Short, quick steps are the key to moving faster
- Updated on: 2019-09-13
- Read original article here
Our second progression addresses the position and movement of the lower body.
If you had to guess which one of us—Michele at 5'8" or Lee at 5'6"—is speedier, you'd probably pick Michele. Most people think taller people with longer legs can walk faster (Michele hears this all the time), which is reasonable. But the truth is, the shorter person can be faster than the taller one, and this isn't an anomaly. The gold medalist in the women's 20K (12.4 miles) racewalk at the 2016 Olympics stands at only 5'3" tall and averaged a seven-minute-per-mile pace while walking, beating out many taller competitors.
The key to moving faster isn't bigger steps; it's a quicker step cadence. Progression 2 focuses on getting the feet and legs to move more quickly while minimizing impact.
The significant change in this progression is a shortening of the stride in front of the body. This is done by placing the heel of the landing foot just in front of the body, ahead of the COM. This position minimizes the effort required to push the weight of the body over the front foot. The farther out in front of the body the foot is placed, the more effort it takes to bring the opposite foot forward. Walking has been described as a series of forward falls [3]. But when the leg is extended far out in front of the body (figure 4.8) it acts like a brake, decreasing speed and creating a bouncy, choppy stride that increases impact to the joints in the lower body, especially the knee. When the foot instead lands closer to the body (figure 4.9), there is less impact, and it is easier to roll body mass over the front foot and swing the back foot forward to catch the body as it falls forward onto the next step.
Figure 4.8 With the leg farther out in front of the body, it is more work to support and move the COM over the front leg.
Figure 4.9 When the foot lands closer to the body, the COM is more supported, and it takes less effort to move it over the front leg.
This small change to foot placement is remarkably challenging for many people. They are accustomed to what an aerobic walk feels like, and it usually involves a longer stride. Encourage patience with the shorter stride, even though many describe it as feeling like baby steps.
Here are three ways to help your walkers see how short their forward steps should be:
If you notice any of your walkers bouncing while they walk, the stride has lengthened to the more familiar higher-impact gait, and they have probably slowed down. Remind them to shorten steps in front of the body. You'll give this cue frequently when leading walking groups.
A key feature of the walking gait is landing with the toes of the front foot up and the heel down (figure 4.10). While directing walkers' focus to heel placement, it's helpful to encourage awareness to range of motion around the ankle. Good range of motion at the ankle as the front heel strikes results in good positioning of the entire leg. The knee of that landing leg is in extension so that the leg looks straight to the observer. If the foot lands flat or on the forefoot, the knee is in flexion and the walk turns into a shuffle or possibly a jog. Heel-down and toe-up foot placement facilitates a smooth heel-to-toe roll that maximizes the range of motion at the ankle. For people with knee injuries or weakness, an emphasis on knee extension builds strength in the quadriceps muscles, helping to stabilize the joint and protect it from injury. Also, a straight-leg landing lowers the risk for knee injury because the braking load of landing is distributed throughout the entire leg rather than in the knee ligaments, as happens when a bent knee takes more impact while running or jogging.
Figure 4.10 As the front leg steps forward, land on the heel, pulling the toes up toward the shin.
A side effect of increasing step cadence is that walkers often feel shin fatigue, which they will describe as shin pain, even shin splints. It is uncommon for walkers to get shin splints, but the shin fatigue they experience from increasing the cadence can be debilitating and extremely uncomfortable. Encourage them by telling them that this muscular fatigue pain typically decreases over time as they become stronger and familiar with the new technique. See Ease Shin Pain section later in this chapter for ways to help your clients.
