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Hoofing it, the art of walking

This might sound odd, but most of us could substantially improve our walking technique. If you think about it, we learn to walk at an age where our motor skills are at their least developed, without any quality tutoring or guidance. We get gooey smiling feedback from our parents for wobbling around, crashing into the furniture and stumbling over our own feet! If, like me, you are still a stumbler, the tips below might help to start you on the life long road to mastering shanks pony.

"These boots were made for walk'n..."

Walking efficiently

Find some easy terrain and focus on the following...

Walk upright and keep your chin up and eyes scanning ahead

Allow your arms and legs to swing freely

Breath abdominally with slow and relaxed breaths

Enlist the use of your core muscles by concentrating on your tummy muscles

Maintain an even and comfortable pace (your breathing should ideally be a little faster, but you will still be able to hold a conversation)

Place your feet carefully and deliberately

Take shorter steps

Aim for each footfall to land on the ball of your foot, rather than the heel (imagine you are walking barefoot)

Take short breaks of just a few minutes every hour or so (longer stops allow your muscles to cool too much)

Take the shortest steps possible when going up or down hill, concentrate on simply straightening your forward knee to step up, rather than 'powering' up with quads and calves.

Smile!