FitWalking? | fitwalk2020

techniques?

In our workshops and programmes we teach three fitness walking techniques of;

- STRIDEwalking

- POWERwalking

- POLEwalking (Nordic & Activators)

fitness walking?

Walking in all its forms is by far the most popular form of physical activity among Irish adults. Some walkers choose to stroll, others enjoy rambling or trekking or hiking, and there's a bunch of hardy athletes that racewalk for competition..

And the list of reasons WHY people walk is varied - and includes fun, social interaction, mental health, or simply fresh air. In recent years, however, a growing number of people have taken to walking in a quest for fitness. Enter fitness walking!

what's fitness?

For sportspeople trying to improve their physical fitness, elements like speed and agility are crucial to performance. For most mere mortals, however, our focus is on health-related functional fitness, and the key elements are;

- mobility (of our joints)

- strength (of key muscle groups)

- aerobic fitness (of our heart and lungs)

and, for those of us 'getting on a bit'

- balance (mostly controlled by our brain)

so what's a fitness walk?

A fitness walk (or fitWALK! ) is a walking session which incorporates activities to improve each of the four elements of functional fitness above. Key differences from 'normal' walking include;

- a focus on good posture and gait.

- active engagement of the arms and

upper body using a fitness walking

technique (see below).

- greater use of the feet in landing and

takeoff resulting in better stride pattern

- inclusion of on-the-go activities for

mobility, strength and balance.