Walking and Strength Training

By Kelly Powers. PT

Bridging Tighten stomach muscles, then slowly raise buttocks off floor. Hold 3 count, lower, and repeat 1 set of 10.
Wall Sits With feet shoulder-width apart and approx 2 feet away from a wall, slowly lower buttocks toward floor until thighs are parallel to floor. Don’t let knees cross over front of toes. Hold 5 count, repeat 1 set of 10.
Alternating Superman Tighten stomach muscles, then simultaneously raise leg and opposite arm keeping trunk rigid, don’t let stomach sag or back arch. If this is too challenging, try it lying flat on the floor. Hold 3 count, repeat 1 set of 10.
Standing Ankle Pumps Rock back and forth from heels to toes. Hold 3 count, repeat 1 set of 10.

Walking is becoming increasingly popular among all ages as a way to improve cardiovascular fitness, decrease weight, or just to simply maintain a healthy lifestyle. Walking requires the use of multiple muscles and therefore is an excellent way of increasing one’s overall fitness.

In order to get the maximum results from walking and to prevent injury it is important to strengthen muscles and to use good form. Good form includes looking ahead, relaxing your shoulders, and opening your chest. Your elbows should be bent to approximately 90 degrees and your hands in a loose grip as if you are holding a small tube. Abdominals should be tightened and legs should take a normal stride, not too big or too small.

This seems like a lot to think about, but most of it comes naturally. Strengthening exercises help to promote good alignment and make good form much easier to follow. By developing muscle strength you also reduce the stress on your joints by providing support and therefore reduce the chance of overuse injuries and muscle strains.

Core stability is a term that has become popular in gyms and among exercisers. Core refers to the muscles around the body’s trunk. These muscles include abdominals and back extensors. With a strong core, walking is more efficient because you start with a stable base. If you don’t have stability in the trunk muscles then you don’t have a good foundation to work from and injury can result. Injury can occur when muscles or joints have to over-compensate for weaker ones. By incorporating a strengthening program into your walking routine you can promote stability among all your joints.

Leg strengthening is important to power up those hills and to control the descent on the downslope. By strengthening leg muscles you’ll notice an increase in endurance as well as no overuse injuries. The major muscle groups in your thigh include quadriceps located on the front of your thigh and hamstrings located on the back of your thigh. The major lower leg muscles include the anterior tibialis muscle on the front of your lower leg and your calf muscle located on the back of your lower leg. Weakness in these areas can lead to muscle strains, shin splints, and an inefficient walking technique.

Arm strength is important as it assists the body in a pumping motion while walking. Strong arms help propel one forward and are an important part of good form. It is not necessary or advantageous to carry weights in your hands while walking. This additional weight can cause a pull at your shoulders, especially if you tend to walk with your arms more at your sides than bent at the elbow. This additional pull at your shoulder can cause injury as shoulder muscles try and counteract the additional weight of the arm.

The following exercises cover the above areas and should be done with at least one day off in between. When just beginning a strengthening program it is important to start slowly and expect some soreness. Each person responds differently to exercise and it is important to track your progress and not push yourself too hard too fast. I recommend an exercise log that keeps track of what days you perform the exercise and how many you do. It’s fun to review your progress and it can be a great motivator.

Kelly is a Marquette University graduate and has been practicing Physical Therapy 14 years. She works at Providence Sports Therapy at Mother Joseph and can be reached at kelly.powers@providence.org.