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It’s the easiest exercise in the book — but chances are, you’re walking wrong.
That’s according to sports scientist Joanna Hall, who told The Post that most people unknowingly sabotage their bodies and fitness goals every time they hit the pavement.
Determined to help, Hall developed WalkActive, a science-backed method that promises to turn a basic stroll into a full-body tune up, improving posture, joint health and overall well-being.
Already a hit across the pond, WalkActive recently launched in the US. Curious about the buzz, I laced up my sneakers to see if Hall could teach me to walk smarter (not harder) in just two weeks.
The four mistakes ruining my walk
When Hall first told me she could improve the way I walk, I was skeptical. As a New Yorker without a car, I easily rack up over 10,000 steps a day. How bad could my gait really be?
But the moment I saw her glide down a crowded street — head high, shoulders back, and stride confident and smooth — my usual sidewalk shuffle suddenly didn’t seem so sharp.
“Anybody and everybody can walk better,” Hall told me as we took our first lap. She quickly noticed that I was guilty of the same four mistakes most people make while walking.
First off: my hip flexors were doing all the heavy lifting.
“These muscles are like the bullies on the playground,” Hall explained. “We’ve trained them to take us forward, but what we really want is to engage our posterior chain” — the muscles running from the upper back down to the calves.
By overusing my hip flexors and neglecting my glutes and abs, I was unknowingly creating a stiff, robotic walk that shortened my stride and strained my lower back. Worse, studies suggest this imbalance can limit how far you’re able to walk.
Next, I was landing flat-footed, relying on what Hall calls a “passive foot strike.”
“Wherever we have a joint, we’re meant to have movement,” she said. “When we walk incorrectly — by using a passive foot strike and overusing our hip flexors — we compromise our ability to engage all the joints in the foot.”
Over time, this reduces flexibility in the foot and ankle and can lead to knee pain and poor hamstring function, Hall said.
“This is an intelligent way of connecting with how your body should move, as opposed to the way our bodies have learned to move.”
Joanna HallThen there was my head position.
As a writer glued to my computer and a Gen Z’er always on my phone, I spend most of my day looking down. That habit naturally carried over into my walk.
“This has huge implications on the way the body moves,” Hall said.
Leaning forward strains the upper back, limits spine rotation, and restricts the diaphragm, reducing oxygen intake. It also diminishes the mental health benefits of walking.
Hall explained that holding your head high enhances “optic flow” — how we perceive objects moving past us — which helps reduce stress and anxiety.
“If we can take something that’s the glue of our life and perfect it, the effect can be profound.”
Joanna Hall“If someone goes out for a walk for their mental well-being, but they’re walking with poor technique and looking down, the benefits are actually reduced,” Hall said.
Finally, I was neglecting my arms, letting them hang passively by my sides as I walked.
“When the arm doesn’t do anything, we’re losing out on the ability to have whole body movement,” Hall said. “It limits our ability to utilize the abdominal muscles and create shape around the waistline.”
A 14-day stride makeover
To improve your gait and get more from your walks, you might think you need to go longer, harder or faster. But according to Hall, that’s not the answer.
“We actually need to find a more intelligent way to connect with our body so that we use the right muscles in the right way, at the right time, in the right sequence,” she said.
To learn how, I tried the WalkActive Method Course — a 14-day program priced at $64.99 that you get access to for life.
With over 30 years in sports and fitness, Hall observed a common pattern: Most people are disconnected from how their bodies are meant to move. That disconnect — often caused by injury, poor habits or muscular imbalances — prevents efficient walking.
WalkActive aims to correct this with four simple steps. “If we can take something that’s the glue of our life and perfect it, the effect can be profound,” Hall said.
“Every step you take is going to give you a postural benefit,” she explained. “It’s going to give you a functional benefit from how your joints align. And it’s also going to give you a cosmetic benefit from the body shape changes.”
Science backs it up. A study at South Bank University tested the WalkActive method on 24 healthy adults. After 28 days of Hall’s training, their average walking speed increased by 23%, body mass dropped by 2%, and body fat decreased by 3%.
The participants also had improved posture and skeletal alignment while experiencing less strain on their knee and ankle joints.
Even more impressive, 96% of participants reported a boost in overall well-being, and all of them were more physically active than before the experiment.
“This is an intelligent way of connecting with how your body should move, as opposed to the way our bodies have learned to move,” Hall said.
From clunky to confident
Hall and I met in Bryant Park to go over the basics of WalkActive.
Her first drill: the “open ankle” move. You leave your back foot on the ground a bit longer, then peel it off — heel to toe — like it’s stuck with Velcro.
“Feel the peel,” she reminded me, step by awkward step. I instantly felt a stretch up my thigh as my glutes and abs engaged.
Next, I had to lengthen the space between my ribs and hips — a small adjustment that flattens the tummy, improves posture and relieves hip pressure.
Then, I focused on increasing the distance between my earlobes and collarbone, which pulled my shoulders back and head up.
Finally, I worked on my arms. Hall instructed me to swing them naturally like pendulums, unlike the stiff, robotic motion of a power walker.
I won’t lie — at first, I felt like a newborn deer. But after a few laps, the technique started to feel more natural. I could immediately tell I was moving differently.
After our initial meeting, Hall turned me loose on the 14-day program.
The WalkActive app offers a mix of instructional videos and audio coaching sessions to guide you before, during and after each walking session. Hall peppers in tips and reminders throughout, keeping you on track.
At first, maintaining proper form required real focus. I was moving slower than usual and kept slipping back into my old, slouchy habits.
“When you first start, it might be a bit clunky,” Hall reassured me during my first one-on-one coaching session.
We met virtually several times over the two-week course — a perk available to all WalkActive users. Hall assured me that the adjustment period was completely normal. After all, retraining your body to do something you’ve done your whole life doesn’t happen overnight.
But with time, the method started to click. The tension in my upper back and shoulders eased. I felt new soreness in muscles I’d clearly been neglecting, like my calves and hamstrings.
Once I had the basics down, I was ready to pick up the pace. One of my favorite features in the app is the timed walking sessions, which are set to music with varying tempos to help you find your ideal pace.
Before long, I was excited to lace up my sneakers and hit the sidewalk, Hall’s voice in my ear cheering me on with every step.
By the end of the two weeks, I was walking taller, moving faster and feeling lighter on my feet. I could go farther and actually found myself breaking a sweat.
“It’s deeply empowering to have a positive connection with your body,” Hall told me after the course wrapped. “We want to help you achieve that in a format that’s fun and enjoyable. But if you take it seriously, it will genuinely help you feel better.”
Two months later, I’m still putting the method to work. I feel stronger, I walk more confidently and I’m even a few pounds lighter on the scale.
English (US)