Walking It Off
The Sunday Age
Sunday January 4, 2004
A skill most of us master by our first birthday is the latest fitness fad. By Meredith Wilkie.
It looks like Nanna had it right after all. The daily constitutional she swore by has been rediscovered. Doctors now say a brisk walk could be as good for us, if not better than, running. And since we perfected walking roughly two million years ago it's easy to see why this fitness fad has so many devotees.
There are websites devoted to walking (try www.walking.org or www.walkingconnection.com), with tips, chat rooms, articles and inspiration. Those uncertain about the skill they first mastered as a toddler can buy books and manuals such as Fitness Walking for Dummies, and The Spirited Walker: Fitness Walking for Clarity, Balance and Spiritual Connection. In the UK and US, thousands of women have taken up "mall walking", striding en masse around shopping malls, creating a velodrome circuit for pedestrians.
In New Zealand (where it is called "tramping"), you'll find Walking New Zealand magazine, with articles on everything from leisure and competitive walking to nutrition, testimonials, and fashion (sensible shoes only).
It's becoming just as big in Australia. Thirty-seven new Victorian Walk and Talk clubs got mobile in the past two years, according to VicFit, bringing the total to 90 statewide, with more than 4000 participants.
The new walking comes with a new toy, the pedometer. Sales of these wrist-band number crunchers have risen dramatically in Australia in the past year. In the US, McDonald's gave them free to customers in Houston after a magazine named the city the nation's fattest three years in a row. More than 800,000 Canadians will soon find pedometers in their breakfast cereal, care of a new government initiative called Canada on the Move. Last April, Australia's federal Health Department spent $40,000 on pedometers for its staff.
In Japan, pedometers are nicknamed manpo-kei, meaning "10,000 steps meter". According to the experts, walking 10,000 steps a day (about eight kilometres) will keep you fit and svelte. Sadly, the average American takes between 3000 and 5000 steps a day, while the average Australian is slowing down. By 1999, we were walking for only 114 minutes every week, 25 minutes less than we walked in 1997.
The new walking isn't as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. Staggering between couch and car just isn't going to cut it. Like any exercise, you have to push yourself to build fitness and muscle while reducing your risk of diabetes, heart attack and cancer.
Many people don't walk properly, says personal trainer Steve Littlewood of Melbourne Fitness Centre. "It can be anything from the shoes they're wearing, their fitness or the pace they're walking at, to an incorrect stride," he says. "Some people think that walking for fitness means you have to throw your hips into it."
Overstriding (taking longer than normal steps), poor push-off (a slow, flat-footed walk), unbalanced gait (often caused by a longer leg, usually the right leg) and poor posture (head straining too far forward; shoulders behind hips) are the most common walking problems. And if you do have a problem with your gait, Littlewood says walking with dumbbells will only make it worse.
The good news is, all you have to manage is about 30 minutes a day, three to five times a week. If you don't have 30 minutes in one grab, three 10-minute walks a day are just as good. And if you really want to blast fat, make like Nancy Sinatra by breaking a sweat for about 45 minutes, five to six times a week.
Five Tips for Better Walking
1. Walk smoothly, put energy into each step and let your arms swing freely by your side. Make sure your heel lands first, then push off beneath and behind you, keeping your front knee relaxed. If you bend your arms at 90 degrees, they can swing faster as your steps speed up.
2. Wear comfortable clothing and appropriate footwear: walking shoes, cross-trainers or running shoes are fine.
3. If your breathing is uncomfortable, slow down or stop. You don't need to push yourself too hard. Aim to raise your pulse, but you should be able to hold a conversation without gasping.
4. Walk with head held high, eyes forward, squeezing your buttocks together and clenching your abdominal muscles for a full-body workout.
5. The most critical time to keep yourself motivated is in the first two to four weeks. Take the dog, a friend or family member with you on slack days to encourage you to keep at it. A decent pedometer costs between $40 and $60, and will help you keep track of how many steps you've taken.
© 2004 The Sunday Age