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Practice Good Walking Form

Put a spring in your step with the right technique

By

Staying Sharp

Updated April 07, 2023

Updated April 07, 2023

A woman power walking through a neighborhood

Steve Prezant/Getty Images

Quick Win

Good alignment and posture make walking more comfortable. Practice indoors today — then you’ll be ready to take it on the road.

Try This Today

Standing in front of a mirror, stretch your spine upward, rather than slouching or arching. Roll your shoulders forward and up, then relax them down. Make sure your chin is parallel to the floor and your ears are even with shoulders.
Engage your core. Contract your stomach muscles slightly, but be sure you can still take deep breaths. This important move can help prevent slouching and protect your lower back. Your pelvis should be neutral, not tucked under or tipped forward.
Do a test run. Maintaining this posture, walk around your home. Look ahead, and let your arms swing freely from your shoulders, with a slight bend. Your back, shoulders and neck should feel relaxed. With each step, roll from heel to toe.

Why

Walking for exercise supports good health in myriad ways, and maintaining good form can help you get the most out of it while avoiding back or neck pain. Walking in an upright posture, rather than slouching, may even help improve mood and the way the body responds to stress, according to a study involving 73 adults published in 2018 in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental

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Legal Disclaimer: Staying Sharp, including all content and features, is offered for informational purposes and to educate users on brain health care and medical issues that may affect their daily lives. Staying Sharp is based on a holistic, lifestyle approach to brain health that encourages users to incorporate into their daily lives activities that are associated with general wellness. Nothing in the service should be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Features including the Cognitive Assessment and Lifestyle Check-Ins, Additional Tests, exercises, and challenges assess performance at a particular moment in time on certain discrete cognitive tasks. Staying Sharp games are intended for entertainment and recreational purposes only. Various factors may affect performance, including sleep, tiredness, focus, and other social, environmental, or emotional factors. Performance is not indicative of cognitive health and not predictive of future performance or medical conditions.

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