Walking

Difference from running

Health benefits

Origins

Hominin

Variants

• Scrambling is a method of ascending a hill or mountain that involves using both hands, because of the steepness of the terrain. Of necessity, it will be a slow and careful form of walking and with the possibility of occasional brief, easy rock climbing. Some scrambling takes place on narrow exposed ridges where more attention to balance will be required than in normal walking.
• Snow shoeing – Snowshoes are footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation". It is often said by snowshoers that if you can walk, you can snowshoe. This is true in optimal conditions, but snowshoeing properly requires some slight adjustments to walking. The method of walking is to lift the shoes slightly and slide the inner edges over each other, thus avoiding the unnatural and fatiguing "straddle-gait" that would otherwise be necessary. A snowshoer must be willing to roll their feet slightly as well. An exaggerated stride works best when starting out, particularly with larger or traditional shoes.
• Cross-country skiing – originally conceived like snow shoes as a means of travel in deep snow. Trails hiked in the summer are often skied in the winter and the Norwegian Trekking Association maintains over 400 huts stretching across thousands of kilometres of trails which hikers can use in the summer and skiers in the winter.
• Beach walking is a sport that is based on a walk on the sand of the beach. Beach walking can be developed on compact sand or non-compact sand. There are beach walking competitions on non-compact sand, and there are world records of beach walking on non-compact sand in Multiday distances. Beach walking has a specific technique of walk.

• Nordic walking is a physical activity and a sport, which is performed with specially designed walking poles similar to ski poles. Compared to regular walking, Nordic walking involves applying force to the poles with each stride. Nordic walkers use more of their entire body and receive fitness building stimulation not present in normal walking for the chest, lats, triceps, biceps, shoulder, abdominals, spinal and other core muscles that may result in significant increases in heart rate at a given pace. Nordic walking has been estimated as producing up to a 46% increase in energy consumption, compared to walking without poles.
• Pedestrianism is a sport that developed during the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and was a popular spectator sport in the British Isles. By the end of the 18th century, and especially with the growth of the popular press, feats of foot travel over great distances gained attention, and were labeled "pedestrianism". Interest in the sport, and the wagering which accompanied it, spread to the United States, Canada, and Australia in the 19th century. By the end of the 19th century, Pedestrianism was largely displaced by the rise in modern spectator sports and by controversy involving rules, which limited its appeal as a source of wagering and led to its inclusion in the amateur athletics movement. Pedestrianism was first codified in the last half of the 19th century, evolving into what would become racewalking, By the mid 19th century, competitors were often expected to extend their legs straight at least once in their stride, and obey what was called the "fair heel and toe" rule. This rule, the source of modern racewalking, was a vague commandment that the toe of one foot could not leave the ground before the heel of the next foot touched down. This said, rules were customary and changed with the competition. Racers were usually allowed to jog in order to fend off cramps, and it was distance, not code, which determined gait for longer races. Newspaper reports suggest that "trotting" was common in events.
• Speed walking is the general term for fast walking. Within the Speed Walking category are a variety of fast walking techniques: Power Walking, Fit Walking, etc.
• Power walking is the act of walking with a speed at the upper end of the natural range for walking gait, typically. To qualify as power walking as opposed to jogging or running, at least one foot must be in contact with the ground at all times.
• Racewalking is a long-distance athletic event. Although it is a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Stride length is reduced, so to achieve competitive speeds, racewalkers must attain cadence rates comparable to those achieved by Olympic 800-meter runners, and they must do so for hours at a time since the Olympic events are the race walk and race walk, and 50 miles race walk| events are also held. See also pedestrianism above.
• Afghan walking: The Afghan Walk is a rhythmic breathing technique synchronized with walking. It was born in the 1980s on the basis of the observations made by the Frenchman Édouard G. Stiegler, during his contacts with Afghan caravaners, capable of making walks of more than per day for dozens of days.
• Backward walking: In this activity, an individual walks in reverse, facing away from their intended direction of movement. This unique form of exercise has gained popularity for its various health and fitness benefits. It requires more attention and engages different muscles than forward walking, making it a valuable addition to a fitness routine. Some potential benefits of retro walking include improved balance, enhanced coordination, strengthened leg muscles, and reduced knee stress. It is also a rehabilitation exercise for certain injuries and can be a way to switch up one's workout routine.