[pct-l] Foot, ankle, leg pain, shin splints, etc.

[Brick Robbins]

On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 11:07 AM, Sir Mixalot <atetuna at gmail.com> wrote:
> Do you have any recommendations?  I've searched fruitlessly that would
> break down the optimum gait for fast long distance walkers in painstaking
> detail.

I have not seen any videos but I have a couple of comments.

First, is that many seem to be looking at barefoot running/chi
running/forefoot strike, etc as guides to walking gate. Walking and
Running are completely different gates, and what works for one,
probably won't work for the other

Second, wearing a pack interferes with the normal "contra-body"
relationship with arm swing/hip swing, especially when using a hip
belt.

The key to efficient walking, is RELAXING the free leg, including the
hip, as it swings through. This means the whole free side of the lower
body swings through, wile the shoulders move the opposite way, making
a twisting motion in the spine, which a waist belt prevents.

This is really hard to learn if it doesn't come naturally, but while
working with champion endurance athletes in triathlon camps, it is the
one thing I noticed that separated the pros teaching the camps, from
the amateur students attending them.