The Times of London gives us some very enlightening, yet pedestrian, thoughts from Bruce Millar, who, at the the age of 40-something, decided to learn how to walk –perfectly. Why bother? Because, as Millar tellls us, if an active person takes between 8,000 and 10,000 paces a day and
walks 83,000 miles in a lifetime, it’s probably worth figuring out how to do it right. To do that, Millar hired Nina Barough, walking coach and author of Walking for Fitness, which lists no fewer than 18 benefits from power walking, including weight loss
and muscle toning to better sleep, greater energy levels and increased
bone strength. Most helpfully, Millar offers his own six-step guide to walking correctly.
Ready? Here goes:
1. Standing tall and relaxed, with pelvis tilted forwards and arms
loosely by your side, extend your left leg, taking care not to lock the
knee. Flex the left foot so that the toes point upwards.
2. Take a comfortable stride and place your left heel squarely on the
ground with a good upwards lift on the ankle. Your right, back foot is
firmly planted on the ground.
3. Move forwards on to the left foot so that your weight is evenly
balanced between the heel of the left foot and the ball of the right
foot. Look straight ahead and keep your shoulders releaxed.
3. Transfer weight on to the left foot, keep the leg straight and keep
the weight on your left heel for as long as possible before rolling the
foot. Begin to rise on to the ball of the right foot ready for the push
off.
4. Begin to cross through to the front with the right, back leg and
keep the foot close to the ground. Avoid big movements, which waste
time and energy.
5. Extend the right leg immediately while raising the foot slightly in preparation to strike with the heel, as in step one.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Saturday, May 10, 2025
I tried this and I look like an idiot. People were yelling epitaphs at me. How about not swinging your arms and shakin’ your ass like you mean it!
Carnival of the Walkers #39
Weekly round-up of walking blogs, news, and fun items. Plane Foot Fitness: John Vonhof of the Happy Feet blog tells us how to keep your feet happy and blood moving on a long plane trip or other long sitting session….
Good stuff, as usual. About.com just instituted a Blogroll on our homepages, and your SportsGeezer blog is one I’ve selected to feature on the blogroll. Keep up the good blogging!
Is walking better than riding a bicycle on hill?