Walk this way - getting fit and keeping it green

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10 April 2012

Ladies, if we can cope with this, we can cope with anything," London urban walking guru Joanna Hall tells us frankly. A long crocodile of women, dressed in loose, dark clothing, parades down the steps in front of St Paul's Cathedral to the South Bank. And we are attracting quite an audience.

A group of Polish builders on a nearby construction site suddenly decide to take a tea break to watch us, no doubt baffled by our arm gestures as we scythe the air in time with our feet.

But I'm getting used to notoriety. It is, perhaps, the only downside of Hall's brilliant walk-yourself-fit technique. In every other way, it's my dream form of exercise. Walking keeps you in shape, helps bone density and cardiovascular fitness, reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes and boosts your immune system.

If, like me, you have a mad work schedule, building "active travel" into your day is far easier than going to the gym or the pool. Even five minutes of exercise outdoors leads to an immediate improvement in mood and self-esteem, according to recent research. Sports scientists call it "green exercise".

Urban walking is simple, cheap, sociable. You don't need specialist equipment — just lightweight trainers.

Over the past six months, I've done Joanna's "walk well" technique in a party dress around the canvases in an art gallery, and to buy a jewelled cat collar from Harrods.

Hall has an MSc in sports science and is one of the UK's leading diet and movement specialists. She has many high-profile disciples including Dido, Rachel Stevens and Ben Fogle. Three of her books have been Top 10 bestsellers.

Applying the latest scientific research, she has developed an enhanced walking technique that can tone, streamline, improve posture and even shape change.

It's not comedy power walking. Instead, Hall helps to establish your optimum stride — the pace that has been clinically shown to improve your health and fitness. Then, when she has worked with you on your correct postural alignment, she gradually speeds up your stride.

I started with a one-to-one session at her cool modernist HQ in east London. Hall, impossibly lithe and down to earth, demonstrates that there are four key moves. When walking, you strike the ground with the heel first, rolling through the foot, then pushing off with the toe. "Each stride helps lengthen the leg by lengthening your muscles, giving you a leaner, more streamlined look, unlike running, where your muscles tend to bulk' up."

Next, you address your core. The idea is to think "tall" — don't slump — and keep your abdominal muscles pulled up, so keeping your buttocks soft. This way you adjust your pelvis into a neutral position to help prevent back and hip pain while walking and get far better lift and tone and a desirable bottom.

"A swing may look sexy but it does nothing for your spine or firming your bottom. Concentrate on keeping your hips level as you walk. Imagine you have a cup of water balanced on each hip. As you walk, focus on not spilling the water," Joanna intones. Seeing my puzzled expression, she suggests I replace that with two glasses of champagne. Got it!

The surprise is your walking speed actually comes from your arms — which act as accelerators — not your legs. Hold them at a comfortable level, bent at the elbow, and swing them more backwards than forwards as you walk. This action pushes your shoulder blades back, which opens up your chest area, again helping to improve your posture.
It's also very good for waist whittling. "As you swing, imagine that you are holding a crisp between your thumb and forefinger," Hall advises. Now the woman is speaking my language.

And finally — move number four — you want to stop your shoulders creeping up towards your ears, creating tension in your neck, shoulders and back. "Look up and forward — this increases the space between your shoulders and ears. Like the backward movement of your elbows, it also helps to open up your chest."

At first, you focus on your walking technique in a very self-conscious way. But pretty soon it becomes more natural. Six months on, I'm hardly a marathon winner, but Joanna says my style is "far more fluid".

Her company, Walkactive, runs a wide programme of walking events. Over the past six months I've done her Walk Time Trials (£15 each), where you do 7km around the Serpentine and Hyde Park. It is no fun getting out of south London on Sunday for 9.30am, I can tell you. But I've never regretted walking in the sun with like-minded people. And though they time the route, you set your own pace.

Best of all, if you're taking medication for hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes, it has been clinically proven that walking 7km once a week can reduce your dependency by up to 43 per cent.

I also joined sessions from Hall's Walk Off Weight Programme (a month of timed walks around London, organised on Saturday morning and Wednesday evening, £200). Fellow walkers lost up to 10lb and 10 inches in body mass in under a month. It was the least punitive diet regime I've ever done. The only rule: walk every day and cut out carbs after 5pm.

Joanna and her team are incredibly professional and, thanks to their patience, I'm fitter than I've been for a long time. My stomach is flatter. And I know how London joins up.

Urban walking is the best remedy if you've lost faith in your body or piled on the pounds. Or hate the tyranny of the gym. You can walk anywhere. Just engage that pelvis — and walk. When you cross the park tonight, if you see a woman balancing imaginary champagne flutes, you'll know she's doing it too.

For details of Joanna Hall's Walkactive time trials, walking courses and walking spa breaks, www.joannahall.com

Joanna's walk well' technique
*Absorb the ground by rolling through the whole foot.
*Feel the toes spread, and push off through them.
*Open your ankle and show the entire sole of your foot to the person behind you.
*Keep abdominals lightly engaged but lower back and gluteals relaxed.
*Keep hips level on each stride.
*Swing your bent elbows backwards further than you swing them forwards.
*Keep hands relaxed.
*Increase the distance between your ears and shoulders.

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