Did you know that changing your walking form can help you lose weight more easily? Here’s how.
When walking up an incline or on an unstable surface, you’re always told to walk lightly, anchoring your heel down and bouncing off to your toes. What if we told you that doing the opposite results in more weight loss?
Alexis Craig, a personal trainer and coach on the exercise app Gixo, told Popsugar that walking with a strong heel strike can actually cause hyperextension that leads to other injuries.
(Also read: 8 Ways to Burn More Calories By Walking)
How to walk
She recommends landing on the balls of your feet and propelling yourself forward using your back foot. This might sound complicated, but basically, it means that you should send more weight to the front of your feet. It might feel unfamiliar when you first try to walk this way.
(Also read: How to Prevent Foot-Related Injuries From Long Hours of Walking)
More muscle engagement
By keeping your heels lifted, your calf engagement increases, helping you to use more muscle and burn more fat. It might seem like a minor change, but walking for extended periods of time in this walking form will get your calves burning.
Increasing the muscle density in your legs will help you to burn more calories even when you are resting, resulting in a leaner body.
(Also read: Why Walking Is Your Best Bet To Get Into Shape)
Other ways to increase weight loss by walking
Besides stepping with a different stride, there are simple adjustments that can give you a tougher walking workout. Firstly, try walking slightly faster than normal. By doing so, you can speed up your heart rate and break a sweat.
Toughen up your workout further by doing walking intervals. They’re done like sprint intervals, where you go fast for a certain time or distance, and then slow back down. This helps to increase your muscle explosiveness.
Walking outdoors can boost your fitness levels too because the uneven terrain challenges your balance, while the inclines or declines help engage different areas of your muscles.
(Also read: Walking Just 18 Minutes Every Day Lowers Your Risk Of Dying By 20%)
