[pct-l] Foot, ankle, leg pain, shin splints, etc.

[Tom Holz]

Brick's comments are spot on.  Most people walk, and a few people use a slow run successfully, so there is no one gait.   No matter which one you pick, relaxing your legs is good advice, and contra-lateral coordination is how we were meant to move.   Your left leg should swing forward with your right arm, and vice versa - even if you have hiking poles, in my opinion.


On Mar 27, 2013, at 2:59 PM, Brick Robbins <brick at brickrobbins.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 11:07 AM, Sir Mixalot <atetuna at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Do you have any recommendations?  I've searched fruitlessly that would
>> break down the optimum gait for fast long distance walkers in painstaking
>> detail.
> 
> I have not seen any videos but I have a couple of comments.
> 
> First, is that many seem to be looking at barefoot running/chi
> running/forefoot strike, etc as guides to walking gate. Walking and
> Running are completely different gates, and what works for one,
> probably won't work for the other
> 
> Second, wearing a pack interferes with the normal "contra-body"
> relationship with arm swing/hip swing, especially when using a hip
> belt.
> 
> The key to efficient walking, is RELAXING the free leg, including the
> hip, as it swings through. This means the whole free side of the lower
> body swings through, wile the shoulders move the opposite way, making
> a twisting motion in the spine, which a waist belt prevents.
> 
> This is really hard to learn if it doesn't come naturally, but while
> working with champion endurance athletes in triathlon camps, it is the
> one thing I noticed that separated the pros teaching the camps, from
> the amateur students attending them.
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