How to walk faster and burn more calories

Taking big steps can actually put your knee and hip joints at risk of injury. — 123rf.com

I like to walk, especially after the sun sets, but the intention is not to exercise.

The slower pace of the evening walk has a calming effect on my sometimes frazzled brain.

For someone who has long legs, I don’t really take big strides, although many shorter friends tell me otherwise.

When I walk with my brothers, who are both well above six feet tall, I struggle to keep up with them because their strides are long – and they’re just walking at their normal pace.

My mother, who is only 160cm, has to run to keep up with us!

For the unaware, the length of a stride is the distance between the spot where one foot hits the ground and the next time the same foot hits the ground again, i.e. between two steps.

A cadence is how many steps you take per minute.

According to the University of Iowa in the United States, an average person has a stride length of approximately 25 to 30 inches (63.5 to 76.2 centimetres).

That means it takes over 2,000 steps to walk 1.6 kilometres (one mile), and 10,000 steps would be almost 8km (five miles).

Generally, taller people have longer legs, which allow them to take longer strides, but the shorter ones can also have long strides, and vice versa.

There are a lot of variables that come into play here: your height, leg length, walking biomechanics, weight and ankle/hip/knee flexibility.

Move fast with smaller steps

To move faster, how long should your stride be?

The proper walking technique is take small steps forward with the heel first and push off with the back leg. — Filepic

Chances are, if you’re in a hurry, you’re probably “programmed” to take bigger steps (overstriding) to get to your destination.

That’s the natural way our brain perceives stress.

When we are particularly anxious or rushed, the level of adrenaline running through our body increases.

This can cause our mind and body to move more quickly than normal, and because our minds are racing, we might find that we start talking more rapidly and taking bigger steps to walk faster.

This is not quite right as the key to moving faster isn’t to overstride, but to take quicker, smaller steps.

When you overstride, you end up landing inefficiently, with the front leg straighter and stiffer, which can lead to shin splints (straining the muscles on the front of the lower leg above the ankle), as well as knee and hip injuries.

Landing with the foot below the knee is considered better form.

If you’re constantly having hamstring issues, this could be a sign that you’re overstriding while walking (or running), as your muscles are overstretched as you reach your leg forward.

Watch how race walkers move; their strides are short, quick and powerful.

An elite racewalker’s cadence is anywhere from 180 to 220 steps per minute.

Do a quick check on how many normal steps you take in a minute and you’ll know where you stand!

Fast walkers train themselves to increase the number of steps they take per second by maximising the power of the back part of the stride.

With each step, they focus on pushing off their back foot and utilising the power of the muscles in the back leg.

To get the most power out of the push, they keep the back foot on the ground just long enough to allow for a rolling heel-to-toe stepping motion.

In a study by World Athletics (formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation), researchers found that the fastest athletes had stride lengths of approximately 70% of body height and were able to maintain high stride frequencies.

Joint angles did not appear to be important to walking speed; in- stead, the speed of movement at the joints was significant.

Smaller steps burn more calories

More strides also equals more calories burnt, so if your intention is to lose weight, take smaller steps and hasten your speed.

To measure your forward step, first raise one knee up to hip height and let the foot of that leg dangle below the knee (scroll down for the next step). — Photos: REVATHI MURUGAPPAN/The Star

Of course, the heavier you are, the more calories you will shed, as you have to carry this weight while you walk.

My occasional walking buddy, who’s also my colleague, is almost a foot shorter than me and roughly the same weight (she has more muscles!).

We walk the same distance, yet because my strides are longer, I end up taking fewer steps than her and burning fewer calories.

Because we’re often talking as we walk, I don’t notice how quickly she’s walking, but our smart gadgets sometimes show she has taken an extra 2,000 steps!

Yes, it’s possible.

If you are naturally a short-strider, don’t lengthen your stride in an attempt to keep up with someone who is walking fast.

Go with the flow of your legs instead.

Lee Scott and Michele Stanten, authors of The Walking Solution, write in their book: “Walking has been described as a series of forward falls.

“But when the leg is extended far out in front of the body, it acts like a brake, decreasing speed and creating a bouncy, choppy stride that increases impact to the joints in the lower body, especially the knee.

“When the foot instead lands closer to the body, there is less impact, and it is easier to roll body mass over the front foot and swing the back foot forward to catch the body as it falls forward onto the next step.”

Get the right stride

Here are two tips they suggest to get the right measurement for your forward step:

Step two: Then lower the heel of that dangling foot straight down to the ground; this should be roughly the distance of your step forward.

Option one:

• Stand on a level surface, feet together, and hold onto a wall, tree, railing or back of a bench, with one hand for balance.
• Raise one knee up to hip height, with the foot of that leg dangling below the knee.
• Lower the heel of that dangling foot straight down to the ground, not back to the starting position.
• This is about the distance of the step forward, usually about three to five inches (7.6 to 12.7cm), that should be taken.

Option two:

• Start by taking big steps and feel the bouncing in your body.
• Then take little steps, like children do at the pool when they are running and the lifeguard yells at them to walk (or like how Japanese ladies walk in traditional kimonos).
• Then go back to the long, bouncy strides to feel the difference.
• Now, shorten your stride until the bouncing is eliminated and stick with that – this should be your natural stride.

Try either of the approaches above and see how your body feels.

It’ll be tough initially as the body has to adapt to moving within a more compact position, but it’ll lead you to achieving bigger goals.

I experimented with this and found it challenging – taking smaller, but more, steps obviously meant I was expending more energy and becoming more fatigued, and I’m still trying to adjust to it.

Just remember to stride naturally, build momentum slowly, and if you’re walking outdoors, enjoy nature.

Revathi Murugappan is a certified fitness trainer who tries to battle gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email [e-mail]. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.