About walking
“I would have never labeled myself as a walker. Walking was something you do with friends to catch up. My mindset was totally changed when I joined Conni's week walking program at Rancho La Puerta. A task our bodies do on autopilot and a task we take for granted. Conni broke down the fundamentals, highlighted how walking can go wrong over time, how much we need it as we age and the amazing benefits on our overall health and daily well-being.
I came home completely hooked and with tools on how to challenge myself as I logged the miles. Some days just a couple of miles. Some days more. Walking is how I start my day; it gets me outside first thing and Conni has provided great tips and tools on how to continue to get out and walk on those wintry days. A hidden gem in all of this is that I discovered all kinds of new areas in my immediate community because I would just walk and see where the steps led me. I have never regretted getting out there for a walk even if it was just a quick 15 minutes around the block. It's grounding and so satisfying.
Let your feet lead you on a new journey. You won't be sorry. ~ Dana”
Posture Starts With Your Feet!
Walking – A Workout for Everyone
Walking—isn’t it the way of life? Well, most people think of walking only when it becomes difficult and if their health care provider recommends that they start walking for their health, usually weight- or heart-related. A few of the reasons I hear on my end is walking is boring; walking hurts my back, my feet; I don’t have time to walk; it’s too cold or dark in the mornings and I’m exhausted when I get off work. Many want the best of both worlds—do nothing and reap the benefits, as if they were active and lived a healthy lifestyle.
I know you’ve heard it before, whether on the news, on the internet, and/or a good friend trying to get you to give walking a chance. I’m going to be that friend, giving you up-to-date benefits of walking.
Walking can be as good a workout, if not better, than running. Experts say we’re unfairly placing this form of exercise in the “pointless” category. Turns out, you may be missing out on extremely effective physical activity, not to mention a mental boost, by writing off walking entirely. One of the biggest pitfalls is doing the same distance, speed and time, day in and day out. You need to constantly be switching up your exercise routine to get the maximum benefit for your health. I believe FDI (Frequency Duration and Intensity) need to be different every walk. What I have witnessed and experienced is that runners go for miles and walkers go for time. It may take us walkers longer to finish three miles, so we spend more time gaining equal benefits, if not more.
While I would love to say that walking can be just as effective a workout as running, I’m not going to lie to you. In fairness, the two really shouldn’t be compared with each other. “Running will always have the proverbial leg up on walking.” Walking may be a better choice for many. Walking is a good form of exercise and can help you reach your fitness and weight loss goals. As an avid walker of 30 years, I’ve marveled at race walking and have achieved and finished three marathons (all under six hours) and numerous shorter races with few and infrequent injuries. Ok, a blister here and there.
So, let’s start with good technique. Good technique can make it feel easier and more fluid to walk, even though you are going faster.
The following techniques apply good posture, proper stride, and powerful arm movement.
Posture:
1. Check in and feel your body standing tall, with ease and not rigid. With a slight leaning forward from your ankles to drive the force forward and not hinging at your waistline, i.e., sitz bones reaching down, (allows front hips to rise in front connecting more to your transverse abdominals, neutral pelvis) keeping your abdominals lightly engaged will further encourage neutral pelvis. Collar bones wide, (allows shoulders to descend down your back) and head over sacrum. Maintaining good posture will help breathing be more efficient and smoother. *Regular posture checks, whether you are just walking around while doing errands or walking for exercise, can help you learn better posture over time. Soon it will become good walking habit. As renowned Pilates trainer Madeline Black states, “Your feet are a mirror image of your posture.” I always say, “Be aware of being aware.”
2. Keep your eyes forward and avoid looking down. Your focus should be a good 12 feet in front of you. Keep your chin up: this reduces strain on your neck and back, thus allowing you to look forward and not down at your feet.
3. The power of your arms and shoulders dictates your speed. Swing your arms faster and in a more fluid motion and your speed will pick up. Try this for yourself. Place your arms across your chest and walk as fast as you can. Now swing your arms. Point made.
4. Heel-ball-toe is the best way to describe proper stride. One foot is always on the ground when walking. The three segments of a stride are heel strike, mid-stance and a push off the big toe to propel us forward. Longer strides are not best. Go back to practicing your powerful arm movement and start there. Let your stride happen naturally. Slowly increase speed by swinging your arms faster, i.e., stride will shorten.
*Frequency: The best walking program is being consistent. Get out there and do it.
*Duration: Change up your routes, try not to walk the same two or three miles every day down the same road. Maybe one day spend 30 minutes, the next day one hour.
*Intensity: Interval training (fast to slow, paying attention to landmarks or your watch). Hill climbs, and/or consistent speed one day to faster and more intense speed the next. Each time you walk, let your body keep guessing what it’s about to experience. If you go out everyday to the same walk, your mind body connection starts to shut off. See change happen just by surprising yourself with what you can do.
Walking is an easily accessible and achievable mode of fitness for people of diverse abilities and fitness levels. The key to success is making a commitment to walking. You will be rewarded with the positive physical and psychological changes you can achieve.
Walk This Way! Foot Alignment is Key
We all carry our weight on 26 bones of the foot - many of them fragile - as well as tendons, ligaments, and muscles. The emphasis on our core and back often overlooks the importance of our ankles. There is always room for awareness and improvement to avoid two common problems - supination and pronation. Give yourself time for exercises for the ankles as explained below.
Toe Taps: Sit with feet flat on the floor, heel 90 degrees below your knee. Lift your toes and ball of the foot off the floor. Tap slowly and at an even pace. Even 2-3 minutes a day is beneficial. Be sure to keep your foot, knee and hip in alignment.
Heel Taps: Again, with feet flat on the floor as above with heel at 90 degrees below the knee. Lift your heel up and down off the floor and tap slowly for 2 to 3 minutes. Optionally, you can do either of these exercises in a diagonal motion.
Make a Dome: Sit with your feet flat on the floor and draw your toes up towards the heel. Do this for 30-60 seconds. Option: Leave toes out of the exercise and pull the ball of your foot toward the heel.
Towel Curls: This is challenging! Sit with feet flat on the floor, with your heel 90 degrees below the knee. Place a towel under the toes of one foot, extending toes, reaching for the towel and bringing the towel toward you. Continue for 10 to 15 repetitions.
Make these short exercises part of your daily routine and you will find your walk is lighter and your ankles stronger.