The Definitive Guide to Walking
At first glance, this title probably threw you off. I mean, a guide to walking? Are we moderns really that dysfunctional that we can’t even walk correctly? C’mon, Sisson – you must be out of ideas.
Bear with me, here.
It may seem silly to need a definitive guide to walking, but I think we do. First off, walking is no longer necessary for basic everyday survival. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part, the average person reading this blog can get by just fine without walking more than a couple hundred yards each day. Whether via buses, trains, cars, bikes, or delivery services, you’re not going to starve or die of thirst just because you don’t or can’t walk. I’ll argue that walking is an essential human activity that we ignore to our ultimate detriment, but millions of people do exactly that and think nothing of it. Progress? In a wider societal sense, sure. But on an individual level, people still need to walk.
Second, because walking is no longer “necessary,” we – the general, inclusive “we,” not necessarily the Vibram-clad elite – have forgotten how, when, where, and why to walk. Our technique is shot, we lack proper scope (a mile sounds daunting), we don’t even think to make time for regular walking for walking’s sake, and walking is seen as the last resort to be employed only when the tire’s busted, the train isn’t running, or the bus is late. Kids don’t walk home from school anymore (what, with all the lurking pedophiles?), people hop in the car to run down to the corner market.
I don’t always like to pull the “Grok logic” card, because it doesn’t always apply to our current situation. Here, though? Yeah. It makes sense, so pull it I shall. Walking is our birthright. The weird way we humans do it – obligatorily upright, hands free to wield tools and weapons, harsh sunlight coming at us from an angle instead of head on, relatively generous glutes making the whole production go – gives us a survival advantage. Well, it gave us enough of one to help us blanket the globe with funny shaped footprints. And our feet aren’t exclusive to homo sapiens: a 1.5 million-years old homo ergaster footprint preserved in Kenyan mud reveals that hominids have been using essentially the same feet and the same stride for hundreds of thousands of years. That means that before our big complex brains hit the scene, the same feet you enjoy today were stomping mud and carrying our distant ancestors around. These feet are millions of years in the making. I’d say that’s a pretty good track record, and I think it’d be a shame if you didn’t utilize them.
Grok walked a lot. Heck, he walked everywhere. Riding animals didn’t appear until after the agricultural revolution, so unless you buy into the ancient aliens theory, you accept that our paleolithic ancestors relied on self-ambulation to get around. It seems pretty plausible to suggest that we’re probably well-adapted to walking on a regular basis. I’d even go so far as to posit that walking might even be highly beneficial to our health and well-being. Given our extensive history with the activity, you might even say our genes “expect” us to walk.
What does the evidence show? Surprise, surprise: walking is good for you and enacts multiple beneficial changes in our bodies. To name a few:
- Kids who walk to school are fitter than peers who do not.
- Older healthy adults who walk briskly live longer than those who don’t.
- Healthy adult males who engage in short bouts of brisk walking experience lower resting blood pressure and postprandial triglycerides.
- Regular walking improves working memory in older adults.
- Walking improves longevity in women over 70 years of age.
- Walking programs improve cognitive ability in people with Alzheimer’s.
I could go on but I won’t. Suffice it to say, walking is overall a healthy activity. I don’t think there’s any disputing that. Besides, droning on about the physiological benefits of walking detracts from the real reason I want you to walk so much: it’s an enjoyable way to get out, move, be active, and experience the world.
Despite it being our birthright and really healthy and all that jazz, many of us would be well served with some walking technique tips. Note that I don’t condone the usage of bulky, heel-centric shoes, so all technique tips given assume that you are barefoot or in minimalist shoes with minimal to zero heel drop. Sorry, but that’s just how I roll.
