Walk
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By Judy Heller

Judy Heller, founder of
Wonders of Walking LLC,
advocates walking for well being and pleasure. Wonders of Walking promotes Walking Events for Walkers by Walkers. Judy Heller is founder and owner of EroFit & Associates, LLC, celebrating Fitness for a Lifetime. Heller offers personalized fitness training and coaching for individuals and groups.
Contact: Judy Heller
at 503-282-1677:
email judy@erofit.com
jheller@wondersofwalking.com

Also visit: www.erofit.com
www.wondersofwalking.com

I only went out
for a walk and
concluded to stay out until sundown,
For going out,
I found
Was really going in.

— John Muir

“I want to be faster”

Will you walk a little faster? said a whiting to a snail.
There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail.
— Lewis Carroll
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Have you ever considered walking dull and ordinary? Well, believe it or not, Webster’s New World Dictionary defines pedestrian as: going or done on foot; ordinary and dull. Harumpf!!

Walk, by definition, is both a noun and a verb. The medical definition of the verb to walk is: To move over a surface by taking steps with the feet at a pace slower than a run. Well, walkers today no longer adhere to this definition, as walkers are walking at paces as fast as or faster than running paces.

Walking is a skill, just as are swimming, tennis, golf, or any other activity where people choose to perfect what they enjoy doing. Just as with these skills people benefit from walk coaching and training. The most commonly desired goal mentioned during my walking clinics is “I want to be faster.” To be faster is individual, as it depends on the walker’s (your) goals. A fitness walker may want to be fast enough to improve cardiovascular fitness or improve weight management; a speed walker wants to cross the finish line or go the distance more quickly; a racewalker may have specific racing goals to achieve.

The act of walking does include placing one foot in front of the other; however, it is much more than that. The act of walking faster is even more complicated. Just as a car must be tuned, aligned, and tires balanced, so must our bodies be in good working order to perform. Postural alignment, how you use your shoulders, arms, hips, legs, and feet, your muscular strength, and flexibility, age, gender, what you eat and drink, and how you train all contribute to your ability to walk faster.

Most notably from my experience with walkers is the lack of muscular and joint flexibility. Flexibility is defined as the ability to move a joint through its complete range of motion. Flexibility for a joint depends on the type of joint and arrangement of muscles and other connective tissues surrounding the joint. Factors affecting flexibility are age, which is associated with increased rigidity, dehydration, and cross linking of muscle and connective tissue. According to American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), gender, quality of sleep, time of day, and presence of injury can also influence joint mobility.

Loose Is Power
Increased flexibility reduces muscle tension, increases relaxation, improves functional ability, supports joint range of motion, and contributes to improved posture. Relaxed muscle tissue is better able to perform at increased turnover.

I consulted with two-time 50k racewalk Olympian and guest coach for the 10th Annual Racewalk Retreat, Philip Dunn. He agrees: “Most walkers at any age are limited by two things when they start going faster: muscle strength and muscle elasticity. As you age, these are two of the things that tend to diminish most noticeably. I would have walkers work on increasing their range of motion by doing some of the mobility drills that we do at the retreat.”

Mobility Exercises Include:
1. Shoulder rotation: While walking, hands placed on shoulders and upper arms horizontal with the ground, rotate your arms in a backstroke motion. Repeat 10 to 15 times.

2. Arm circles: Windmill-style arm circle. While walking, hold one arm straight by your side, rotating the other backwards (as in the swimming backstroke). Feel full extension along the side of the torso of circling arm. Repeat 10 to 15 times.

3. Cross-over leg swing: Hold on to a bar, tree, fence, with both hands facing forward. Swing one leg in front of your body, gradually swinging higher. Swing about 10 to 15 times. Repeat with other leg. This helps to loosen the hip joint.

Mobility exercises may be practiced during a warm-up. Initially, they should be done slowly to develop correct movements; later, they can be done at a quicker pace. Begin with at least five minutes of slow walking, and then perform the drills for 30 to 40 seconds. Do several repetitions.

Strength Is Endurance
Dunn adds, “Incorporate some regular weight training, if possible. These can be things as simple as leg lifts, hamstring curls, gentle squats, etc., with the focus being on controlled, full range of motion exercises.”

Form Is Speed
Walking technique counts. Racewalkers are the masters of walking technique. Not only do they go fast, but must do so legally. Good walking form is a must for improving times, whether as a racewalker, speed walker or fitness walker.

Below are four important ways to improve your walking technique:
1. Stand tall. Posture does matters. Focus on the horizon, eyes level, keep your shoulders down, back erect, open chest.
2. Take quicker steps, not longer. Don’t over- stride. Your stride will lengthen behind you. Don’t force yourself to take longer steps.
3. Bend your arms. Bend at the elbow to a 90-degree angle. Keep your elbow fixed. Your hands come to the center line in front of your body but do not cross; do not drive above chest level. The arm swing is more to the back less to the front. Faster arms will make faster feet.
4. Push off with your back foot for power. As you roll to the tip of your toes, generate a push at the end of each step as your leg prepares to swing forward. You should feel as if you’re showing the sole of your shoe to someone behind you.

Dunn adds: “In my own training, I’m finding that if I walk too quickly my knee bothers me the next day [Philip underwent knee surgery last year]. So for awhile, I was avoiding any speed workouts. None when it came time to race or actually do something quick, I had real trouble because my legs weren’t used to moving so quickly. But if I did just a few shorter speed drills, like the accelerations that we do at the retreat, I found it much easier to go fast again with good technique.” Philip Dunn finished eighth, first American, at the Pan Am Racewalking Cup in Lima, Peru, May 8, 2005.

Work on full range of motion, maintain or increase strength in walking specific muscles, especially the hips and hamstrings. Each time you go out the door to walk, you should have an objective: pleasure, strength (hills), form, speed, endurance. Focus on technique, do some shorter, faster drills or intervals at least once a week so your body knows how to walk fast. Above all, have fun as you explore walking faster.