Best Walking Practices
Walking is a good form of exercise with many health benefits, including:
- Boosting energy
- Helping to strengthen your bones
- Helping your heart or circulate blood and deliver oxygen and nutrients to your organs
- Reducing stress, which can produce a more restful night’s sleep
Drs. often recommend walking for 30 min. he times a week. However if you have health problems or have not been exercising in quite some time, be sure to check with your doctor before beginning a walking exercise regimen.
Tips for proper walking:
Proper footwear: the first key to proper walking is wearing comfortable shoes walking shoes should have arch support and allow enough room for the toes to wiggle but they should not pinch or Rob Sox should be worn to protect the feet and keep them dry synthetic socks are best because they dry quickly and in moisture away from the foot. Some sites also have a padded heel for additional support.
Warm up: when beginning a walk it is important to warm up by walking at a slow pace for the first 5 min. By allowing your muscles to warm up prior to starting a more rigorous ace you can reduce your risk of injury.
Walking posture: Throughout the walk, be sure to maintain good posture and breathes naturally, your neck and shoulders should be relaxed and your torso should be upright with abs tightens and elbows at 90° heat your arms close to your body and swing them forward and backward but do not let your hands across your body as this will slow you down.
Proper stride: when you walk your heel should make contact with the ground first and you should roll your weight to the center of your foot to your toe and then push off from the toe to make your next that try to keep it even stride and a steady pace. You can increase your speed to do so gradually. When you increase your pace focus on using the flexibility in your hips to take quicker steps as opposed to longer strides.
Cooldown: Be sure to finish your workout with a cool down by walking at a slow pace for about 5 min. a cooldown can help you prevent muscle soreness and injuries.
Pain awareness: if you feel pain at any time during your walk slow down or stop walking until the pain subsides you not fight through the pain as it may be a sign of an injury work continuing to walk make the condition worse. If the pain persists or is severe contact your doctor.
After walk home care:
After a walk, it is important to take a few minutes to stretch stretching can help to improve flexibility and prevent injuries. If your feet are sweaty, either change into a clean, dry pair of socks or wash and dry your feet. Also, be sure to check your feet for any blisters or sores. You may have gotten while walking and treat them appropriately.
If your feet are swollen so them in warm water for 5 min. and then cool water for another 5 min. This should help to relax the feet and reduce swelling for sore or tired feet a foot massage can help relieve tension lotion can also be applied to prevent dry skin.
For more information about proper walking techniques or foot care, consult your doctor.