The 4 Mistakes People Make When Walking for Exercise

So, the pandemic really boosted the number of people I’ve seen out walking.

What was once me, our dog Botti and maybe 3 or 4 other people, is now more like a small platoon.

Some are probably just walking to get out of the house. Well, maybe all of them are but I’m going to guess that a lot of folks are walking for “exercise”.

Yet very few look like they’re getting much exercise.

Now it’s possible that the people who don’t appear to be exerting themselves are just super fit and walking is way too easy.

More likely, they don’t know the common mistakes people make when they choose walking for exercise.

Mistake #1: Speed

There are two walking speeds that people use. One is your normal, comfortable, I’m-not-thinking-about-it speed and two, top speed.

To get the most out of your walking time, ideally, make sure you spend half of it, at least, at your top speed.

Your top walking speed is the speed where you feel like it would just be easier to go ahead and run (or what might be called “jogging”).

That’s because at that walking speed, jogging is easier from an energy expenditure stand point.

People who walk more briskly appear to live longer than people who routinely take a leisurely stroll. That finding is a correlation and not causation. There may be other reasons, lifestyle for example, that people who walk with greater speed possess that adds to their longevity.

If this idea of focusing on speed is new to you and you haven’t been walking at top speed routinely, go easy. Start out with short bursts of top speed, maybe 10-30 seconds followed by 2-3 minutes of your regular speed and alternate from top speed to normal speed. At first, 15-20 minutes of this might be enough. Only you will know but it’s much better to start out slowly and work your way up then to start out too fast.

Mistake #2 : Step Length

Your step length is just what it sounds like – how long of a step you take with one leg. Stride length is two steps.

As with top speed, your step length is often unconscious. You walk your routine speed with a routine step length. And as you get older, unless you work at it, both your speed and step length decrease.

Spend part of your time walking using longer steps. Sometimes this results in greater speed which is fine but it doesn’t have to. One thing that happens naturally as you take longer steps is you will start swinging your arms more forcefully. And whenever you add arm movement, it will always increase the work you do, increase heart rate and how hard you breathe. All good things.

Mistake #3: Soft Belly

While you’re working on your speed, you can add your abdominal muscles to the session. The benefits are the abdominal muscles become more toned, gain endurance, and help support your lower back and hips.

To get the idea of how to create a firmer belly when you walk, take a Kleenex and hold it out an arm’s length in front of your mouth. Now, through pursed lips, exhale hard enough to make the Kleenex move. Pay attention to what happens in your belly; what it feels like. That’s the sensation you’re going for while you walk. You will exhale to get the tension level, which is just a bit of tension, and then hold that tension the entire time you walk (and breathe of course).

At first, you won’t be able to hold the muscles for long but that’s okay. Just keep after it. You will develop greater stamina and muscle tone in and around your belly (and a fringe benefit of this technique is that your belly gets flatter).

Like starting with Top Speed, do this for short periods of time and gradually increase the duration.

Mistake #4: Too Noisy

You want your steps to be as quiet as possible. Pay attention to how your feet strike the ground. Do they kind of flop down hard or does your foot stomp the ground with each step? By consciously making lighter steps you engage a lot of different muscles in your trunk and hips that just don’t get a lot of use day-today. It also increases the degree of difficulty of the walk which translates to spending more energy.

Happy walking and thanks for reading.

If you like this article, why not share it with a friend? If you’re interested in coaching services, please contact my colleague Laurie Kertz Kelly for a free, 20-minute Strategy Session by, clicking here. To get my Secret Weapon to fight knee, hip & back pain and stiffness, subscribe for free today.

Doug Kelsey has been a physical therapist and human movement expert since 1981. He is formerly Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the author of several books. He has conducted over 250 educational seminars for therapists, trainers, physicians, and the public and has presented lectures at national and international scientific and professional conferences. His professional CV is here.