The Leisurely Stroll
This is the everyday walk you use when walking to the farmers’ market, through the mall, or down to the watering hole across relatively flat ground. Lead with the heel, a straight but not locked leg, touch down briefly and lightly before transferring the weight onto the balls of your feet. What you get is a smooth rolling sensation. Check to make sure your glutes are firing by walking with hands on cheeks. You should feel your glutes tense up with each step. In public, this looks suspect, so do the self-assessment from the comfort of your own home. This is not heel-striking, which is a running style characterized by repeatedly slamming one’s heel into the ground to the ultimate detriment of one’s lower extremities. This is heel-touching, and it’s far less abrasive.
The Stalk
When you’re hunting something or making your way across an uneven landscape dotted with rocks, sticks, and (like, maybe, you’re hiking off trail) other bits, use the stalk. Keeping your knees slightly bent at all times, walk by focusing on the balls of your feet. Your heels will touch, but your midfoot lands first. Take shorter steps than you would when heel-touching.
Walking Uphill
Land fore/midfoot first. Touch down with the heel and engage your glutes to propel you upward. Repeat with other foot.
Walking Downhill
I like landing with my entire foot. Maybe the heel hits first, but I try to land with my whole foot. Walking downhill is an exercise in stopping yourself from hurtling downward, so this can get tough. Absorb the impact with your hips by keeping the weight on your heels, rather than your toes.
Whichever method of walking you use, always keep your torso on top of your hips. Stay upright (you’re a biped, so act like it!). A floppy torso that bends and sways throws off your balance and wastes valuable energy. Stay tall.
In my experience, it’s the easy, seemingly inconsequential stuff that’s the hardest sell. The crazier, more unconventional stuff gets all the attention. Tons of people get out there and do heavy squats, order grass-fed cows, buy the latest Vibram model, learn to love liver, and proudly stride barefoot into the grocery store – but they drove to get there. It’s the easy things, like walking regularly and often, that are somehow the hardest to do. They’re the easiest to ignore. Walking? Yeah, it’s nice, it’s relaxing, but it won’t put on the mass and elicit the hormonal response of a set of heavy deadlifts. It isn’t sexy.
Walking matters, folks. Big time. If we stop moving, even if we’re standing at our desks and hitting the gym every other day, we’re dying. We’re telling our bodies that we’ve given up, that it’s okay to shut down, that all those millions of years of daily, constant walking were an aberration, a mistake, a fluke. That’s folly. I think you know it, but I don’t know if you know it.
So get moving – starting tomorrow. Wake up ten minutes early tomorrow and use that extra time to walk around the block. Practice the different walking techniques. Go barefoot. Feel the ground beneath you. Enjoy the still dewy blades of grass slipping between your toes. Feel the serrated edges stimulate those long-dormant nerves. Ignore the mythical broken glass, infected syringes, and rusty nails littering the ground and welcome the occasional uncomfortable rock digging into your sole. It happens, but that’s life, and it’s okay. Just keep it moving and leave it all behind.
Do you take time out of your schedule to walk? Should you? Do you have better things to do? Let us know how you incorporate walking into a world where walking is a leisure activity!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
It didn’t make sense to walk barefoot at first. Our landscape isn’t the same as it was back then.
Back then how we used to walk barefoot treading over twigs and other debris on the natural ground is now replaced by a nice flat cement-paved pathways to get to our destination.
I see the shape of my feet, and the curvature on my feet make sense for unpaved grounds becuase its usually uneven but would its design make sense for a flat surface?
At least when walking on natural ground it is soft but sidewalks are rough, just running on it cuts my skin (not always). So in the end, perhaps these modern shoes have a purpose, to be a replacement for walking on uneven surfaces, since it adjust to the way my feet are formed.
Then i bought vibrams, that changed a lot, i mean a lot! i wear them quite often now, would wear them more if i had enough toe-socks to accomidate it but i feel lighter on my feet. Only problem is that they’re not designed for prolonged periods of standing, neither do i think prolonged moments of standing is part of our natural way since i read that we used to always be on the move.
