Best yet audio as well as video made it easy to concentrate on the presentation. Another interesting feature associated with walking. Please keep them coming?
Thank you for this! I will try this today. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also really bad about not holding my body straight. For example, I catch myself pulling my shoulders forward and in, which makes my head also pull forward and looks ridiculous. I'm working on that as well. When I stand up straight and take longer strides, I definitely feel more confident. It's hard to always do that. I'm 46 and this awful posture has been an issue since I was very young. I think it's a result of trauma which tells me that I can fix it. 🤗
Hi Todd! Is walking with a backpack good for lengthening ones stride? Thank you for taking time to educate people on this fundamental but important topic🙂
My pleasure. If you are talking about hiking with a backpack when with weights as an exercise, that is a good form of exercise, if done properly However, most commonly people with backpacks walk incorrectly by leaning forward and pushing. You will notice people all the time bent over forward while walking with a back pack. This is very bad walking technique.
Another dumb question but I figure you never know and you are the go-to guy for problems like this. I'm 78 and another old guy I know (he's 80 so he's really old) told me he fixed his knock knees in less than a year by raising his knees as high as possible very deliberately when he walked, like he was almost marching. What do you think? I'm considering walking with an exercise band around my knees forcing pressure outward and working against this tension - would this be any benefit? Thanks for any tips you could provide.
Assuming he is correct about this helping his knock-knees, the reason could be that lifting the swing leg higher prolongs the stance phase of gait, requiring better engagement of the lower abs and gluteus medius to maintain balance. This could be effective, but there could be other disadvantageous compensations that might not be predictable. I would avoid walking with exercise bands because that may exacerbate the knock knees because you will not be able to counter the force of the bands when standing on one leg. Instead of changing your natural gait, I would recommend daily practice of my Travel Forward Travel Back exercise which you will find in the recent Balance and Fluidity Routine. That routine is designed to strengthen those muscles properly.
You are a gift from a benevolent Creator. It must be satisfying to help as many people as you do - bet big money you sleep well at night - thank you Dr. Martin.
Re throwing a baseball: Years ago I heard an expert (forget his discipline) on a science show say that the fastest we can move any body part is 15 mph. How then can professional pitchers accelerate the ball to 90 mph or more? By combining body part movement, as you demonstrated: wrists, arms, shoulder, core, legs, etc.
Nice vid! I have social anxiety and I have problems taking long strides, everyone is staring at me because I have a "robotic" walk. Please help, I want to know how to take long strides, i've been trying to engage my core, shift my shoulders back, head up, but people still say i bend. Please, I need good advice😢
It's all about proper movement of the core. I would recommend going through this series of videos. th-cam.com/play/PLF2v-baAV4mB97G2p-8lhEW4DVFP05vCM.html
I have hip flexion/extension issues, which affects (shortens) my leg stride somewhat, but despite this, I can draw power/confidence from good upper/lower body rotation technique. It's still difficult, especially on an incline, but I can keep going at least. Nice video as usual, Todd, thanks.
If you mean width, the feet should be the same distance as if they were side by side. For length, from the point of heel contact (like in the thumbnail), if you pivot 90 degrees so the feet are facing in the same direction, your legs should be shoulder width apart with the proper length step. Pivot on the forward heel and the rear foot ball until both feet are facing forward in the same direction.
Was driving a car today and just realized that we could drive properly with the correct body rotation. Pressing the clutch, break, gas pedals and turning the wheel, hhm. I'm sure there must be a way to use the core accordingly. Any thoughts on this? We might find that even the driving could be effortless when doing it right. 😊
I think the main focus for driving should be on using the core for correct posture rather than turning the steering wheel. The movements of the arms should be small enough when turning the steering wheel that it isn't practical to try an get the core into it outside of proper posture control. However, anytime you see someone swerve the car suddenly, you will see how the core kicks in when requiring larger, broader and more sudden movements.
@@ToddMartinMD OK, so you mean to adjust the backrest to almost a vertical position? How far from the clutch? Far enough to extend your hip? I think it's important for people to know what the proper posture is going to be when they drive. I know many people who suffer a lot while driving. So the technique is SINK. Let's say I watch the video on sitting. How do you then apply this for sitting in a car or any kind of vehicle?
. This advice to engage entire core makes sense and is a good reminder to be aware of how we walk. Thank you.
You're so welcome!
Best yet audio as well as video made it easy to concentrate on the presentation. Another interesting feature associated with walking. Please keep them coming?
Thanks Marc
Excellent coaching tips! All your videos on walking are very helpful...
Thank you.
Todd Martin, I really appreciate it you're the best. Your videos mean something valuable to me
You are very welcome
Thank you for this! I will try this today. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also really bad about not holding my body straight. For example, I catch myself pulling my shoulders forward and in, which makes my head also pull forward and looks ridiculous. I'm working on that as well. When I stand up straight and take longer strides, I definitely feel more confident. It's hard to always do that. I'm 46 and this awful posture has been an issue since I was very young. I think it's a result of trauma which tells me that I can fix it. 🤗
I am sure you can fix it. There is plenty of information here on the channel to assist. Let me know how it goes.
