Are you walking the wrong way? Check out the right tips from experts

Walking is considered the most convenient way of exercise. From brisk walking to infinity walking, people try different types of walking to lose weight and stay fit. However, if you are not getting the desired results with walking then maybe you are walking the wrong way. That is what experts who have now come up with the right tips for walking and deriving maximum benefits have to say.

While walking 10, 000 steps every day is certainly very good for keeping fit, WalkActive founder Joanna Hall who has dedicated most of her life to fitness says that the focus should be more on how you walk and the length of the ground covered. According to Joanna, “Most people appreciate there are skills and techniques you can employ to get better at a tennis serve, golf drive or front crawl in swimming. But when we come to walk, we don’t think about it.”

The fitness expert who has worked in tandem with the Sport and Exercise Research Center at London South Bank University said that people usually commit common mistakes while walking.

Walking out of space

Hall has observed that people rely on their hip flexors more while walking and do not properly engage their hamstrings and glutes. She says, “If we are too dependent on the hip flexors, it stops us from using our glutes properly. Combine that with our lifestyles and the amount we sit down, and the hip flexors get very short.” So the tip here is to walk out of space. According to Hall, What that will do is start to utilize your glutes and your hamstrings, and it will also switch off your hip flexors, which is going to safeguard your back and improve your posture.”

Fix hips by focusing on your heels

Hall says that most people tend to walk with a flat foot. According to her, “People tend to walk with a flat foot, which is called a passive foot. When we step forward into our space, the foot comes down as one unit, but the foot has 26 bones in it. Where we have a bone, it’s there because it’s a joint, and we’re meant to have movement in it. But as a consequence of walking with a flat foot, we don’t use the foot like that.”

So how to fix it? The fitness expert says, “The way to fix it is to imagine you have pieces of velcro on the bottom of your feet and on the path you’re walking on. When you’re showing the post-it note to the person behind you, imagine you’re peeling that back foot off the floor bit by bit, and that will stimulate movement through the joints of the whole foot. That’s great for your posture, and it’s great for your alignment.”

Hall also suggests keeping a straight line between shoulders and ear lobes while walking and avoiding slouching. And if you like to swing your arms in their natural swing while walking then there is good news. According to Hall, it is a good way of getting more benefit from each stride.