Our bodies are highly adaptable, what started as an uncomfortable feeling with these vibrams is now more a relaxing experience but is it really becuase it works or just one more thing i’ve forced my mind to deal with?
Does barefoot walking still apply to today’s landscape? It’s a question that still stalks me to this day, replies will be greatly appreciated, even more if Mark sisson helps me out with this plauging question, not to depreciate any one elses reply.
In my experience, barefooting on sidewalks is just as easy as barefooting on dirt. In some ways, it’s even easier; the force of your stride is not absorbed into the ground. It is instead returned to your calf muscles, which work sort of like springs to recapture the energy.
The one problem, as you mentioned, is that the surface is rather scratchy. If you’re used to wearing shoes, like I was, it will probably take months before your soles are thick enough to go long distances on concrete or asphalt. However, it does happen. I’ve gone from wearing shoes all the time, to wearing vibrams all the time, to running up to six miles barefoot on pavement, and my feet never get cut anymore.
The only remaining hazards of barefooting in the urban landscape are large shards of glass (very rare), tree seeds and large rocks (a little less rare but easy to avoid) and dog waste (appallingly common).
Carlos, I would encourage you to try barefooting on pavement once you get used to the vibrams. Just walking a mile or so at first is a good start. Then very gradually you can increase the distance and the speed.
I don’t think the link you showed is a human footprint?
If you look how the toe’s shaped, it’s bent inwards. this shows up on people who have grown up wearing toe-covering shoes.
Love the mental boost gained while walking. I’m so much more aware of surroundings. Thanks, Mark, for this topic!
I try and do fasted walks 4x a week for 30-45 minutes. In vibrams of course!
I got rid of my car a few weeks ago because I choose to walk or ride my skateboard everywhere. I walk many miles a day, and I actually just won a gift card and a feature article in my local co-op’s newspaper for alternative transportation.
I think going to the store for what you plan to eat that day is a great way to get in a ton of walking. I only eat twice a day (lunch and dinner) so I will walk to the grocery store in the morning to buy what I’m cooking for lunch, and then I’ll walk to the store later that evening again for what I’m cooking for dinner. Other than my meat CSA and a few condiments, I don’t really keep anything in my refrigerator anymore.
I’m wondering if Grok had thick padding on the bottom of his feet.
If we walk for hours over rough terrain wouldn’t the bottom of the feet be bloody and totally banged up?
I know for sure the Neanderthal already had ‘shoes’. They’ve also found leather shoes/booties made by american indians about 5000 years ago.
I wonder at which time (or era) mankind started to craft ‘shoes’.
Anyone know?
I know the bottoms of my feat are hideous by normal cultural standards. I do amost of my exercising barefoot or on occasion in Zems. Either way I have calluses from hell and I love them, they keep my feet from hurting.
An answer to your question. Probably, judging from personal experience, although I could be just as wrong as I may be right.
Agreed. Barefoot is the way to go. I damaged my knee pretty bad, wearing sneakers incedentaly, and thought I was down for a good month. The solution- just took the shoes off and all those squats, deadlifts, runs,and jumps magically stopped hurting. My knee was a little stiff, but it’s finally back in full form and now I’ve gone from psuedo-barefoot exercise to all out barefoot exercise. People may stare as I’m sprinting and lunging the length of a football field, but it feels great. Also helps keep the athletes foot away.
The only downside, my soles of my feet are a lovely shade of brown, no matter how hard I scrub them.
I’m really going to be disapointed when winter rolls around.
I walk everyday, an average of 3 to 4 miles, it has made dramatic changes to both mine and my wifes activity level. If you want to do the same, get an active dog
. I am up at 5:30 am every morning to start my hike wearing my 5 toes and usually get home around 7:00 am. to start my day.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned is how instrumental owning a dog can be in putting more miles on your own “dogs.” Pun completely intended.
Both my dog and I are so much happier when we get a walk in the morning and evening and he gives me that extra incentive I need to get off my ass and get the hell outside on some days.
