Walking is an act of huge complexity, involving almost all the bones and muscles in our bodies, our balance, coordination and our strength, while firing hundreds of neurons. No machine has been able to replicate how we synchronise our muscles and bones when we walk.
Modern life means that our gait has worsened caused in part by sitting so much or using inappropriate footwear. Our feet hit the ground with a passive foot strike or a flat plod, rather than with an active foot strike or a springy rolling sole, which can cause our pelvis to misalign and affect our posture. Research shows that walking with a full range of motion for a month can improve our skeletal alignment and increase our walking speed.
Sports scientist Joanna Hall recommends:
– Pushing off from the back foot, using the muscles at the back of the legs.
– Peeling through each foot from heel to toe, using all of our toes to drive us forward.
– Lifting our ribs and lower spine to activate our abdominal muscles and create space in our core.
– Lengthening and straightening our neck, which frees our spine to move as we walk.
– Swinging our arms freely but smoothly from the shoulders, using our elbows to impel us forward and loose hands.
Medics at Harvard Medical School recommend additional techniques
– looking 3 to 6 metres in front of you and lowering your eyes (rather than your head) when you need to check the ground.
– Swivelling the hips slightly to add power to your stride.
– Taking care not to overstretch your stride, with shorter steps but more of them.
Brisk walking (6-7km per hour) brings extra benefits. A study in 2019 showed that brisk walkers live longer. In fact, all our daily required exercise can be accommodated in our trips to work, school or to the shops.
A good gait means we can also walk further. Longer walks can reduce body fat and improve mood.
Some tips for your new gait:
– You can ask a friend to check your new gait and suggest improvements, or take a video of yourself.
– Invest in some good footwear.
– Wear a backpack or bumbag to help with correct alignment, instead of a bag.
– Use hiking poles adjusted to your height.
Let’s get out there and walk with a better gait!
Source: 52 ways to walk: Annabel Streets – Bloomsbury Publishing