Fitness Walking

 

Recently, in a conversation with an ex-convict noted for his writing and his escape from a maximum security prison, also keen interest in physical fitness, he poured scorn on walking as an effective aerobic conditioner…

AT FIRST GLANCE, WALKING MAY NOT SEEM LIKE EXERCISE; AFTER ALL, MOST of us do some daily. However, most physiologists contend that it's an ideal way to get into shape. It's safe and convenient, you can vary the intensity, the route, AND YOU CAN RACE. Strangely enough, walking is twice as efficient as running. A runner lifts the body off the ground fighting gravity, a walker uses gravity to advantage. With each walking stride, you fall forwards from one foot, swinging the other leg ahead while gathering speed and energy, and when your forward leg strikes the ground and you begin to rise up on that leg, the energy is stored and then released when you stride forwards, only to be gathered up and stored once again.

A person walking at 4kph recovers 65 to 70 per cent of the energy expended with each stride. Efficiency decreases with speed but increases energy expenditure. While a runner burns about the same number of calories to run a kilometre regardless of the speed, the faster a walker covers a kilometre, the more calories are burnt. The exchange point of efficiency between walking and running - that's when the energy cost of walking exceeds that of running - is about 8 to 9 kilometres per hour. In one study, ten fit men aged 22 to 39 were asked to walk at a fast pace for 30 minutes (8kph); all achieved and maintained their target heart rate, proving that walking is actually an excellent form of exercise for the already fit.

Making a start
When embarking on a walking fitness programme, the speed should be enough to register 65 % of your maximum heart rate for about 15 minutes. Warm up beforehand for ten minutes and cool down afterwards for the same duration. The maximum heart rate varies with age, and many estimates are suggested by physiologists. The most accurate is for males to apportion themselves 214bpm and deduct 0.8 for every year of age; so a 30-year-old male will multiply 30 X 0.8 = 24, deducted from 214 = 190bpm max. Females should allocate themselves 209bpm and deduct 0.7 for every year of age. A 20-year-old female will multiply 20 X 0.7 = 14, deducted from 209 = 195bpm max. Thus, 65 % of maximum heart rate for the 30year-old man in this example will be 123bpm, and for the 20-year-old female, 127bpm.

So, a start has been made, and after a while we feel that an exercise plateau has been reached and we want to exercise more strenuously. There are plenty of choices:

* WALKING UP A 10% INCLINE can almost double the energy costs of walking on level ground - and even walking downhill requires more effort than level-ground walking because of the braking effect to stop you falling forwards.

* WALKING ON A BEACH, better still, on sand dunes where you not only have to contend with the sand giving way under your feet but with steep inclines as well. This double action increases energy cost by a whopping 200%.

* CARRYING HAND WEIGHTS boosts the intensity yet allows you to maintain a comfortable pace. But, there are things to watch. Swing the weights vigorously and avoid bending the elbows too much - you might hit your head. When negotiating hills, don't slacken the pace, shorten your stride slightly (a bit like changing down a gear on a cycle) and keep your head up.

* STAIR CLIMBING. Don’t under-estimate this activity. No person who wishes to gain fitness should use an escalator nor use a lift to go up a few flights. Studies of several groups of office employees showed that those who made use of the stairs instead of the lift improved their fitness levels by 10%.

* THE SAS WAY. Part of the testing procedure for SAS personnel is to hike 40 miles with a backpack containing 45 pounds in weight - commonly known as the 'Endurance March', which has to be done in a prescribed time. Don't' try it, at least, not just yet. But, you can make a start. Build up gradually to walking 40 miles once a week with a rucksack containing bottled water and high-energy foods (raisins, bananas and power-bars.) Stop every hour for a rest, water and energy snacks. Then, in due course, start adding 10 pounds in weight on subsequent outings. The SAS use bricks, but I prefer sand in a plastic bag. It may take several months to get up to carrying 40 pounds. Once this can be done, there is the question of time. A good target is 12 hours, that's 4 miles per hour.

One Appalachian Trail hiker in the USA was tested by exercise physiologists before and after his 87-day, 2,735-kilometre walk, during which he carried a backpack weighing from 16 t0 23 kilograms. Because he was already very fit, his heart rate while hiking hovered below his target heart range, and his aerobic conditioning at the end of his trek was almost identical to his excellent pre-hike level. But blood tests revealed that his HDL cholesterol - the beneficial cholesterol that helps protect against arterial plaque - had risen from 54 t0 74. This supports the research findings that frequent long-term activity - even if it isn't within a formal workout setting or always tough enough to bring the target heart rate up to the marls - can reduce the risk of heart disease.

* RACE WALKING. If you like walking fast, this could well be your sport. There are opportunities for young and old. Race walking has a long and rich tradition. Walking races existed as far back as the sixteenth century, and in the 1700s and I800s, walking races were held on a regular basis in Europe and England. These included organised national championship events. However, true race walking as we know it today really began around 1900, with the return of the Olympic Games and the emergence of George Lamer of England as walking ace 0f the day.

The competitive distances range from 1,500 metres (a good time is sub 5min.40sec), to 100 miles (a good time is sub 17 hours 2omin). Popular distances, and also Olympic ones, are 20 and 50 kilometres, good times being sub 1 hour 22 minutes and sub 3 hours 54 minutes respectively.

But the technique for race walking is very different from normal walking and even fast walking. During the first, your feet land on either side of an imaginary line that proceeds in the direction of travel. While you walls, your body sways from side to side slightly as you shift your weight from one foot to the other. As you increase your speed to fast walking, your feet land closer to the imaginary line, decreasing the swaying movement and allowing you to lengthen your stride. During race walking, your feet land directly on top of the imaginary line, eradicating wasteful sideways motions almost completely. The IAAF rulebook states that race walking is progression by steps taken so that unbroken contact with the ground is maintained. Also, the advancing walker's foot must make contact before the rear foot leaves the ground. Equally important is the rule that the knee 0f the supporting leg must be straightened as it passes under the centre of the body. It sounds complicated, and the development of a fair style appears to be a hassle - it isn't. You can easily teach yourself to become an accomplished race walker. First of all, join an established walking club so that you can join in group training sessions. If you don't want to do that, there are five things you must concentrate on with regard to technique:

1) Hip rotation: as the leg swings forward, the hip is rotated down and forward, increasing the length of stride. Try walking normally with a slightly longer than usual stride, this will illustrate the feel of the ball and socket hip joint going forward and downwards.

2) Knee lock and thrust: the heel is always the first to strike the ground in race walking and as it does the knee is locked.

3) Foot placement and Power: the heel-to-toe movement is basic to race walking style. Power comes from the advancing knee.

4) Arms: as in normal walking, the arms swing counter t0 the leg motion - left leg with right arm, and vice versa. The walker's arms in this csse are bent at go degrees, and go through an arc with the hands reaching no farther back than the hip ball joint. Never clench fists.

5) Trunk and body balance: the torso, neck and head are relaxed but held in an upright position

Once technique has been perfected you can start training for competition. You have a choice.

• Sprint races are between 1and 6 miles or their metric equivalents
• Distance races are 20 kilometers and beyond
• Ultra-long distances are deemed to start at 50 miles and extend to 100 miles. A good time for the first is sub 7 hours 30 minutes
  

 

 

_________________________________________________________________

Title:	Fitness Walking
Author:	Horwill, F.J.
Source:	Ultra-FIT (Penzance, England)
Publisher:	Ultra-fit Publications Ltd.
Volume (Issue):	10 (8)
Date:	2000
Pages:	106-108
SIRC Article #:	S-663800

 

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