Credit: Getty
Strong Women
Do you need to train to walk further? How to strengthen your walking muscles to avoid future niggles
2 years ago
4 min read
Trying to boost your daily step count? If there’s a specific walk or hike you’ve got your eyes on, then you might benefit from doing some walking-specific training.
Despite the fact that it’s often viewed as slow, boring and repetitive, we’ve been hot girl walking, grumpy girl stomping, gorpcoring all over pavements and trails for ages now. We’ve even done it backwards. And yet, walking further than usual can be bloody painful.
The Stylist team is halfway through a step-count challenge and loads of us have been complaining about tight hips and sore ankles. I’ve found it particularly tough; despite regularly running 10k before breakfast, walking the same distance is an absolute killer. And that’s got me wondering: should we be training to walk in the same way as you’d train to run, swim or lift a heavier weight?
Most of us don’t think about warming up ahead of a walk or doing anything to prepare for time on our feet. We just pack our bags and hope for the best. But according to Lucie Cowan, master trainer at Third Space London, training to walk can be a good idea.
“If walking is your main activity or you’re aiming to significantly increase your walking, incorporating strength training into your routine will be hugely beneficial,” she tells Strong Women.
She explains that a little strength work can benefit your walking in six main ways:
It can improve muscular endurance
One of the main difficulties with walking is the fact that it can take a long time to get anywhere. You might be comfortable running 10k in an hour, but walking 10k can feel like it takes forever. So, building up key walking muscles – the quads, hamstrings, glutes, core and hips – is going to help improve endurance and reduce fatigue on those long walks.
Strength training will protect your knees
“Strengthening the muscles around your joints can enhance stability and reduce the risk of injuries while walking,” Cowan explains. This might mean doing cossack squats and lateral lunges or scheduling in some pilates sessions that get your smaller stabilising muscles working.
It’ll reduce the risk of backache
Nearly everyone has some kind of muscular imbalance, and normally, that’s fine; it becomes an issue, however, when the imbalance is pronounced or we don’t have the body strength to maintain good posture. Being on our phones and laptops for hours also has a damaging impact on the way we hold ourselves.
You might find that you’re looking down a lot as you walk or that your shoulders are hunched around your ears – both of which can cause backache and neck cramp. Try slow, heavy weightlifting (great for strength and body awareness) or pilates or yoga for postural realignment.
By improving bone health, you’ll be less likely to fall
Weight-bearing strength exercises can promote bone health, which is essential, especially as we age. If you’ve not got strong bones, walking may well become harder – and more dangerous.
You’ll become more functionally fit
Perhaps the most important thing is functional strength. We want to be able to handle inclines and uneven terrain, dodge barking dogs, turn sharply, and recover quickly from slipping. You never know what’s going to happen on a walk, but being functionally fit means that you’re able to deal with it when it happens.
Functional strength involves movements that you’d use in real life. That might mean using the stepper at the gym, or setting the treadmill on a high incline. It might mean doing walking lunges over static, trying farmer’s carry (holding a heavy kettlebell in each hand as you walk) or single-leg deadlifts.
Should you strength train to walk?
“When incorporating strength training, focus on exercises that target the major muscle groups involved in walking, such as squats, lunges, step-ups, and core exercises,” Cowan continues. Don’t go thinking that walking is a totally lower body-based activity, though. A strong upper body is going to make things 10 times easier; we often use our arms for greater speed, while a strong core is the key to good posture and maintaining healthy pressure across key joints. So, make sure you’re doing a decent dose of upper and lower-body strength training.
Cowan also stresses the importance of listening to your body and taking adequate rest and recovery days. You might think walking is low-impact enough to do every day, but when you’re going further than usual, it’s crucial to give your body a chance to repair. You may not be sweating but you’re still working hard.
Images: Getty
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