Don't Walk This Way: 7 Bad Walking Habits

The Editors at Sharecare
Don't Walk This Way: 7 Bad Walking Habits
Don't Walk This Way: 7 Bad Walking Habits

You may have been walking since you were 1, but you've changed a lot since then. For starters, your goal is more than just toddling from the coffee table to your mom's arms without tumbling over. Now, you're walking for fitness -- to burn calories, flatten your belly, and strengthen your heart. But if you're slumping and slouching along like a teenager, the weight of the world on your sagging shoulders, that's not gonna happen. Here are the seven worst ways to wreck your fitness walk:

  1. Worst: Leaning forward, as if you're heading into a stiff breeze.
    Best: Walking tall, as if a string is pulling your spine upward from the top of your head.

  2. Worst: Looking at the ground in front of you, shoulders hunched.
    Best: Looking at the world ahead of you, not at your feet.

  3. Worst: Letting your hands flap around as if they have a mind of their own.
    Best: Keeping your hands in a loose fist, fingers relaxed.

  4. Worst: Letting your belly bulge out and your stomach muscles sag.
    Best: Keeping your stomach muscles firm and tucking your pelvis slightly under your torso.

  5. Worst: Keeping your arms by your sides, straight and robot-stiff, fists clenched.
    Best: Letting your arms swing naturally or bend at a relaxed 90-degree angle.

  6. Worst: Taking short, mincing steps or overly long, gazelle-like ones.
    Best: Moving at a smooth, rhythmic pace so your stride feels natural.

  7. Worst: Hitting the ground in a flat-footed way so your toes and heels land at almost the same time.
    Best: Rolling forward from heel to toe, keeping your feet shoulder-width apart, and then gently pushing off with your toes. You'll walk faster and burn more calories.

Watch this video, and get started walking your way fit without leaving home.

Walk 10,000 steps a day and you'll lose 35 pounds a year without changing your diet! To keep track, invest in a pedometer (just $15 to $20 will buy you a good one ) or add a step-counting app to your smartphone. Watching the steps add up is a great motivator, and you'll be surprised at how quickly they accumulate as you go to and from the car, through the grocery store, and around the house -- especially when you take the long way around.

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