Our ‘freedom to GO’ Bucket, Bucket #3 of my 7S Functional Training Buckets!
- Spirit
- Suppleness-Stability
- Speed (Gait) w/ sprint-like mechanics
- Strength + Power
- Skills
- Stamina
- Specificity-Specifics
Walking is our freedom to GO anywhere, anytime, automatically, to get somewhere ‘on our own’ without fear or assistance.
It is the antithesis to the slipper shuffle and a key player in fall resistance, that is, staying UP. A shorter, wider stride, stiffer ankles and feet, and a hunched posture are not a function of aging per se. We CAN be spry, walk tall, with spring in our step, well into our 80’s and 90’s.
This is not to dismiss accidents and serious medical conditions, and the cumulative effect of hard physical labor, or just plain bad luck.
So …NEVER take the ability to WALK for granted. Here’s why:
- Walking gives us the freedom and energy to live, labor, work, play, care-give, and travel; it gets us on the trails, snow, ice, skis, beach, lake, or dance floor, into the garden and up the stairs.
- It provides a huge bang for the heart, lungs, circulation, metabolism and mood, extending our health-brain-play spans, and countering the ill-effects of sitting, couching and screens.
- Gait speed in midlife, beginning at 35 yo, is a vital sign, as important as BP, lipids, glucose, body fat, and stamina, among the 12 biomarkers used to predict the pace at which we age.
- A gait speed of >1.3 m/sec is needed to climb stairs. Walking at a 15:00 mile pace (4mph) is ≈1.8 m/sec [2 yds/sec]; a 20:00 mile (3mph) is ≈1.3 m/sec [1.5 yds/sec]. For perspective, world class sprinters cover ≈10 m/sec.
- Fast walkers fall less, have better dynamic balance, and are better multi-taskers.
- Walking briskly, and in stimulating outdoor environments greases brain function, lighting up new circuitry, a surefire way to preserve and grow our cognitive health for the long haul.
- Springy equates to efficiency and a propulsive push-off with a quick toe flip; that translates into clearing obstacles and negotiating stairs, not tripping.
- Confident in our ability to walk, we can continue to thrive in our current homes, and enjoy the activities that make us ‘tick’, adding purpose, relevance and vitality to living life.
Check your gait. PLEASE, do NOT self-inflict pain or injury just to prove you can do it.
Earn 1 point for each YES: I did it automatically with ease
Earn 0 points for each NO: I struggled or felt pain**
I CAN…
1. Stand up straight; spread my toes, & lift the balls of my feet off the floor towards my shins?
2. Walk briskly and rhythmically in a straight line with a natural arm swing?
3. Walk with a stride that feels easy and springy, rolling from my heel through my big toe?
4. Walk one mile on flat terrain in 15:00, or .4 miles (703 yds) in 6:00, without stopping?
5. Climb and descend stairs easily and evenly, one stair at a time?
6. Keep my gaze out in front versus looking directly down at my feet?
7. I can walk and talk, walk and carry, walk and look around, no problem?
8. I can negotiate trails and uneven surfaces, without worrying about tripping, stumbling or falling?
BONUS: I can rhythmically skip 10 continuous reps high and far, with light, quick ground contacts, and/or, leap up stairs every other one.
Scoring:
GREEN: 8+ – holding your own, and denying the slide.
YELLOW: 4-7 – some kinks in the chain; have started to slide, reverse course now.
RED: 0-3 – multiple kinks in the chain; it’s never too late to start the restoration and re-learning journey; be sure to EASE* back in.
*Remember the analogy of the rusty bike sitting idly outdoors for years. Before I hit the trail, I lube it up, work the oil into the movable parts, check the tires and the brakes, and test it out on a smooth level surface. If my ankles and feet are locked up, and my trunk is a noodle, I may not have the necessary ‘buffer’ to pound the pavement.
**Got MSK challenges in the ankles, knees, hips and back? Begin with assessing the feet, then work up the kinetic chain for suppleness, stability and motor control issues. That’s Bucket #2.
Common Sense Solutions:
- DAILY, walk, walk BRISKLY, and climb stairs whenever possible. OWN these abilities!
- Keep our feet ‘smart’. Shoes ‘blunt’ signals to the brain, influencing how we navigate our environments.
- Walk barefoot at home, and/or wear minimalist shoes when appropriate.
- Invest in optimal footwear for our chosen activities.
- Avoid fashion footwear, a known foot-knee-hip and back wrecker.
At HOME, walk the dog often. Climb UP the stairs every other one, and do all your own chores and maintenance if possible.
At WORK, slice and dice screen time. Every 20-30 minutes, stand up, walk around, climb stairs, stretch, reach, arch, bend and rotate away from the chair.
On your feet all day, with lots of steps? GREAT! On your feet all day, and standing still? Again, slice and dice static postures and positions. Walk away and get the muscle pump pumping.
At PLAY, backpack, hike, XC ski, golf, dance, or take up any new on-your-feet activity.
TRAIN: Walk briskly a minimum of 30 minutes per day, outdoors if possible. In the winter, wear spikes. Accumulate a minimum of 7600 steps/day, with 30:00 worth in one shot. XC skiing and pole-walking reinforce the arm-leg patterns and stoke the brain networks.
Want to jog or run? Fortify Buckets #2 and #4 before piling on the miles. Also, if the jog is more like a plod, and a brisk walk is faster, then WALK. Not hard enough? Hit the hills or ruck.
Life throws us all curveballs, coaches and clients alike. Let’s do our best to prevent setbacks from becoming setpoints. And by all means, KEEP our ability to WALK.
We coaches meet our clients where they’re at. We find out where they’ve been. Then we get them on their journey toward living their ‘game of life’, owning their freedom to GO.
Online Course for Fit Pros
If you are coaching clients on the FRONT end of primary prevention, or the back end of KNOWN cardiovascular-metabolic disease, and everyone in between, check out www.medfitclassroom.org for my Cardiac R.E.H.A.B. Fitness Specialist course. Sharpen your skill,s and Restore-Energy-Hardiness-Aspirations+Benchmarks in your clients, enhancing and extending their health-brain-play spans.
Patricia ‘Pat’ VanGalen, M.S. brings a unique blend of education, practical experience, common sense application, science and research to her lecturing, teaching, training and coaching. She launched her professional career 40+ years ago in physical education and coaching, then spent the next 10 years in corporate-industrial fitness, health promotion, cardiac rehab and injury risk reduction programming design, implementation and management. Visit her website, activeandagile.com.
