4 mistakes you are probably making while walking: expert

You’ve probably been setting one foot in front of the other without a second thought, but the chances are you are walking wrong.

“Dokush and everyone can walk better,” the post told Joanna Hall, a sports scientist and founder of the Walkactive method. “If we can get something that is like a glue of our lives and achieve it to the maximum of our ability, the effect can be deeply deep.”

Hall revealed the four common mistakes she sees people to make as they hit the sidewalk, which can not only travel to fitness goals, but also get a large number in the body.

But first: why are we walking wrong?

Hall said it comes down to three main traps.

First, muscle inequalities in the body. Walk wrong or poorly, and you are putting some muscles in overload while leaving others in the dust.

Second, the way of our sitting lifestyle. We are increasingly climbing to our tables, hugging our phones and sitting down all day – leading to muscle atrophy and rigidity.

Third, our personal experiences. This includes accidents that cause stable injuries, previous surgeries or even changes in leg lengths. Pregnancy can also leave its mark on walking.

“This complicated triangle are the three reasons why our good intentions are being broken,” Hall said. “They create four common mistakes that most of us do.”

Nr. 1: Using the wrong muscle

If you’ve ever felt a twin of back pain after a walk, you are probably relying on the wrong muscles to stir you forward.

“The first mistake people make is excessive their flexible hip muscles, which are of course tight,” Hall said. “We actually want to get into our rear chain” – the muscles running from the top back down to the calves.

When you rely a lot on your hip flexors, and attract your glutes and your abs, the tight movement limits the length of your step and leads to a rigid, robotic walk. In fact, research suggests that excessive hip flexors can shorten the distance you are able to walk.

“Our goals are good, but the model of movement recruitment is not serving us well,” Hall said.

Nr. 2: Passive feet

Next: Landing with flat legs, or as he calls Hall, a “passive strike in the leg”.

Eachdo foot has a 26 dense bone and 33 joints designed for stability, flexibility and body weight support while absorbing the impact and pushes you forward.

“Wherever we have one in common, we are intended to move,” Hall said. “But when we walk badly – because we have a passive stroke in the foot and overdo our hip flexors – this denies our ability to use all the joints on our feet.”

To make things worse, modern shoes often come with a tight fit, forcing fingers to melt together and limit their natural spread. This restriction changes walking and can contribute to a passive foot stroke.

Walking with a flat -foot step can lead to pain and discomfort, especially on the knees, Hall explained. It can also prevent hamstrings from functioning properly, furthering the mechanics on the foot.

Nr. 3: head position

You may be walking with your feet, but your head is another main player in the game.

“People tend to bend forward from your head,” Hall said (think: seeing your phone during your journey). “This has great implications in the way the body moves.”

When you are staying long, your head weighs about 10 to 11 pounds. But when bending forward, it can feel much heavier and put a large strain on the muscles at the top of your back, limiting the spine’s ability to rotate completely, Hall said.

“We want to encourage the rotation of the spine because it improves our mobility and behavior,” she added.

Tilting head forward also limits your ability to take a deep breath. When you breathe, Hall said, the diaphragm should have 10 centimeters of range, but when bending forward, the diaphragm movement decreases from 3 to 4 centimeters.

“This means that the volume of oxygen entering the body has decreased,” she said.

It can even weigh the benefits of the mental health of walking.

Hall explained that keeping your head high increases optical flow – the perception of objects moving in front of us as we walk – which helps to calm the regions of the brain responsible for stress and anxiety.

“If someone goes out for a walk for their mental well -being, but they are walking with poor technique and looking down, the benefits have actually been reduced,” Hall said.

Nr. 4: By neglecting the arms

More often than not, Hall said, your wings are probably just hanging there, doing nothing while walking.

“When the arm does nothing, we are losing the ability to have the whole body movement,” she shared. “This specifically restricts our ability to use the abdominal muscles and create shape around the waist line.”

Wing engagement as you walk at a rapid pace activates the upper and lower body muscles – helping you burn more calories in the process.

But neglecting your wings can destroy your behavior and limit the rotation of the spine. Sounds familiar? All part of a evil cycle, with each of these legs that feed on another, said Hall.