WALKING 101: The essentials for how to walk more easily and safely.

Walking 101 describes the most essential and easiest instructions for basic good walking principles as divided into the following three areas:
  1. Prepare your body for walking.
  2. Walk using the correct method, rolling through your feet.
  3. Follow extremely important walking behavior recommendations.
On the Balance News page you will see a number of other articles devoted to the walking process. All are helpful. Links to some of the most relevant are included at the end of this article.

Prepare your body for walking: The joints of the legs need to be agile in order to walk easily and safely.

The joints of the legs and feet need to be flexible to a certain degree in order to pick your feet up when you walk. Our first task then is to increase the agility of the hip, knee, ankle and foot joints: 
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  • Hip joints: Practice seated torso circles with your legs in a wide stance and your spine straight.
  • Knee joints: Seated knee circles are wonderful and probably the most important part of this warm up process. Standing knee circles are also effective. This standing exercise is great to do in the middle of your walk as well to keep the knee joints "oiled".
  • Ankle joints: Ankle circles along with flexing and pointing your feet are 2 of the essential exercises you should do every day, in the morning if possible.
  • Foot joints: The set of joints at the base of the toes is a very important area for many things as we age, but flexibility in these joints is especially important to be able to walk properly.

​More detailed instructions on these recommendations are included in the links at the bottom of this article.

Use the proper method for walking. Using this method results in automatically picking your feet up, an incredibly important improvement which by itself will eliminate a great number of falls.

Roll through your feet as you walk:
  • Step forward, placing your heel down first.
  • Roll through your foot till your weight is on the ball of the foot.
  • As the foot is behind you, push the ball of the foot into ground to move forward. 

Most important of all are several extremely consequential guidelines for walking behavior.

When walking, do nothing else: As we age, focusing on only walking becomes more and more important. This means that we should concentrate only on the task at hand. It means that we should not do the following while walking:
  • Do not walk and talk at the same time: If you are walking with a companion, do not have any conversation. It is a natural impulse to look at the person we are talking to. That means you are taking your eyes off the road and that is dangerous even for a moment. This is especially important for caregivers. Do no chat with your client. 
  • Do not look at your smart phone while walking. 
  • Do not look at the gardens you pass in your path.
  • Do not eat or drink water while walking.

Of course you can do these things but stop walking first. Turn and look or take a drink or chat. When finished continue walking.
Always look in the direction you are walking: This is essentially the same advice with a different flavor. Basically, if your body is moving, do not allow your head to turn. Keep it facing in the direction you are walking. Do not look down at the ground when moving. If someone calls your name, stop walking first before you find out who it is. 
Learn where to look when walking and practice it: Another similar suggestion. Do not look at the ground as you walk. Most people who have had a fall previously are guilty of this one as are many others. You may ask how you see the cracks in the pavement or other hazards if you do not look at the ground. It is tricky. The brain thinks that you want to move in the direction you are looking. If you look at the ground, that is where the brain thinks you want to go. This throws off your entire weight with the top half of your body shifting out of alignment. Instead practice these steps:
  • Before beginning to move, survey the territory around you to see what you have to watch out for.
  • Then face the direction you want to go, keeping mindful of what may be problems.
  • Develop the ability to shift your eyes downward from time to time without moving your head to quickly glance at the path directly in front of you.
  • Frequently stop and redetermine the hazards ahead.

This technique is sophisticated and takes practice. Practice in a safe environment, with your hands free of items like purses or packages and where there is something you can hold onto while you practice. Each time you stop to do something else, repeat this procedure when you start walking again, no matter how quickly you revert to walking.
Learn to become as aware of your surroundings as possible: This includes not only what is directly in front of you. Notice the people who are near you and where they are navigating toward. Be wary of changing conditions or emerging hazards before they are upon you. Have your hearing checked so that you can be alert to noises.
It is very helpful to pull your abdomen in while walking: Pulling your belly in stabilizes your body and vastly improves your balance.

Other considerations:

  • Try to control your walking gate. Walk in the middle of the path consistently if possible.

Links to other helpful Building Better Balance articles: There is a lot of repetition in some of these articles. Walking 101 attempts to summarize the most important aspects of all but there is additional nuance in the following:

For more detailed instructions:
Leg Joint Warmup:
Walk Much More Easily:
Where to Look When You Walk:
​Beware of Head Movement:
 Increase agility in the leg joints.
 Proper method for walking.
 Do not look down.
​ Keep the head upright if possible.
Other helpful articles on walking:
Difficulty Walking:
Conscious Walking:
Stop Shuffling Your Feet:
​Advice About Walking:
 An overview.
 Stop having falls while walking.
 The single most important thing.
​ Avoiding problems.
Published June 6, 2024.