Walking Every Day? Add These 3 Things To Stay Stronger & More Mobile

Dr. Alyssa Kuhn, arthritis expert, keeps us on our toes:

Three ways to do it

Walking is great, but it is by its very nature repetitive, and that means it doesn’t exactly improve mobility (though it does help maintain it, within a small range), and nor does it really improve strength (though it does help maintain it, in certain muscles).

So, to mix it up a bit and get much greater benefits, consider:

• Build leg strength through a greater range of motion: comfortable walking on flat ground often doesn’t provide enough resistance to significantly challenge your leg muscles. Sit-to-stands are a simple way to add strength work to your routine. You can use your arms or a higher chair to make them easier, or add resistance to make them harder. Obviously, start where you need to, and progress where you can.
• Train balance & improve versatility: walking primarily involves forward movement, so adding sideways stepping challenges lateral stability and activates important hip muscles. Backwards walking or stepping further challenges balance, works the backs of your legs, and promotes hip mobility—but of course, please do it carefully! A good option is with a treadmill (so you know you’re not going to walk into anything while walking backwards), starting on a low speed setting and working up.
• Maintain hip and knee mobility: walking repeatedly uses a similar movement pattern and thus doesn’t adequately train movements such as bending, moving your leg sideways, or deeply bending your knees. Hip circles help maintain hip movement in multiple directions, while alternating heel lifts encourage greater knee bending and also work the backs of your thighs. Dr. Kuhn doesn’t mention this in the video, but dancing is great for this (as well as the other things we just talked about).

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Take care!