Hi Todd!
Is walking with a backpack good for lengthening ones stride?
Thank you for taking time to educate people on this fundamental but important topic🙂
My pleasure. If you are talking about hiking with a backpack when with weights as an exercise, that is a good form of exercise, if done properly However, most commonly people with backpacks walk incorrectly by leaning forward and pushing. You will notice people all the time bent over forward while walking with a back pack. This is very bad walking technique.
I just gotta say that little beep at about 1:35 is perfect for your hand gesture
@Yosef9438 Funny, I never noticed that car horn.
Another dumb question but I figure you never know and you are the go-to guy for problems like this. I'm 78 and another old guy I know (he's 80 so he's really old) told me he fixed his knock knees in less than a year by raising his knees as high as possible very deliberately when he walked, like he was almost marching. What do you think? I'm considering walking with an exercise band around my knees forcing pressure outward and working against this tension - would this be any benefit? Thanks for any tips you could provide.
Assuming he is correct about this helping his knock-knees, the reason could be that lifting the swing leg higher prolongs the stance phase of gait, requiring better engagement of the lower abs and gluteus medius to maintain balance. This could be effective, but there could be other disadvantageous compensations that might not be predictable. I would avoid walking with exercise bands because that may exacerbate the knock knees because you will not be able to counter the force of the bands when standing on one leg. Instead of changing your natural gait, I would recommend daily practice of my Travel Forward Travel Back exercise which you will find in the recent Balance and Fluidity Routine. That routine is designed to strengthen those muscles properly.
You are a gift from a benevolent Creator. It must be satisfying to help as many people as you do - bet big money you sleep well at night - thank you Dr. Martin.
My pleasure. I sleep best when I get a chance to go for a good walk.
Re throwing a baseball: Years ago I heard an expert (forget his discipline) on a science show say that the fastest we can move any body part is 15 mph. How then can professional pitchers accelerate the ball to 90 mph or more? By combining body part movement, as you demonstrated: wrists, arms, shoulder, core, legs, etc.
Exactly. Synergy
Nice vid! I have social anxiety and I have problems taking long strides, everyone is staring at me because I have a "robotic" walk. Please help, I want to know how to take long strides, i've been trying to engage my core, shift my shoulders back, head up, but people still say i bend. Please, I need good advice😢
It's all about proper movement of the core. I would recommend going through this series of videos. th-cam.com/play/PLF2v-baAV4mB97G2p-8lhEW4DVFP05vCM.html
I have hip flexion/extension issues, which affects (shortens) my leg stride somewhat, but despite this, I can draw power/confidence from good upper/lower body rotation technique. It's still difficult, especially on an incline, but I can keep going at least. Nice video as usual, Todd, thanks.
Thanks James
I am short and I feel my stride is shorter than my taller friends. Does this ring true?
Your stride length will be proportional to your height, so it should naturally be shorter than your taller friends.
So 'stride' was the word I was looking for haha.
A stride, technically speaking is two steps, the movement between the placement of one heel during gait and then the next placement of the same heel.
How far from the other foot is a normal step taken?
If you mean width, the feet should be the same distance as if they were side by side. For length, from the point of heel contact (like in the thumbnail), if you pivot 90 degrees so the feet are facing in the same direction, your legs should be shoulder width apart with the proper length step. Pivot on the forward heel and the rear foot ball until both feet are facing forward in the same direction.
@@ToddMartinMD What is the proper step length?
I described it in the comment I already made. If your feet are more than shoulder width apart if you pivot 80 degrees then the step is too long.
@@ToddMartinMD its like a trace a square, thank you so much Dr!🙏🏼
@mokuho I think you got it.
Was driving a car today and just realized that we could drive properly with the correct body rotation. Pressing the clutch, break, gas pedals and turning the wheel, hhm. I'm sure there must be a way to use the core accordingly. Any thoughts on this? We might find that even the driving could be effortless when doing it right. 😊
I think the main focus for driving should be on using the core for correct posture rather than turning the steering wheel. The movements of the arms should be small enough when turning the steering wheel that it isn't practical to try an get the core into it outside of proper posture control. However, anytime you see someone swerve the car suddenly, you will see how the core kicks in when requiring larger, broader and more sudden movements.
@@ToddMartinMD You're right, proper posture is the key. Now what is the proper posture for driving?
Same as in my proper sitting technique video.
@@ToddMartinMD OK, so you mean to adjust the backrest to almost a vertical position? How far from the clutch? Far enough to extend your hip? I think it's important for people to know what the proper posture is going to be when they drive. I know many people who suffer a lot while driving. So the technique is SINK. Let's say I watch the video on sitting. How do you then apply this for sitting in a car or any kind of vehicle?
I walk 6 miles every day at 4 MPH. I can complete the distance with 10,500 long stride steps or 11,000 short stride steps both taking 1.5 hours
I see.....
👍👍👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Thanks