Flat soled super cheap thin Chinese shoes..4 miles on gravel and sand and dirt up hills and down…1 hour or less..3 times a week..and I walk to the post office..1/2 mile RT…IF you use thin soles or the gloves or moccasins..you will re-learn to walk without the impact damage!! Grok did protect his feet…especially in colder climates..and walking on 90-100 degree stuff barefoot is just plain DUMB..blisters on the sole of your foot are no fun(did that-ouwwwch!)..So walk..but do protect your feet when it is called for…This Grok knows how to walk…anyone for a few miles barefoot in the sand near the waterline?..
GROK ON>>>
Who cares about a computer score! Just step out your door and walk! Easy.
When I was a kid I walked every day for hours because I was so bored. God married and that quit. But I never had the proper shoe wear. I’ll be getting my first pair of Vibram’s pretty soon when I leave the sticks and find a store to try on some KSO’s. A question about the Sanuk’s, which pair is recommended? Many, if not all, are quit padded. Maybe I’m looking at them in the wrong way. I need something that’s good for dress wear so any help there?
I just ordered a pair of KSO’s online at http://www.benchmarkoutfitter.com. They are an outdoor supply store in (not all that) nearby Cincinnati. There are plenty of online retailers that sell the Vibrams.
At 300 plus pounds and having had 3 knee surgeries before the age of 21 (now 41)-walking is kinda hard for me. I love walking and when I wear a pedometer (getting 10,000 steps a day in) I instantly lose weight. Problem is my knee also starts to go. This has been really depressing to me. I am having trouble finding exercises that work for me and get the weight off. I am wondering if the way I walk (heal striking first) is part of the problem? I will have to experiment. Thanks Mark for all of your help and great ideas!!!
I got stopped by police (sheriffs) last week in woodland hills for walking, they asked me if the reason Im walking is because I lost my drivers license
I didnt need to explain as soon as he saw my skele toe shoes 
either way. I stop driving locally period. I go to grocery store walking, I go to barnes and noble to do my reading also walking, post office, walmart, park, etc.
Im from europe and I used to walk when growing up every day. it was normal thing for us. in usa people tend to drive a lot out of habit more than anything. thinking they’re saving commute time. but when you think about it walking is really about discipline and time you devote to yourself to relax get a little exercise and clear your head without worrying you going to rear end someone. keep walking!
This is an interesting topic. I just recently decided to sell my car. I realize this isn’t practical for most people but I was curious to see if I could go without one.
I had thought about it for years and slightly preceded my move to the primal lifestyle.
The transition has been a pretty easy one. I bike and walk most places now (I live in the city of Toronto so this is doable) and use ZIP car on the rare occasion I need it.
Of course dating is a problem. Arriving on a bike and offering to give a gal a seat ride isn’t very romantic.
Perhaps I need to come up with some Gromance Tips (Grok + romance).
DD
Among all the downsides of living in NYC, this is the biggest upside. I carry my groceries and my laundry to and fro, up and down stairs without even thinking about it. Walking two miles (each way) to our favorite ice cream spot is my husband’s idea of a romantic date. We may not be wholly primal, but we are wholly walkers. It really does make you feel good. I don’t even mind on days like today when it’s in the 90s and humid. At least a 30min stroll at lunch, that’s my feel-good rule. If I have an hour, I can make it to Central Park and have a wonderful time-out in relatively natural surroundings. Yay, walking!
I walked first 4, then a minimum of 5 miles a day since may 9, 2010. Eating the primal diet, I have lost 90 pounds so far. And I lost those 90 the first 10 months.
Wow! I would love to hear more about your story? That’s impressive to say the least.
Yes!! I would like to hear it as well.
Love it! I’ve gone on long walks several times a week for years. Wherever I’ve lived all of the neighbors get to know me really quick because I’m the one they see walking by their house all the time. Now I have a son whose almost two and he’s come to expect an almost daily walk around the neighborhood. Walking was also my constant during my pregnancy: on days that I couldn’t do much else I could get out for some fresh air and waddle around. I wasn’t primal during my pregnancy and I really think walking had a lot to do with why my pregnancy was so healthy and my weight stayed in check.
