Studio website and searching for songs that come in at around 100 beats per minute. Click here for a sample mix to get you started.

Of course, if you start walking and find the songs are too fast (or not fast enough!), keep playing around with the mix until you hit your optimum stride. You might even find you can exceed the 115 BPM mark. Leave a comment letting us know what songs and BPM work for you.

Photo credit: Laura Stanley

Tags: Arcade games, Beats per minute, BMP, BPM, Dance Dance Revolution, Exercise equipment, Human behavior, Laura Stanley, Pedometer, Radio, Recreation, San Diego State University, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, walking