Walking is a leading form of aerobic exercise that anyone can practice without special equipment or location constraints. While it benefits overall health, including improved cardiopulmonary function and weight control, getting the full exercise effect requires first checking one's gait.
According to the medical community Friday, researchers at the University of Michigan and Vanderbilt University in the United States, along with physical therapist Milica McDowell and others, have presented conditions for proper walking habits through their respective studies and advice.
Experts explain that four factors determine the effectiveness of walking exercise: arm movement, the way the feet strike the ground, walking speed, and walking style. The key is to swing the arms naturally, step so the heel touches the ground first, maintain a moderate-intensity or higher pace, and walk continuously without stopping when possible.
First, arm movement is important. When walking, bending the elbows into an L-shape and swinging them naturally back and forth distributes force across various parts of the body, making walking easier and helping with balance. According to a paper published by University of Michigan researchers in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, walking with the arms held fixed increases metabolic energy expenditure by 12% compared with walking while swinging them naturally.
When the arms were tied to the body to prevent any movement at all, energy expenditure increased by up to 26%. American physical therapist Milica McDowell pointed out that walking with hands clasped behind the back causes the shoulders to hunch forward and the upper body to lean, increasing the risk of falls. If a hands-behind-the-back posture actually feels more comfortable, it may be a sign that back muscle strength has weakened, so it is good to supplement muscle strength through stretching the erector spinae and extensor muscles or climbing stairs.
The way the feet strike the ground must also be examined. When the feet are not lifted high enough, the heels are dragged. According to a study published in the international journal Scientific Reports, this walking habit reduces the range of motion in the hip and knee joints and increases friction between the feet and the ground, raising the risk of falling. A distorted gait different from normal walking was found to increase metabolic energy expenditure by more than twofold.
When stepping forward with the legs, the heel should touch the ground first with the toes pointing upward, and body weight should shift from the heel toward the toes. Moving forward requires a motion of pushing off the ground with the toes, and when walking quickly, it is more effective to focus on lifting the heel to push strongly off the ground rather than widening the stride.
Walking speed also determines exercise effectiveness. Walking at a moderate intensity that makes singing difficult, at a pace of 4.5 to 8 kilometers per hour, can burn three to six times more energy than sitting still. According to a study published this year in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, in which Vanderbilt University researchers tracked about 85,000 low-income and Black adults over 16.7 years, the habit of walking briskly for just 15 minutes a day alone lowered overall mortality by about 20%.
By contrast, walking slowly for more than three hours a day reduced mortality by only 4%. The researchers explained that fast walking increases cardiac output and oxygen supply to the muscles, helping to regulate body weight and body composition. For those not accustomed to walking, a recommended method is to gradually raise the intensity by walking at a normal pace for two to three minutes and then increasing the speed for 30 seconds, repeating this five to 10 times.
There are also research findings that walking continuously at once is more effective than walking in several separate sessions. A survey of some 33,000 people in the United Kingdom who walk fewer than 8,000 steps a day found that those who walked for long periods without stopping had a lower risk of overall death and cardiovascular disease than those who walked in short, multiple sessions.
A paper published in the international Journal of Sport and Health Science also recommended exercising continuously for 5 to 20 minutes to gain the health benefits of moderate-intensity physical activity. However, the researchers added that moving the body throughout the day, even irregularly, is better than not exercising at all.
