MBT Academy Walking Tips

Walking is such an ordinary everyday activity, most people take it for granted. But in fact it’s an excellent natural exercise that can help you stay healthy and live longer, control your weight, keep happy, enjoy time with friends and family, learn more about your local area and even look after the environment.

1. Warming up: Always warm up and down when walking for exercise.  This means to warm up your joints and gradually increase your heart rate in the first five to ten minutes of your walk.  During the warm down, gradually slow your pace so you are reducing your heart rate and breathing rate.  Finish with a gentle stretch of the thighs, backs of the legs and calves to keep your muscles long.

2.  Walking pace: Once you’ve warmed up, pick up the pace so that you are breathing a bit harder.  You should still be able to carry on a conversation but should feel like you are breathing harder and working more.  A heart rate monitor can be a handy way to keep track of your exercise target zone.  If you are in doubt about any health concerns, check with your GP before starting any exercise programme.

3. Walking tall: Posture is a dynamic activity and it is impossible to separate it from movement. Your MBTs will naturally help you to maintain a good posture but ‘remind’ your core muscles to support you. You don’t need to engage your core muscles constantly as you walk, which might restrict your movement, but simply check every now and then that they are working. Breathe!

4. Best Footwear: Use the best footwear including breathable, anti-blister socks and to get the most out of your walk while protecting your joints from impact, wear MBTs.  When walking in your MBTs, you will experience a greater workout effect whilst reducing the load on your joints.  Make sure you roll through the centre of the feet from heels to toes without too much pressure on the sides of the feet.

5. Enjoy and keep up! Walking can be a great social activity and it doesn’t have to be a race. Research has shown that the effects of exercise are accumulated throughout the day so doing a little often can be a sensible way to begin. Staying in shape should be your everyday lifestyle.