IMPORTANT HEALTH GUIDANCE
We’re not qualified PT Instructors, so we’re only going to tell you about the exercises that we’ve used ourselves and which we know, from our experience, will work well to support a Sport Walking routine.
We’re also not going to explain in detail exactly how to perform the moves, for the same reason, so if you’re unsure how you should perform the strength moves we outline in this routine, you should obtain guidance from a qualified gym professional.
Also, as with all general guidance about doing something strength or fitness related for the first time, if you think that you might be making a stronger effort than you’re used to, by working with weights or conducting strength building moves or if you’re uncertain about the overall state of your health, especially your blood pressure and heart health, consult your doctor prior to undertaking any exercises outlined in this routine.
Why do strength training?
Strength training is an incredibly valuable and important component of any sport and it’s no different for Sport Walking, regardless of whether you’re training for a challenge or just conducting workout walks for fitness.
Strength training is your foundation and it’s not just to give you strong legs to walk faster. It protects you from injury and increases your muscular endurance, so you can feel comfortable with your walking for longer.
But strength work doesn’t have to be time consuming and you don’t need to have a gym membership. You can do beneficial exercises to support your Sport Walking easily enough at home, although to get the best results you will need some basic equipment.
What do you need?
It may seem rather obvious but you will need some form of weights. It could be in the form of a barbell or dumbbell set or, it could be something you’ve made yourself, like an old duffel bag filled with sand. Whatever it is, adding weight to some simple moves is what you want to aim for.
If you have the resources, then a barbell and dumbbell set is ideal and that’s pretty much the extent of it. We’ve been careful to give you moves that don’t require benches or machines but, of course, if you do have access to a gym, you can use machines to give you the same outcome if you prefer.
Which muscles?
If you think you just need to do a few squats, think again! Strength work for Sport Walking should be a whole body routine. Firstly your whole body is impacted by walking strongly, so it pays to prevent weak points developing. Secondly, it’s important to have good posture, so that you can hold a good walking form that’s efficient and effective.
We train our legs, so that they are robust and strong to power us along. We train our shoulders and arms so that they can withstand long walks carrying supplies and we train our core to keep our posture in the best shape it can be. Ultimately though, why just train one body part, when you can give yourself an all over workout that will have you feeling strong and capable?
Basic principles around weight choice and progression
You want to choose a weight for each exercise that you can lift for 8 repetitions (reps) initially, over 3 sets. Whenever you workout, use this same weight until it becomes easier and you can perform 10 reps over three sets. Once you can do this, add weight, usually 5kg (so that’s 2.5kg each side of a barbell or dumbbell). When you add weight, you then reduce the number of reps back down to 4 or whatever you can manage. When you add weight, if you can still perform 3 sets of 8 reps, it’s worth increasing the weight further, so that you can only perform 3 sets of 4 reps. Then, gradually build up the reps with this weight until you again can lift 3 sets of 10 reps and so on.
RECOMMENDED STRENGTH EXERCISES
Squats
Squats are an excellent means of building leg strength and they’re ideal for Sport Walking. They’ll work both your ‘quads’ (front thigh muscles) and your ‘glutes’ (bum muscles), both of which are fundamental to a good walking form. You can perform squats either using a barbell, by holding a single weight plate against your chest or by holding a weighted bag against your chest. Perform 3 sets of up to 10 repetitions.
Bulgarian Split- Squats
Bulgarian Split Squats are mainly used to work your glutes individually because they are performed with a single leg and, as such, they are an excellent exercise for giving more power to your Leg Drive.
With one leg out behind you raised up on a low foot stool, step or block, you squat as you would in a normal squat and this really works the ‘glute’ in the leg out front. It will also work the quad on your rear leg a little and you may find this move quite difficult to start with so it’s best to start with easier weights and to then build up. Perform 3 sets of up to 8 repetitions.
Deadlifts
The deadlift is arguably the best single exercise you can do and if you were only to pick one, it would be the Deadlift. Deadlifts work almost every muscle group but, in the context of Sport Walking, we mainly do them to strengthen core muscles.
You will need a barbel to perform Deadlifts as it can be difficult to replicate the precise move with any other weighted object. Perform 3 sets of up to 10 repetitions.
Shoulder Press
What have your shoulders got to do with a good walking action you might ask but the shoulder press helps with developing a good posture and it also gives you more resilience on longer walks when you might develop upper body fatigue from carrying a rucksack. Fundamentally though this exercise falls into the category of building strength in your whole body.
The shoulder press will also strengthen your triceps (rear upper arms) and this will reduce fatigue in your arms from longer walks, as your arms swing naturally. Perform 3 sets of up to 10 repetitions
Bicep Curl
Another for the ‘all over’ category but developing strong biceps does help in building resilience in your arms, as you can feel fatigue in your arms after longer walks, simply from the general swinging action. Perform 3 sets of up to 10 repetitions
Core work & Kettlebell Swing
This exercise complements the Plank and Pilates Sit Ups in the main walk schedules. The Kettlebell Swing is where you stand with your legs apart and swing a Kettlebell forwards from between your legs until it nearly rises as high as your head. You then use your core muscles as the brake to stop it going too high. Perform 3 sets of up to 12 repetitions
All these exercises together make a simple but highly effective strength building routine that will both add to the power in your legs and help you develop a strong upper body for good posture.