Forget about dumbbells and all sorts of exercise machines because today, we’ll show you how to strengthen your body with a simple walk.
Why does walking hurt?
Some kinds of exercise are not beneficial for our bodies. Before we get started with healthy movement, let’s go over two bad habits to avoid. It will prevent possible injuries in the future.
Incorrect walking technique
How to walk correctly is described in detail in this article. If you move incorrectly, you negatively affect the rest of the body. Imagine if you started walking with a limp purposely, how quickly your whole body would hurt. After all, it is often enough to stand in the wrong posture in one place, and in a few minutes, your body is in pain, as you would like to sit down and let your body rest.
Inappropriate footwear
The wrong footwear can ruin even the best walking technique. In extreme cases, the shoes cause blisters, calluses, and ruined toes. So throw away those shoes immediately!
With most shoes, however, you won’t notice a problem because you feel completely comfortable in them. They do all the work for you, and the foot is happily lazy. But you know from a broken arm, for example, when you have it in a cast for a long time, the arm muscles become incredibly flabby. A similar fate awaits your lower limb with prolonged use of such shoes.
Shoes are an obstacle to natural barefoot walking. You may not even realize it when you wear them, but the more you use them, the more you develop a movement pattern that is not healthy for your feet. For example, combat boots or high stilettos (and most other shoes) won't allow you to walk correctly and will restrict your movement. So to walk somewhere, you will have to accommodate your movement style to shoes, which as a result, will destroy parts of your body until suddenly you will suffer from sore knees, hips, back, and more.
Can walking heal?
Under certain conditions, yes, especially if we are talking about musculoskeletal problems. We will show you three main areas that proper walking helps to strengthen.
Barefoot walk
If possible, take off your shoes and walk completely barefoot (even without socks). The sensory receptions in the foot receive many more impulses, which don't only develop brain activity but also make the foot more responsive to the environment. The foot also receives a form of massage when walking.
Active use of all toes, especially the big toe, is essential for proper weight distribution in standing and rebound. Just as climbers often hold their entire body on the tips of their fingers, giving them a powerful grip, ordinary people also engage their toes more when walking barefoot or in barefoot shoes, improving their strength and functionality.
You strengthen the transverse and longitudinal arches at the same time. The flat sole and splayed toes allow the weight to be distributed evenly over the three support points. The foot arch is properly vaulted, which protects the foot and ensures flexibility. In shoes that simulate this function, the foot arch gradually collapses with other parts of the musculoskeletal system.
Complex system
In addition to the toes and arches, there is a third, perhaps not so obvious group, that proper walking develops - the internal muscles. And not only in the legs but also the pelvic floor or abdomen. Particularly in younger children, you can see how strengthening the core improves movement patterns visibly and vice versa. The balanced muscle tension and harmony of all muscle groups allow the correct positioning of the entire skeleton and internal organs. The person then moves healthily and strengthens naturally.
In the previous paragraphs, we have emphasised the negative impact of footwear and the benefits of barefoot walking. We offer a way to protect your feet while maintaining the naturalness of movement. Barefoot footwear is a convenient tool to allow the foot to feel free and to sustain (for young children) or correct (for older children and adults) your movement patterns, thereby enhancing overall health.
After summarizing the previous findings, we have concluded - be outdoors, walk on foot and wear barefoot footwear as much as possible. What's your take on this?