On another note I was stuck behind a school bus the other day that was dropping off kids who lived IN SIGHT of their high school/middle school. C’mon! Really?!? Is THIS what my tax dollars are paying for?!? *groan*
Unless you’re climbing a hill, the glutes aren’t all than engaged in walking. A very slight displacement of our center of gravity led by our long-range senses (sight, hearing, smell) takes us in the direction we want to go. We shift support from one foot to the other as our ilio-psoas engages to swing each leg forward.
Most of the effort in walking is slow-twitch, red-fibre, postural, fat-metabolizing. Only as we speed up–or deal with hills–do our bigger muscles (glute, quadriceps etc.) join in.
This is why bipedalism enabled us to migrate over the whole Earth so quickly. We are gravity-propelled, fat metabolizing fiends. No other land animal has anything like our effeciency.
Check out ‘Man, the tottering biped’ by Philip Tobias, for more background. Or have some Alexander lessons.
Mark – I love walking, I grew up walking with my Grandmother all over the place since she didn’t drive and they only had one car. Weather permitting I walk between 5-8 miles daily (3 miles at lunch 45 min)(2-5 in the evening with my walking partner dog, Cocoa). I get bummed though when the weather is bad, I just can’t do the treadmill.
Coincidentally, I was already planning to wake up early for a dawn walk tomorrow morning.
Just did a post on this. My clients all stare at me in disbelief when I tell them that walking is a viable workout. I typically recommend 15-20 miles a week walking in addition to workouts. I get the same response every time, “Wait, I can walk? I don’t have to jog?”
Great post, but one comment – gluts arre NOT made for walking. Try it: walk and feel your butt. It won’t contract at all.
Gluts are for running!
I agree. I walk a lot. Always have my whole life. Natural gait. And my glutes and back of thighs have always been my problem areas.
I think the idea is that they should contract, however slightly. Mine certainly does when I walk (and run).
5 mile round trip walk to work every day… It seemed so long at first, but stream some NPR through the headphones and the walk flies right by! The easiest 500 calories burnt and immeasurable mood boost one can get!
If you are walking near traffic, avoid headphones. You need to hear the cars as well as see them, especially near intersections.
In addition to walking 1-2 miles five days a week. I also climb 80 flights of stairs two days a week.
I spend a fair amount of time re-training my patients to walk with a natural gait as a means to manage or eliminate chronic pain.
One problem that often needs to be addressed in modern life is leg-length inequality. Grok walked on uneven, yielding surfaces so a little bit of unevenness was pretty much of no consequence. Standing and walking on hard, level surfaces will often place stress on knees, hips, pelvis and spine due to lack of symmetry.
Take the time to walk on uneven ground, barefoot if you can.
I walk about 30 minutes a day in the morning. Having a dog was my motivation to walk because I was bored to walk by myself in my neigborhood where no one walks. Thanks for the article because I will try to incorporate your recommendations into my walking technique.
Having a dog the past three years has been great. My dog, Roy (a lovely yellow lab), needs at least an hour of walking every day. It’s been great for the sake of walking, getting outside, and just sharing that time with him. I love letting him off leash when I can so he can be a dog and get in touch with his genes.
Great, wonderful, awesome sauce! In any given 24 hr. period, I walk anywhere from 3 to 10 miles, and I feel amazing. The way people jog, going mile-after-mile to wherever they land is how I walk, only I plan a useful destination, like the library or grocery store across town. There is no easier way, IMHO, to get really comfortable inside of your body and gain freer movement and unity of mind, body, and spirit than by walking it out, baby!
I work in an office all day and just started going for a walk everyday at lunch (well almost everyday). Its a great way to break up the day and get some sun!!