How to avoid injury when beginning a walking regimen

Walking for health is quite different from walking across the room or the street. In our everyday ambling about, we perform all sorts of unconscious habitual movements that, if brought into a walking exercise regimen, could lead to chronic physical problems and thereby defeat the whole purpose of walking for your health to begin with.

How best, then, to embark on a walking regimen that promotes your health in every way, and minimizes the potential harms you could unconsciously and unwittingly be otherwise causing yourself?

PLAN YOUR ROUTE Knowing where you’re going ahead of time is one excellent way to avoid unexpected obstacles and other perils to your safety. Avoid busy streets, especially during rush hours. Avoid poorly lit parks after dark. Another benefit of knowing where you’re going is that it also prevents you from winding up lost in places you’d rather not be.

DRESS RIGHT Loose fitting clothing is best; avoid tight, binding clothing that impedes smooth and even circulation and respiration. Choose synthetic fabrics that breathe as well as draw and absorb sweat from your skin. And dress in layers, so that you can add or remove clothing accordingly as the temperature outside and your body temperature both change.

PROTECT YOUR FEET Wear the right shoes, comfortable, not too loose or too tight, with a firm heel, good arch support, and a thick, shock-absorbing sole. Generally speaking, running shoes are better equipped for walking regimens than regular walking shoes. Then find a soft surface on which to walk. Choose dirt or grass over concrete or asphalt, if you can.

WARM UP AND COOL DOWN The most beneficial walking regimens start before you start walking and end after you stop walking. Stretching your muscles before you start exerting them is essential in preventing injury to those muscles once you’ve begun. Warming up before you go walking also increases your rate of respiration (breathing) and circulation (blood flow) in a gradual manner, rather than abruptly and in a way that could potentially shock your system.

Likewise, once the day’s regimen is done, another round of stretching is equally essential in preventing a sudden tightening or locking up of your muscles once you (presumably) sit or lie down to relax. And it allows your breathing and heartbeat to slow gradually rather than have you still be panting, heart racing, as you drop, incapacitated, overwhelmed, and in a mild-to-medium state of shock.

START SLOW A walking