Walk by Courtney Conley and Milica McDowell

My favorite type of book to read, Walk is packed with data, facts, statistics, tips, advice, actionable exercises (both physical and mental), and “steps” (pun totally intended) that we can all take to make walking a central part of our day-to-day activities. Most of us know that walking is beneficial for our overall health and wellness, but Conley and McDowell look at why this is the case (improves balance and reduces falls, boosts mobility, which improves longevity, etc.), who walking is for (spoiler alert: everyone!), and the importance of taking care of your feet (we lose strength and sensation in our feet as we age, making toe weakness a significant predictor of falls as we get older), and much, much more, along with an entire appendix of walking routines, programs, and goal setting ideas that any of us can use to improve our walking efficiency, recover better from injuries (don’t ice that sore ankle, walk it out!) and develop mental fortitude and toughness in as little as 3,500 steps per day (turns out the magic number of 10,000 steps per day as a baseline for health isn’t based on any scientific research at all). I took tons of notes here on different walking modalities, myth-busting conclusions, and also a bit of a deep dive into the shoes we choose to wear and why my Asics Gel-Numbus, which I love and adore, might not be the best choice for my overall foot health as I get older, and I try to keep another bout of plantar fasciitis at bay. Lots to learn here, and kudos to Conley and McDowell for putting all of this together in a way that anybody can use and understand to boost their longevity and overall health and wellness.

• your foot health has a bigger impact on your total health than you might imagine
• we lose strength in our feet as we age, also sensation, making toe weakness a significant predictor of falls as we get older
• globally, we aren’t walking enough
• ancestors did 15K steps per day
• today we get about 4500, if we are lucky
• our feet are our foundation, our compass
• we lose agency, independence, and peace when we neglect them
• most effective form of fitness at any age or level is walking
• boosts mobility, which equals longevity
• movement snacks, short, simple practices of physical activity spread throughout the day
• designed to break up sustained periods of inactivity
• energy boost, satisfy a craving, provide comfort
• walking is essential to what makes us humans
• sets us apart from other species
• top five causes of death in the US: heart disease, cancers, stroke, traumatic injuries, chronic lower respiratory diseases
• 1.75M Americans per year
• today’s humans don’t need to walk
• 69 percent of elementary schools require children to participate in PE
• human ingenuity has always aimed to make life more efficient
• walking, along with breathing and sleeping, is one of the three essential physiological functions we need to survive
• normal respiration rate for a healthy adult ranges between twelve and eighteen breaths per minute
• walking and breathing are interconnected
• one in three Americans does not get proper sleep
• more you move, the better your sleep
• not 10K
• this is from a 60s era Japanese pedometer company’s marketing campaign
• between 3500 and 8500 steps per day can positively impact your health
• backward walking, can reduce knee pain and knee osteoarthritis
• “take” more movement instead of taking more medication
• 2017, 77 percent of physicians interrupted patients before they could finish expressing initial concerns during an office visit
• empowering to give a person activities instead of telling them the activities they cannot do
• vital sign is a measure of an essential bodily function
• heart rate, as your fitness increases, your resting heart rate decreases
• breathing rate, fitness increases, lower resting breathing rate
• blood pressure, force blood exerts against your artery walls
• body temp
• oxygen saturation, percentage of oxygen carrying hemoglobin in your red blood cells to tissues throughout the body
• levels are typically above 95 percent in adults
• gait speed, or walking speed, should be considered a vital sign
• clinical onset of dementia, making gait speed a valuable early marker
• signal issues such as balance impairments
• faster walking speeds often correlated with greater health
• walking pace can support cancer prevention
• more walking, less dementia
• more than two hours per week, less than thirty minutes a day
• emotional reset button
• more than their average daily step count, sleep quality increases
• body composition will change the more you walk
• Zone 2, 60 to 70 percent of your heart rate max, optimally to burn fat as fuel
• support bone health
• improve balance and reduce falls
• more we move, the better we adapt and the more we evolve
