ultra-FIT

WOMEN’S FITNESS

Walking is great exercise - it’s natural,free and good for you! Don’t be lulledinto thinking it’s not ‘proper’ exercise. Itis and

Caroline Sandry

tells you why.

Walk yourway toweightloss...

ultra-FIT

WOMEN’S FITNESS

ultra-FIT

WOMEN’S FITNESS

Why walk?

Walking is a low impact exercise optionand is less demanding on your joints thanrunning, but all the major muscles of yourlegs will get a great workout. Walking willdevelop aerobic fitness. This type of steadypaced exercise uses oxygen to ignite thechemical reactions in your muscles thatkeep you going. And you can burnhundreds of calories whilst taking in thesights. Also most people will be able towalk relatively fast for at least an hour.Walking is also a great stress reliever.Take a look at the calorie burningfigures in table 1 on the opposite page tosee what a great exercise option walkingis. As you progress your walking, youshould increase your speed and includemore hills into your walks to increase yourcalorie burn.

Good technique

I see many people who walk fast but witha very poor technique that will inevitablylead to discomfort or injury. It is importantthat you can maintain good posture undereffort, so practice your technique and stayaware of your posture and form.

Posture

The neck and shoulders often carry alot of tension, so roll the shouldersback several times before your walkand try to keep them relaxed anddown away from your ears when youare walking

The neck should be long with the headbalanced on the top (sounds obviousbut a lot of people look down, or havetheir head in a forward position). Keeplooking forward to maintain good neckalignment and keep your chin parallelto the floor

Try to stay tall and elegant – think of tribal women carrying buckets of water on their heads – their posture istall and balanced.

The action

Arms -

the arms should be bent butrelaxed, and are used to balance themovement of the legs. Think of pullingyour arm back as you pull back withthe opposite leg, and keep the forwardmotion of the arm short – the handonly needs to come to around chestheight

Legs –

stride length is important, butdon’t try to take huge ones as you willstart to swing your whole body andwork ineffectively. Keeping your strideshort will prevent your body rotatingthrough your hips and divertingvaluable energy away from where youneed it – to propel you forward. Focusmore on the ‘pushing-through’ phaseof the stride rather than the stepforward as this is where your powercomes from

hands cupped lightlyarms bent toa relaxed 90degreeschest open andshoulders openand relaxedabdominals held intight to keep torsostrong and stableeyes forward tokeep neck longand head up

Walking Posture