Stay Fit With Race Walking

After more than 300 years as a sport, and almost 100 years as an Olympic sport, racewalking is enjoying a surge of popularity. Persons of all ages and levels of fitness are beginning to realize the potential value of using racewalking as a central part of their fitness program.

Over the years, Race Walking has evolved from mere fast walking to become a speedy, fluid athletic event. Elite racewalkers can walk a 5K in under 20 minutes, and a marathon in just over 3 hours.

What is Race Walking?

Race walking is a faster version of regular walking and is a recognized discipline of athletics, included in the Olympic Games. It is regulated by the IAAF and judged so that you maintain a good walking technique. It is a stylized form of running, much like the backstroke is a stylized form of swimming. To the casual observer, race walking is clearly different from running, fitness walking, ordinary walking and skipping.

Race walking differs from power walking and running with its two rules:

1. Your back toe must remain in contact with the ground until the front foot's heel has touched the ground. In other words, at least one foot must be in contact with the ground at all times.
2. The knee of the front leg (the striking leg) must remain straight until it has reached the vertical position as it passes under your body. This keeps the body from getting into the running stance of bent knee.
   

What are the Benefits of Race Walking?

The benefits can be given as below:

• The swinging of the arms along with the swiveling of your hips  maximizes the benefits of cardiovascular and aerobic exercise without having the same degree of intense impact that something like road running will have on your body, which makes it an excellent way of keeping fit. In fact, many joggers and competitive runners enjoy race walking for cross-training purposes and it can be a very beneficial activity for athletes and other sportsmen and women when they're coming back from injury.

• In addition, because of the strict technique adopted by race walkers, which is unlike any other form of walking, it is great exercise for those who want to improve the tone of their muscles. Frequent practice using the correct technique can lead to defined muscles in both the legs and abdomen area (due to the hip rotation). Many people feel it's a far more enjoyable method of achieving a more 'sculpted' physique than to spend time on the weights, rowing machines and treadmills inside a gym.

• You can also benefit from the exercise by burning additional calories to either maintain weight or to lose weight or just keeping fit. Race walking for 30 minutes burns around 230 calories which is more than the calories burnt while walking or even jogging at the same pace.

How do I start Race walking?

Beginners may find it easier to develop correct hip motion and knee straightening by first practicing them with very short steps. Here is a guide to start Race walking:

• Keep shoulders relaxed else it may cause tension in the neck and shoulder area.
• Swing arms from shoulders, arms bent at elbows at around 90 degrees. Swing your arms in sync with legs and hips. Don't swing arms across the body.
• Hold hands loosely open and vertical, with thumb sitting on top of index finger.
• As you pull your rear leg forward, allow hips to swivel and waist to twist naturally.
• Land on the heel first with toes raised to about a 45-degree angle.
• Just prior to landing the front foot, flex toes up. This gives extra stride length and helps to straighten knee at point of impact.
• Shorter more frequent strides take less energy than long ones, therefore as distance increases, stride length should probably decrease fractionally!
• Look at ground 10 meters in front and not your feet
• Maintain a relaxed and straight body posture. Avoid leaning too far forward as this can result in a loss of power.
• Walk zig zag between the lines in one lane as this helps hip mobility.

Always work on efficient and legal technique no matter how fast or slow you race walk. This helps time and effort pass more quickly and makes you move and look better. Train consistently and wisely, and you will achieve satisfying results.