• adaptability is what allows species to thrive
• hypothesized that the need to adapt to the environment prompted early humans to try the novel activity of standing up
• efforts to reduce sun exposure
• keep the body cooler
• upright posture freed the hands for other tasks
• big toe took on key propulsion
• rudder on a boat, without it, we would lose directional control of the ship
• calcaneus, human heel bone, designed to handle loads and stresses of walking gait
• heel striking is required when walking
• flat feet does not mean that there is something wrong
• concerned with the appearance as much as the functioning of the foot
• pronation, arch rolling forward
• allows foot to adapt to uneven surfaces, absorb impact, activate key muscles, proper alignment
• big toe can’t do its job effectively, gait suffers
• pronation is normal
• plantar fascia, arch of the foot and absorb shock during walking ,running, standing
• when the muscles of the foot become weak, loads transferred to the plantar fascia change and plantar fascitis happens
• tendons give us “free energy” returned to our system
• Achilles, strongest tendon
• stretches and absorbs energy, releases energy at push off, reducing overall energy needed to move
• evolutionary mismatch
• discrepancy between environment our species evolved in and the environment we currently live in
• obesity and sedentary lifestyles
• fight or flight response is out of balance with our modern lifestyle
• running hot all the time
• walking activates your parasympthetic nervous system, calming you down
• low back pain and foot pain often present together
• plantar heel pain, weakness of foot’s intrinsic muscles
• plantar heel pain, running program, barefoot on grass
• LBP, walking briskly
• if you are in a bad mood, go for a walk … if you are still in a bad mood, go for a longer walk … Hippocrates
• walking can interrupt the pain feedback cycle
• help manage pain and improve mental health
• pain is normal
• Check Engine Light
• complicated, highly individual
• neuroplasticity is the brain and nervous system’s ability to adapt, change, and rewire itself in response to experience, learning, or injury
• acute pain, usually short term
• mechanical or nociceptive pain, “I broke my wrist”, underlying physical or mechanical component
• ice helps with immediate pain relief, used within first six hours
• ice reduces inflammation, but this delays healing
• harder for your body to recover
• vasoconstrictor, tightening blood vessels and slowing the flow of blood
• mild movement best way to go
• little bit of walking to help manage pain, promote healing, reduce overall recovery time
• 85 percent of the world’s population will experience LBP at some point
• incorporating walking with abdominal bracing
• longer someone avoids movement, more complicated their condition becomes
• for most foot and ankle pain walking should be considered
• heel pain, walking barefoot
• plantar fascitis, barefoot run on grass, improve foot biomechanics
• allowed the foot to move through natural range of motion, increased tolerance to load
• nerveds need blood flow and oxyen to heal
• chronic pain, months or even years
• more than 20 percent of global population
• walking slightly faster, increasing walking cadence
• pain effects our emotions and our emotions effect our pain
• becoming fearful of pain can increase pain related disability
• walking increases levels of hormones that help you feel better, especially in nature
• brain posseses ability to change and to adapt to how it interperets information, neuroplasticity
• teach your body your are safe again
• alternating tapping, bilateral stimulation, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
• calm the nervous system
• alternately tap each thigh as you walk
• walking pattern, efficient gait is important
• max productivity with minimum wasted effort
• working effectively without the wasteful use of resources
• roll the earth away, gently pushing the earth backward, roll our body forward
• walk slower, less efficient pattern
• walk faster, uses energy more efficiently
• Zone 2, brisk pace
• walking faster can reduce all cause mortality
• linked to reduced risk of diabetes
• walking taller, mechanical efficiency, reduces strain on joints by evenly distributing forces
• reduce BP and lower stress
• swinging arms, raise arches by facilitating trunk rotation
• forward propulsion
• efficiency of gait
• Nordic walking, walking poles to coordinate rhythmic arm swing
• core activation can increase walking speed
• help those with pain and fatigue
• walking softer, reduce impacts on soft tissues and joints, reduce fatigue
• energy efficient gait pattern
• less impact and less fatigue
• walking backward, retro walking, improvements in balance
• recruits muscles in a different manner, upright posture
• tendon should be stiff
• ever jumped on a saggy trampoline?
