7 Common Walking Mistakes You Should Avoid

Walking is one of the important milestones which come by the first birthday and since then various changes and modifications take place on the gait pattern (the way you walk). Other than being a means of locomotion, walking is also a good form of low impact, less intense aerobic exercise. Most of us make certain mistakes while walking, which can have an unwanted impact on our health. It is very important to opt for correct techniques of walking to get the maximum benefits without any injury.

Here are the most common walking mistakes to be avoided:

1. Overstriding: Stride length, in simple words, refers to the length of each step taken while walking, running or jogging. We all have our own characteristic stride length. When you try to walk faster than your standard speed, you might try to increase your stride length because of which you might develop poor posture and hurt your back. Therefore instead of taking bigger steps, go for shorter and quicker ones!
2. Wrong Foot Gear: Choosing the wrong footwear will not only make your walk uncomfortable, but it will also make you prone to injury. Your walking shoes should be lightweight and should have a flexible sole to allow good freedom of motion by permitting your foot to roll through each step from heel to toe. Choose those shoes that fit you! If you walk for 30 minutes or more, then choose shoes larger than your dress shoes as your feet may swell when you walk for a long period of time. Prolonged walking with tight shoes can cause pain and cramping while loose shoes can make "push-off" (application of pressure for the purpose of moving) difficult.
3. Wrong Clothing: Improper clothing can interfere with your thermoregulation (the ability of your body to keep its temperature within certain boundaries even if the temperature of the surrounding environment is pretty different) and can eventually affect your walking efficiency. Choose clothing according to environmental conditions. For example, in a hot climate, wear fabrics like climacool or coolmax which will allow the sweat to evaporate away from the body. Wearing dark clothing while walking at night can make you susceptible to accidents. For safety purpose, wear reflector stripes or night glow badges.
4. Foot Slap: Foot slap occurs when at heel strike (i.e., when the heel makes contact with the floor), the forefoot slaps the ground (which means that you land flat footed) instead of rolling through from heel to toe. This can lead to pain in your shins. Foot slap can be due to weak dorsiflexors i.e. weak shins, heavy shoes, stiff shoes (inflexible sole) etc. In order to avoid foot slap, wear lightweight shoes with a flexible sole and low heel. Strengthen your shin by performing toe raises. To perform toe raises, stand on the ledge of a step with your heels hanging over the edge. Now, dip the heels down, then raise them high. Repeat 10 times. This is a simple, yet an effective way of strengthening your shins. You can also do heel walking (walking slowing, with small stride length, on your heels with your toes raised as high as possible) for 20 to 30 seconds to strengthen your shins.
5. Lack of Arm Swing: Normally while walking, arm swinging occurs in order to counterbalance the leg motion. Arm swinging can also aid in gaining the momentum, thereby helping you to walk at a faster speed. Lack of arm swing can put a lot of stress on your back. So, make sure to swing your arms back and forth opposite to the direction of leg motion.
6. Incorrect Posture: Improper postures like head down, leaning forward etc. are very commonly observed and these can lead to problems like neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain and breathing difficulty. So whenever you intend to walk, stand straight and feel like being tall! Do not arch your back. Pull your stomach in, keep your buttocks tight and maintain the natural curves of the spine to prevent undue stress.
7. Overtraining: The zeal to burn calories in order to lose weight makes many people to walk beyond their capacity. They soon begin to feel tired and irritable, and pains and aches start popping up their ugly heads. Under such a situation, it is better to take a break and to refresh yourself. You must listen to your body and wait for it to recover. This is the best possible way to get ready for the next walking session!

Walking is a fun and it is a form of recreation during moments of leisure. You might take a great deal of interest in this form of physical activity, but wrong postures and incorrect walking techniques can nullify your efforts. You might also suffer from injuries which can act as obstacles for your fitness routine. So, adopting the correct techniques of walking is very essential in order to continue with your regular walks!