• inefficient at returning energy
• increasing the load, tendon adapts, becoming more resilient and less prone to injury
• efficient gait, working on faster, taller, softer walking
• Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance
• self efficacy, turborcharged type of confidence
• belief in your ability to be successful at a specific task
• realtionship of self efficacy to motivation and how these two factors positively influence adherence to an exercise program
• intrinsically motivated were more likely to participate in exercise
• bite sized and measurable goals
• couples who walk together can reduce their interpersonal conflict
• synchronized movements, positive repertoire, empathy, feelings of generosity
• strengthen intergenerational relationships
• walking in groups increases social connection and engaged more in communities
• improved emotional health
• add only 500 steps, baseline more than 2500, reduce risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases by 7 percent
• brief five to ten minute walk, microwalk
• walking more than 5K steps per day can reduce depression symptoms, 7K reduce overall risks of developing depression
• adults sit more than ten hours per day
• Stay, Stack, Swap, Squeeze, when assigning times to walk
• squeeze most important
• those who lead sedentary lives can benefit more from swaps though
• more active can benefit from Stacks and Squeezes
• spending time purposefully
• more than 60 percent of adults are wearing the wrong shoe size
• get your foot length and width measured yearly
• 3B in healthcare costs each year is linked to footwear related doctor’s visits, surgeries, and lost time at work
• never wear shoes that are the wrong size, wear shoes that are shaped like your foot
• overuse of excessively engineered modern shoes, major contributor to the modern walking problem
• excessive cushioning and excessive support features, maximalist shoes
• reduce sensory feedback your feet receive when you step on the ground
• depend on individual needs, not a one size fits all approach
• functional or minimal shoes can improve posture, balance, foot strength
• functional walking shoe
• purpose of early shoes was just protection
• shoe is functional if it has a wide toe box and low heel to toe drop, shoe is minimal if it has a wide toe box, zero heel to toe drop, and a thin and flexible sole
• marketing has trained us for a higher heel to toe drop with fashion and attractiveness
• calves have shortened, feet have weakened
• minimal shoe builds lower leg strength
• thin and flexible sole
• feedback from the ground improves our ability to interpret and adapt to surfaces
• people don’t know care how much you know until they know how much you care”
• minimal shoe as effective as foot strengthening exercises at increasing foot muscle size and strength
• orthotics, medium terms for patients with specific conditions, plantar fasciitis pain
• little research to support wearing them for the long term
• decrease in muscle size
• weaker foot intrinsic muscles, more likely to develop plantar fascia issues
• ambient walking, walking that occurs during your basic activities of daily living
• Atomic Habits, James Clear, one of the most satisfying feelings in life is the feeling of making progress
• keep it simple and be consistent
• keeping a streak alive, empowerment
• intentional walking at a brisk pace, offers the greatest health benefits
• foot and calf strength or lack thereof can be directly blamed for an increased fall rate
• increased strength reduces fall risk
• falls are the leading cause of injury related deaths among adults age 65 +
• hip fracture
• most falls occur during the initial step forward
• individuals who fell had 20 percent less toe strength than those who did not experience falls
• picking up marbles with your feet reinforces these compensatory movement patterns
• single leg calf raise test is one of the most difficult lower body strength assessments
• interval walking (Japanese walking) pattern of walking three minutes fast, three slow, repeat this up to five times
• improve health markers such as blood glucose levels and blood pressure
• boost the function of mitochondria, make more of them, and experience the metabolic adaptations in just one hour of Zone 2 activity
• tiny power plants that run our cells
• Zone 2 is the sustainable zone, body is optimized to work in this zone for long periods of time
• manageable intensity
• ideal prescription is to spend an average of two to two and a half hours per week in this zone, spread over multiple days
• nasal breathing while walking, boost tissue oxygenation, contributes to improved waking efficiency and reduced fatigue
• slow pattern of exhaling and inhaling, reduced stress
• engage and strengthen the diaphragm
• core cannister, proper posture and stability
• strength = ability to generate force against a specific resistance
• decline in power has been shown to correlate with higher risk of falls and can lead to balance issues
• power training optimizes the performance of your neuromuscular system, facilitates communication between your nervous system (brain) and msucular system (body)
• rucking, carrying heavy loads, method to boost fitness, endurance and mental fortitude of soldiers in WWII
• walking endurance and increase physical strength
• weighted backpack, manage even more forces
• increases positive stress on your bones
• improving overall fitness
• mental toughness
• stacking a strength training session on top of your walking session
• walking is a pathway to positive lifestyle change